One of the most exciting possibilities of 3D-printed architecture is that it could revolutionise affordable housing. Portugal's Havelar shows that this could soon be within reach with its first 3D-printed house, which took just 18 hours to print.
High construction speed
The unnamed 80-square-metre house has two bedrooms and is located in Porto. The house was built with COBOD's BOD2 printer, which was also used for Europe's largest 3D printed building. According to COBOD, Havelar houses can be produced for €1,500 per square metre, which compares favourably with the average of €3,100 per square metre in Porto. This cheaper price tag is largely due to the construction speed of the 3D printer, which follows a blueprint and extrudes a cement-like mixture in layers from a nozzle, building up the basic structure of the house.
Although the printing process itself took 18 hours, after that, of course, windows, doors, wall finishes, the roof and everything else had to be fitted or installed. Including this work, the whole project took less than two months.
The house takes the form of a simple single-storey house, and its recognisable ribbed walls show that it was built with a 3D printer. The interior is built around a central kitchen and dining room, with adjacent living room, two bedrooms and a bathroom.
While this is the first 3D-printed house Havelar has produced, looking to the future, the company hopes to scale up production. In doing so, the company aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 by using alternative building materials such as earth and straw.
