World's Largest 3D-Printed Neighborhood Nears Completion in Texas

Building a house can take 7-8 months to complete, according to the Census. With a 3D printer, the job can get done in just three weeks. But it takes a really, really big printer. 

At Wolf Ranch, construction crews are using a 4.75-ton, 45-foot-wide printer to build a 3D-printed neighborhood. Wolf Ranch is a planned 100-home subdivision in Texas. It will become the world’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood. They are just a handful of homes away from finishing the job. 

“Given the housing shortage that our country is dealing with, especially for affordably-priced homes, it’s never been more important for us to innovate,” Charlie Coleman told Forbes. Coleman is a president with Lennar. It's building Wolf Ranch in a partnership with ICON, a construction tech outfit, and the Bjarke Ingels Group architecture firm.

3D-printed homes can be cheaper than traditional houses. They cost up to 30% less to build. That's because they’re faster to construct, require fewer workers, and produce much less building waste. The result is a sturdy home with really thick walls. Those walls can withstand tornadoes. They also muffle the sound of heavy traffic and insulate residents from extreme Texas heat. The only downside, some say, is that the walls can sometimes block wireless connections.

"It feels like a fortress," Lawrence Nourzad told Reuters. He bought a Wolf Ranch home this summer.  

ICON has built 3D-printed homes in Texas since 2018. It hopes one day to use the technology in space. ICON is under contract with NASA to build structures on the moon. They plan to create a system to construct landing platforms, shelters, and other buildings.  

Reflect: If you could design your ideal home using new technologies, what features would you want to include and why?

Photo of Wolf Ranch from Reuters.