3D printing a house in Amsterdam

Dutch design firm Dus Architects recently announced plans to 3D print a canal house in Amsterdam.

As SingularityHub’s Jason Dorrier reports, the house won’t be printed in a single piece, but rather, room by room over the course of three years.

“Each of the house’s 13 rooms will be printed separately and assembled on site,” writes Dorrier. “The 3D printing process will combine the traditionally separate elements of inner and outer façade, ornamentation and structure. The printer will leave space for key infrastructural elements like pipes and wiring. Concrete will provide insulation and structural support.”

Dus Architects have already printed a three-meter high, 180 kilogram piece of the house using bio-plastic made of plant oils and microfibers. At this stage, say the engineers, the project is an experiment to determine what methods and materials work best.

“With 3D-printing, there is zero waste, reduced transportation costs,” Hedwig Heinsman of Dus told SingularityHub. “Everything can be melted down and recycled. This could revolutionize how we make our cities.”

Indeed, Dus envisions a future where individuals could theoretically select pre-designed rooms in an online marketplace. The architects would refine the design and then simply hit the print button.

“Such buildings might even be printed, shredded, and printed anew—using the same material,” added Dorrier.

The full text of “The Dutch Are 3D Printing a House” can be read on SingularityHub here.