Dutch architects have begun building what they say will be “the world’s first 3-D printed house” on a small canal-side plot in Amsterdam. Hedwig Heinsman of Dus Architects said: “The building industry is one of the most polluting and inefficient industries out there. With 3-D printing, there is ‘zero waste’ and reduced transportation costs, while everything can be melted down and recycled. This could revolutionise how we make our cities.” The architects are employing a scaled-up version of an open-source 3D-printer called KamerMaker (room builder), which was developed with Dutch firm Ultimaker.
By the end of March, the company had been on site for three weeks and had produced a 3m-high sample corner of the house, which was ‘printed’ as a single piece weighing 180kg. Ms Heinsman said: “Each of the rooms in the house will be assembled digitally, using computer coding, before the whole thing is combined into one structure. The structure is ‘scripted’, which creates its strength but also generates ornament and ‘smart’ features such as angled shading.
“Each ‘printed’ room consists of several large blocks, which are joined together like Lego; they have internal cavities for pipes and wiring. The material being used is called Hotmelt; it is a bio-plastic mix — normally used as an industrial adhesive — containing 75% plant oil and reinforced with micro-fibres.
“We have also carried out tests with a translucent plastic and a wood-fibre mix, like a liquid form of MDF that can later be sawn and sanded. We will continue to test over the next three years, as the technology evolves. With a second nozzle, you could print multiple materials simultaneously, with structure and insulation side by side.”