3D printing a full-scale, inhabitable house

Two Dutch architectural firms – DUS Architects and Universe Architecture – are preparing to design and print the world’s first full-scale, inhabitable house.

“It’s kind of Lego for adults,” Hans Vermeulen, one of three architects at DUS, told DW.de. Vermeulen says he wants to print, piece by piece, a classic Dutch canal house which will then be designated as an information center and resource for those interested in honing their 3D printing skills.

To achieve this architectural feat, DUS built a 3D printer dubbed the”KamerMaker,” or “Room Builder.” Measuring six meters tall, the shiny device is reportedly one of the largest 3D printers in the world – nearly large enough to print an entire room.

“We thought, OK, we are architects, we have to build a big one if we want to print a house. It’s printing and it’s working, but it’s not yet working perfectly, it’s not fast enough,” Vermeulen explained. “[Really], we want to see what this technique actually can mean for housing seven billion people on this planet – because at the moment, with the current construction techniques and how we play with resources in this world, it’s not sufficient enough.”

Janjaap Ruijssenaars, the lone architect at Universe Architecture, expressed similar sentiments about his 3D printed Landscape House.

“We’ve been approached by a bank from South Africa to print houses for the poor,” he said. “You could actually have the printer print a whole street in one go. This might become one of the larger applications of the technique.”

The full text of “Dutch architects say 3D print technology could solve the world’s housing problems” is available here on DW.de.

As previously discussed on Bits & Pieces, the Maker Movement has used Atmel-powered 3D printers like MakerBot and RepRap for some time now, but it is quite clear that 3D printing recently entered a new and important stage in a number of spaces, including the medical sphere and architectural arena.