Architecture

Affordable home is 3D-printed in just five days

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The 3D-printed house is designed to withstand even severe seismic activity
COBOD International/BM Partners
The 3D-printed house is designed to withstand even severe seismic activity
COBOD International/BM Partners
The 3D-printed house was created using COBOD's BOD2 3D printer
COBOD International/BM Partners
The 3D-printed house's walls were completed in just five days, but then human builders came in to add windows, doors and anything else needed
COBOD International/BM Partners
The 3D-printed house is being used as a show home
COBOD International/BM Partners
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This impressive recently completed project proves that 3D-printed homes can be suitable for extreme weather and even seismic areas. Printed in just five days, it was also created significantly cheaper than a typical brick-and-mortar home.

The unnamed house is located in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and is hailed as Central Asia's first 3D-printed house. It was designed by BM Partners and printed using one of COBOD's BOD2 models, which was also responsible for Europe's largest data center.

Printing the actual walls of the home involved the COBOD 3D printer extruding a cement-like mixture out of a nozzle in layers, just like every other 3D-printed architecture project we've reported on. However, since Almaty has strict seismic regulations, the team used a very strong cement-like mix, ensuring it could withstand the local conditions and an earthquake up to 7.0 on the Richter scale.

The 3D-printed house was created using COBOD's BOD2 3D printer
COBOD International/BM Partners

"To enhance the building's structural integrity, BM Partners used a special strong concrete mix with a compression strength of almost 60 MPa (8,500 PSI), substantially exceeding the 7-10 MPa (1,015-1,450 PSI) typical of conventional brick and stone used in Kazakhstan," explains COBOD. "This mix, comprising locally sourced cement, sand, and gravel enhanced with the D.fab admixture, a joint development of COBOD International and Cemex, allows for customized concrete formulations tailored to regional needs. Considering Kazakhstan's extreme climate conditions, varying from minus 57 to plus 49 degrees Celsius (minus 70.6 to plus 120 degrees Fahrenheit), the building incorporates expanded polystyrene concrete as insulation for the walls, enhancing both the thermal and acoustic performance of the wall."

The 3D-printed house's walls were completed in just five days, but then human builders came in to add windows, doors and anything else needed
COBOD International/BM Partners

Once the walls were completed, human builders then came in to add windows, doors, and anything else needed, including furniture. In all, from the initial printer setup to finishing off installing the furniture, the project took two months. Its interior spans a floor area of 100 sq m (1,076 sq ft), all on one floor, and features a simple layout with generous glazing and a large living room. It now functions as a showroom to demonstrate the capabilities of 3D-printed construction.

We spoke to a COBOD representative who told us that the home's cost came in at the equivalent of around €20,500 (roughly US$21,800), which is significantly cheaper than the local average.

Source: COBOD

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13 comments
paul314
For earthquakes you want tensile strength as well as compressive, so that the entire structure stays together instead of separating at the joints. Hopeful some kind of fiber additive in the mix will do that.
Ranscapture
So fucking give it to us in California. A house that size goes for $800k here. If I can get a 2000-4000sqft lot for 40k and a 20k house, I’ll get it right now on a 100% loan and pay less than I am for rent.
Aermaco
That massive ugly blob of a roof design also will lessen earthquake resistance events, but 100% of the time it will look repulsive. . The shear force reaction in the concrete will fight the quake shake if strong enough.
Deres
Nothing really new. They still have the issue to install a huge heavy static 3D printer around the house and make a costly move of it for doing another house. The fundation and roof are also made in a totally classical way. I am not sure installing doors and windows is really straightforward as the 3D precision is probably not enough to not need some frame adaptation.
Alan
Here in the SF By area, I am watching a build of a 5 story apartment building with pre-fab modules. It's impressive how a huge crane plucks off a module and then places it into position.
Smokey_Bear
I agree with Deres.
The best 3D printer I've sean is Icon's new one.
Setup is way easier & faster then this.
dpj620
I think I've read where this process will save around 10% on total construction costs. You still have to pay for window installation, plumbing, electrical, finish work, etc. The main benefit is speeding up construction times.
Jc
It doesn't matter how much the building costs to make. It it hits the states it'll be marketed as state-of-the-art and cost $600K.
Saigvre
130 ventilated basement levels with utility soil locks for water storage and geothermal loops for hvac really bring it to the next level at that cost. That roof's ventilation core and skylighting service is thorough. The walls are subject in that setting to flooding by half and being frozen to 7" below grade but they are hard to it! Easily overlooked as 0 sqft compared to a pool house tho. Encinitas will pay you to put that cute thing in, why sho! Only it retains the brutal modernist and outdoor lighting trope, so you get that fee.
Trylon
@Aermaco, that "massive ugly blob of a roof" is specifically designed to increase seismic resistance as required by building codes there, if you read the linked page. It's called a seismic beam belt.