Family Becomes First Occupants in 3D-Printed Home

[Monirul Islam]

A family in France will soon be the first in the world to move into a house completely printed and constructed from a 3D printer. The four-bedroom home in Nantes, France, sits at 1,022 square feet, and is a collaboration between the city council, a housing association, and the University of Nantes. Francky Trichet, the council lead on technology and innovation, says he believes the 3D-printed home process will disrupt the construction industry and claims the project's purpose was to see whether this kind of build could become mainstream for new housing as well as for other communal buildings.

"For 2,000 years, there hasn't been a change in the paradigm of the construction process. We wanted to sweep this whole construction process away," Trichet told BBC. "That's why I'm saying that we're at the start of a story. We've just written, 'Once upon a time.'"

The printed home was finished in 54 hours, but four more additional months were needed for contractors to put in things such as windows, doors and the roof. The total building cost of £176,000—around $233,500—makes the construction of the 3D home 20 percent cheaper than a similar home built using more traditional procedures.

Nordine and Nouria Ramdani, along with their three children, were the lucky family selected to live in the futuristic home. The building team now believes it could print the same home again in only 33 hours.

Source: Realtor Magazine, July 6, 2018