Palari Group and Mighty Buildings creating 3D printed community
Palari Group and Mighty Buildings are teaming up to 3D-print fifteen zero-net-energy homes that will form the first 3D-printed community in the United States. The project is as much a business proposition as another proof of concept. Additively manufacturing homes has become increasingly feasible in recent years; manufacturing a community of homes is the next step toward a full-fledged AM building industry.
Recent innovations in this regard include 3DStrands’ building multiple homes in Austin, Texas. A Canadian project, led by World Housing and TAM, is creating an additively manufactured village.
The foremost innovation in Palari’s and Mighty Buildings’ partnership is the way in which the homes are printed. Most AM building ventures deposit material on the building’s final site; Palari and Mighty Buildings are pre-fabricating the homes in an industrial setting. This method increases reliability of equipment and materials. The partnership can create faster and more reliably. The benefits reduce construction costs and housing projects’ time-to-completion.
The companies compare their approach to traditional home framing, where lumber is required. The cost of lumber fluctuates much more than the cost of AM materials, which makes project budgeting a dicey enterprise. Even once acquired, construction depends on labour hours: weather, illness and industrial conditions can affect project times. Not so with AM, where lead times may be predicted based on machine specifications and the size of the build.
The Palari Group is a California-based sustainable real estate developer. It builds, sells and manages homes in California with a focus on integrating technology, wellness and sustainability.
Mighty Buildings is a construction technology company based in Oakland, CA that creates beautiful, affordable, and sustainable homes using 3D printing, robotics, and automation. The company’s 3D printing technology allows it to produce modular houses and building components much faster than traditional construction. Its 3D printers use a proprietary thermoset composite material called Light Stone Material (LSM), that hardens when exposed to UV light, making it a more effective building material.
