Outside Austin, Texas, an unassuming neighborhood tucked away in the suburbs is almost complete, but it's not your ordinary community — it's being built entirely by giant 3D printers.
Located in Georgetown, a suburb of Austin, Wolf Ranch is the world's first and largest 3D-printed neighborhood, complete with eco-friendly features such as rooftop solar panels, smart thermostats, Ring Video Doorbells, and Wi-Fi-operated locks, as New Atlas reported.
According to the outlet, 98 of 100 homes planned for the community have been completed by 3D-printing firm Icon as of August, and residents began moving in a few months ago. The remaining homes should be finished by the end of the year with the help of construction company Lennar and architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group.
As New Atlas explained, Icon's massive Vulcan printer handles most of the construction process. After being given the floor plans, the machine squeezes out rows of a cement-like mixture to form the basic shape of the structure.
After the homes are finished printing — which takes about three weeks for typical single-story homes, according to Reuters — construction crews finish the job.
While the printer is capable of building homes as large as 3,000 square feet, homes in Wolf Ranch measure between 1,500 and 2,100 square feet. They're all single-story, with eight floor plans offered that feature either three or four bedrooms and two or three bathrooms.
The high-tech homes start at $400,000, but the solar panels and smart home tech can improve energy efficiency and help homeowners save money on electric bills, making it a worthwhile investment.
Plus, concrete homes are well-insulated, which reduces the need for heating and cooling — a major expense for Texas residents, especially in the summer.
In addition, concrete is a hardy material that can withstand natural disasters like hurricanes and even earthquakes, which means 3D-printed homes like these can improve communities' resiliency as extreme weather becomes more frequent.
3D-printed homes are also a major win for the planet since they use much fewer materials than traditional dwellings and help reduce carbon pollution. According to the U.N. Environment Programme, the construction industry accounts for a staggering 37% of global pollution, largely from materials such as cement, aluminum, and steel.
Icon says it uses locally sourced materials for its residential building systems, which helps reduce environmental impacts and lower construction costs.
The 3D-printing firm is also building a community of 3D-printed luxury homes in nearby Wimberley Springs and has partnered with NASA to develop structures that could eventually be built on the moon.
As more architectural firms turn to 3D printers to build homes and the technology continues to advance, the future of housing is sure to be out of this world.
"An architectural revolution is quietly taking place in the American suburbs," New Atlas wrote, and it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
"For the first time in the history of the world, what we're witnessing here is a fleet of robots building an entire community of homes. And not just any homes, homes that are better in every way … better design, higher strength, higher energy performance and comfort, and increased resiliency," Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of Icon, said in a statement.
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