![]() NASA has announced a series of Artemis missions with the goal of returning American astronauts to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years, this time to stay. ![]() Icon has partnered with NASA to pioneer 3D printing on the moon. NASA's partnership with Icon to bring 3D printing to the moonīallard, who once applied to be an astronaut but was rejected, is thinking beyond firsts on Earth. The 3D-printed homes will start in the high $400,000 range. ![]() Icon is printing 100 houses as part of a huge, new development north of Austin, Texas called Wolf Ranch. The technique is being used to build what will soon be the world's first large community of 3D-printed homes. Roofs, windows, doors and insulation are added the old-fashioned way. It takes about two weeks to print a full, 160-bead house.įor now, Icon is only 3D printing the walls of its houses. Steel is added every 10th layer for strength, and cutouts are left for plumbing and electricity. By the time one complete pass is done, the layer has hardened enough to support the next bead. Each layer is called a "bead" and takes about 30 minutes to lay down, Conner Jenkins, Icon's senior construction project manager, said. The printer follows a pre-programmed floor plan, with a nozzle that squeezes out the wet, concrete mixture layer by layer. The mixture is then pumped to a robotic printer. Icon's process starts with one-and-a-half-ton sacks of dry concrete powder, which get mixed with water, sand and additives. Ballard also argues that 3D printing generates less waste. Conversely, 3D-printed walls are built with a single material, which is delivered by a robot. "And I would certainly say, and I think you would agree, it is existentially urgent that we shelter ourselves without ruining the planet we have to live on."Īs Ballard explains it, conventionally built walls involve multiple steps and building materials: siding, moisture barrier, sheathing, studs, drywall, float, tape and texture. And on top of that, it's an ecological disaster," Ballard said. "We are not succeeding at something we have to get right. To cut costs, Ballard says developers often trim quality on materials and labor, and they create cookie cutter developments. He argues that traditional stick frame housing is susceptible to hurricanes, fires, and termites. "But once this technology arrives in its full force, I think it fundamentally transforms the way we build."īallard views 3D printing as a needed paradigm shift in the construction industry. "I would resign if I was only allowed to build luxury homes, and we would go bankrupt right now if all we built was 3% margin homes for homeless people," Ballard said. That's how Tim Shea, a 73-year-old man who'd battled heroin addiction for decades, in 2020 became the first person in this country to live in a 3D-printed home. ![]() Icon 3D printed a welcome center and six small houses at Community First! Village. Their first small 3D printed home, which was unveiled at the SXSW festival in 2018, landed them a meeting with Alan Graham, the founder of a first-of-its-kind village called Community First! Village, which provides small homes to several hundred formerly homeless men and women. When he was approved to go to seminary, he sought guidance from the Episcopal bishop of Texas, who, he says, told him, "Jason, I want you to pursue this housing thing like this is your priesthood this is your vocation."īallard co-founded Icon in 2017 with Evan Loomis, a college friend with a background in finance, and Alex Le Roux, a Baylor engineering graduate. Along the way, my hometown gets destroyed by a hurricane." And so now I'm thinking about homelessness and I'm working in sustainable building. I got involved in sustainable building, and I worked at the local homeless shelter. "But along the way, I started just, getting this, like, itch about housing not being right," he said. Ballard's initial career plan had been to become an Episcopal priest.
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