Iowa's first 3D-printed home could be ready for its new owners by later this year.
The Iowa Economic Development Authority has approved $1.4 million for the Iowa State University (ISU) College of Design to purchase a 3D printer capable of producing concrete houses, according to a report with a video in the Des Moines Register. Its goal is to build a neighborhood of up to 34 3D-printed homes in Hamburg, a Southwest Iowa town that experienced a major flood in 2019.
The agency's director, Debi Durham, said the ISU also will develop a curriculum for training contractors on 3D printing and new state building codes in order to allow wide use of the technique in Iowa.
"Obviously we have got to figure out how to bend the cost curve on affordable housing," Durham told the board.
Pete Evans, assistant professor of industrial design at ISU, said 3D-printed homes offer significant cost savings because they can be finished in a week or two.
The concrete used in the 3D-printed structures also offers more sustainability and resiliency than lumber-framed homes provide, Evans said. You can read the entire story here.
Source: Des Moines Register
