With housing becoming more scarce, materials to build new houses becoming more expensive, and the planet's resources being increasingly strained, the challenge of creating sustainable, affordable living spaces has never been more urgent.
7NEWS Melbourne reported that a team of engineers is currently working to build a two-story family home using 3D printing. 7NEWS reporter Kristy Mayr says that this home "Will be the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere."
The house will have four bedrooms, six bathrooms, an eight-star energy rating, and will be made entirely out of a specially formulated concrete.
Engineers working on the home claim that it will be able to withstand fires, flooding, and even termite attacks.
3D printed houses also don't exclude luxurious interior design practices. This house, in particular, is designed to have an elevator, marble floors, and a chandelier at the entrance.
Perhaps the most notable aspect of this innovation is how much more affordable it is to make compared to traditional houses. "Using traditional methods were just way out of my budget," said the lead engineer. He also claims that using 3D printers made building the house 30% cheaper.
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This technical marvel may be the first of its kind in Australia, but other countries have already experimented with 3D-printed houses.
Environmentally, this method for construction is significantly more sustainable than traditional building techniques. Commonly used materials like lumber, traditional concrete, and steel require significant energy to transport and produce, and they contribute to deforestation and planet-warming gas pollution.
The use of this technology in Australia is being funded by $6 million in government grants and the University of New South Wales. This house is set to pioneer the project, and it is expected to be completed in just three months.
Another engineer on the project stated, per 7NEWS Melbourne, "The next best step is to obviously have more of our printers on construction sites around Australia."
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