3D printed concrete homes are one of the hottest topics on social media right now.
YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are flooded with posts about 3D printed homes.
This construction technique has millions of adoring fans across the world. Unfortunately,
the space is littered with fake news and hyperbole and a lack of critique. Sounds familiar?
Some of the claims by both the tech companies and the media just make me want to. So, in this video,
we’re going to analyze the claims made not from a pessimistic point of view, but a realistic one,
where we look at the advantages and drawbacks of the technology.
The first claim is that 3D printed homes can be built for less than $4000.
This is a flat out lie that started circulating in 2018. Journalists misled people for the sake of
clicks by claiming that ICON 3D, based in Austin, Texas had a $10,000 tiny home prototype that
could cost around $3,500 or $4,000 when printed in large quantities. Jarett Gross, who runs a YouTube
channel on 3D printed structures, interviewed the owners and the marketing team of ICON 3D.
They categorically denied these claims. A lack of knowledge of the construction field
is not an excuse to publish articles and videos with outrageous claims.
The cost of 3d printed homes is a hotly debated topic because it is a new field with many unknown
variables. Every company uses a different printer and concrete mix and no one has printed homes in
large quantities. ICON 3D, Logan Architecture and 3Strands have teamed up to build 1,016 sq
ft houses with 2 bedrooms and 1 and half baths for $450,000 in Austin. Only the first floor
is made of 3D printed concrete, the upper floor has conventional stick framing.
The idea that 3D printed homes are the cheapest option in every market across the world
is simply untrue. Before the blip in lumber prices, stick framing was the cheapest option in
the States. CMU block construction is the cheapest option in Middle Eastern countries like the UAE.
Steel or masonry bricks are the cheapest in other areas. 3D printing can have lower labor costs, but
there are other expenses to consider: the cost of electricity to run the machine which is exorbitant
in some countries, the cost of renting or buying the printer, the cost of hiring specialists
to calibrate and run the machine, etc. The next false claim is that homes can be
printed in 24 hours. 3D printers create walls, not homes. There are dozens of other components
that go into building a house: windows, doors, roofs, electrical wiring, plumbing,
insulation, HVAC systems, interior walls and finishes, millwork, etc. The 24 hour timeline
also ignores the time to ship the machine, offload it, set it up, calibrate it, and dismantle it.
Printing just the first story of these homes in Austin took 5 to 7 days.
A viral video from 2014 claimed that a Chinese company, Winsun, printed 10 houses in 24 hours.
A couple of facts are conveniently left out: they had four 3D printers running,
they just printed wall sections, the “houses” were assembled by humans after the concrete had cured,
the glass inserts and roof were built by humans and they have no plumbing. A family in France
was the first to move into a 3D printed home in 2017. Their home took 54 hours to print and cost
176,000 pounds, 20% cheaper than identical construction. The walls of this home are
made of 2 layers of polyiso foam with poured concrete in the voids. Installing windows,
doors, a roof, appliances and cabinetry took another 4 months. The outside of the home
was manually finished with smooth plaster. Polyiso needs to be sprayed in a controlled
environment with specific temperature and humidity levels, so the entire site was tented. You
know could be a better alternative? Stacking ICF blocks with plastic webs to nail or screw into.
The next claim is that 3d printing will make jobs unnecessary. We are a long way off from
that potentially happening. I think there’s a common thread behind all these misleading claims.
The productivity of the construction industry is lagging far behind others. Outsiders from the tech
field want to fix it by disrupting and automating the entire industry without having any knowledge
of its intricacies. They think that 3D printing is to construction as Tesla is to automation. A
Tesla vehicle can be driven anywhere in the world with relatively small tweaks. The construction
industry is at the mercy of nature and humans. There are millions of variables at play:
soil conditions, weather, local materials, culture, economy, design codes, and of course,
form and function. The programmatic needs of a hospital, office building, factory, apartment
complex and home are vastly different. The global construction industry has thousands of specialized
fields. Improving the coordination between all these trades is an ongoing struggle but automating
the printing of walls isn’t the answer. Even on 3D printed concrete structures,
you need humans to monitor, calibrate and clean the machine, add reinforcement and
insulation and frame out the door and window openings. Take a look at this smooth finish
3D printed garage in Florida. Since the client wasn’t satisfied with the rough appearance of
printed concrete, it was manually smoothened out. So much for eliminating humans on job sites.
The next claim is that 3D printed homes can solve homelessness and housing shortage.
Like I’ve said in earlier videos, the arrogance of designers and architects really shines when
they talk about homeless shelters. Making a shipping container or 3D printed concrete shelter
will not solve homelessness. We need to approach the issue with humility
and address the underlying socio-economic & psychological issues among other things.
LaFargeHolcim has ambitious plans to build affordable, low-carbon housing and schools in
Africa using 3D printing technology. I spoke to Nicholas Patel, the founder of Fullbore Africa,
who grew up and ran several construction businesses in Kenya. His realistic perspective of
3D printing in Africa was eye-opening. He pointed out lack of consistent power, the need for several
backup generators, the carbon emissions shipping the machine to Africa, the poor infrastructure
getting to job sites, the legal issues clearing the expensive 3D printers at ports, 24 hour
security, cost of foreign-trained specialists to run the machine and their hazard pay, the dirt and
sand that will get caught in the grooves of a 3D printed structure, and the difficulty in getting
high quality, consistent windows and doors to fit into the precise openings created by 3D printers.
Nicholas believes in light gauge steel framing. A structurally sound steel frame should be used
to create the bones of the building. Homeowners can choose any infill they are comfortable with:
compacted bricks made from soil, thatch, or concrete. This method speeds up traditional home
building, empowers local communities, respects local culture and environmental conditions
and it’s affordable to purchase and maintain. This is what I’m talking about when I say we need to
approach housing shelters and infrastructure with humility. Imposing outlandish designs that stick
out like a sore thumb isn’t the solution. Another claim is that 3D printing is sustainable.
While prefabrication and 3D printing can help minimize waste, generalized
claims of sustainability over all other forms of construction are untrue. The building construction
industry accounts for 40% of all energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, of which cement accounts
for 8%. As much as I love the material and the solidity of concrete structures, it is one of
the most destructive materials on Earth. It is responsible for almost a 10th of the world’s
industrial water use. It adds to the heat-island effect. Limestone quarries and cement factories
are air pollutants. Accelerants added to concrete to increase curing time can pollute indoor air.
Also, walls are a tiny portion of the entire structure. We need a holistic approach to
construction to make it truly sustainable. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited about 3d printed
construction, whether it’s concrete, mud or synthetic stone. I love the raw, layered
appearance of 3d printed homes. I even made a video on this technology a couple of years ago.
I don’t think the technology is a gimmick, but I despise the sensationalist coverage,
misleading claims and over-promises. They generate a lot of buzz and probably help fund startups,
but I think the lies cheapen its value. In 2019, COBOD, released a white paper titled
“The Truth: Facts about the true state of the art of 3D construction printing”. They tackled
the misconceptions in the press like the Office of the Future in Dubai, which was actually made
of precast elements printed in China. All the interesting architectural details were not 3D
printed, but made manually. They also clarified that no one has printed a building in 24 hours,
no one has printed an entire building, just the walls and that as of Fall 2019, only 3 companies
supply printers. COBOD and PERI Group are setting a precedent for the rest of the industry.
They are pushing for responsible coverage. Right now, 3D printing seems to be a solution
looking for a problem. Maybe it solves homelessness, maybe it’s the cheapest
and fastest construction methodology, maybe it’s sustainable and will fix the planet.
It’s going through an identity crisis and trying to fit into niches instead of just being itself.
The technology has so much potential, but it’s in its infancy stage. I see so many parallels
between the hype and media coverage of shipping container homes and 3d printed homes. I’m sure
people in the comments will call me a buzz kill like they did with the container home video.
But I hope this video helps people understand the limitations of the tech, helps companies or
countries realize that it may not be appropriate for them, and I hope it encourages critique.
Let me know what you think about the technology in the comments below. I’d
love to visit one of these structures, either completed or under construction,
so if you can hook me up with any contacts, let me know. Don’t forget to hit the like button
and subscribe to my channel. I’ll link all my sources and my Patreon page in the description.
A big thank you to everyone already supporting me on Patreon. Thanks for watching. See ya.