The first new homes in the world’s first 3D-printed neighborhood were recently constructed in rural Mexico. Each home takes 24 hours to construct with a 33-foot-long 3-D printer. The owners can choose a small shack or upgrade to a two-bedroom house.
The concept could be a solution for a global housing shortage. The project was conceived by a non-profit that has already built more than 2,700 homes in Haiti, El Salvador, Bolivia, and Mexico using traditional construction. The new Mexican neighborhood will have 50 homes, and will be the first community to use this type of technology at scale.
The printer works by squirting a concrete mixture in layers to build floors and walls. Software monitors the weather conditions, and the machine can adjust the mixture according to the humidity in the air.