3 new AM houses being completed in the US by COBOD customers
Danish robot 3D construction printer company COBOD International A/S, known for making the 3D printers that made Europe’s first 3D printed 1-, 2- and 3-story buildings and for their cooperation with GE Renewable Energy on 3D printed windmill towers, is now making inroads into the US residential housing market. The houses are printed by some of COBOD’s first US customers and as COBOD has gained more customers in North America since then, more homes made with COBOD’s 3D construction printers are destined to come.
In July 2021, PERI Group, another COBOD customer and minority investor, presented their project in Tempe, Arizona, printing a 1,740 sq. ft. (160 m2) house for Habitat for Humanity, a US-based national and international non-profit organization focused on long-term poverty alleviation through affordable social housing. Habitat is also involved in the latest housing-project 3D printed in Williamsburg, Virginia in September 2021, by Alquist3D. The house is 1,200 sq. ft. and will have 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. See Habitat’s video covering the project here.
Zachary Mannheimer, CEO of Alquist3D stated: “We are excited to partner with Habitat for Humanity on this project. Both of our organizations are aiming to build affordable housing and hopefully, this project will be one of many we do together in the future. Using 3D printing allows us to speed up the construction of a home while also lowering building cost, solving two housing challenges at once: the rising price of new homes and the speed at which they are built.” The Williamsburg house is already the second project done in Virginia by Alquist3D since receiving the COBOD printer shortly before summer. In June, the company 3D printed the first house in the outskirts of Richmond in cooperation with Virginia Tech via a grant from Virginia Housing. The 1,550 sq. ft. (145 m2) house also contains 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Despite the home being located close to the large city of Richmond, Alquist3D is primarily targeting other demographics with the 3D printed offering.
Zach Mannheimer stated: “While most 3D printing endeavors focus on urban residential areas, many of the regions facing the biggest housing challenges exist in rural America. That is why we partnered with Virginia Housing and Virginia Tech to build homes for people who live outside of the places where most funding for housing programs is spent.” Further south, COBOD’s first US customer, Printed Farms Florida, recently 3D printed its second building. This is the first 3D printed residential house made in Florida and is a 1,440 sq. ft. residential house located in Tallahassee, also containing 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms like the Virginia projects. Printed Farms completed the project in cooperation with Precision Building & Renovating LLC, which in turn funded the project through the City of Tallahassee Affordable Housing Construction Loan program.
The 3D printed concrete homes are not your average test structures – actual people will move in and benefit from them for a long time. “The finished product is far superior in strength, durability, and efficiency” stated James Light, COO & Co-founder of Precision Building & Renovating, while adding: “These homes are not only more efficient to construct, but they also carry less maintenance cost. Wood breaks and wood rots, especially here in the South”.
