ICON: 3D printing homes for the homeless

Ryan Hoover

Product Hunt

This is incredible. I'm curious how durable these buildings are compared to traditional builds.

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7yr ago

Seth Louey

Operation Pie

@rrhoover looks like it's all concrete except the roof. Feel like the structure would stay in tact, but roof might come off with hurricane winds.

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7yr ago

Matthew Marshall

ICON

Maker

@rrhoover hey Ryan! Matthew, one of the cofounders, at New Story the nonprofit that partnered with Icon to develop the first 3D printed home for the developing world :) Before we even started on this project we knew one thing could not be compromised in any way - quality. The traditional homes we currently construct are built to survive hurricanes and earthquakes. So this was our starting point. We're happy to report that the 3D printed concrete passed the concrete PSI test with a 3X stronger rating than a traditional concrete block. In our next phase of testing, we'll continue seismic testing. So the short answer to your question: yes, these homes are durable and built to last.

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7yr ago

Marvin L Eason

@rrhoover @matth3wmarshall Remarkable work you guys are doing. Commendable!

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7yr ago

Edin Vejzovic

@rrhoover Probbably better than the wooden houses that people live in in the US

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7yr ago

Matthew Marshall

ICON

Maker

Hi PH! This is Matthew, one of the cofounders, at New Story the nonprofit that partnered with Icon to develop the first 3D printed home for the developing world :) I'd like to share why we decided to invest in an innovation like this. For context, in 3 years, we've built over 1,000 homes in 11 communities around the world through local partners. The challenge we face is monumental; there are more than a billion people across the globe living without safe shelter. To make a dent in that number, our ability to scale up has to change. Steady, linear improvements will never reach the total addressable market of families in need. We believe R&D and product innovation is essential with a problem of this magnitude. We have to take big swings with forward-thinking technology to achieve a quantum leap in speed, affordability, and quality. Our goal is to help power anyone building homes for the poor — governments and non-profits alike — to do their best work. As we make these strides, it means more families around the world will have safe shelter and can better actualize their potential. We’re looking at a one billion person deficit of a basic human need. We believe maintaining the status quo is irresponsible — it’s terrifying to us — as it’ll never tackle this deficit. Our hypothesis today is that this breakthrough to reach more families can be achieved through robotics and 3D home printing. A year ago, the technology we needed didn’t exist. That’s when we began working with ICON to create a solution to a seemingly unsolvable problem. The exciting result is “the Vulcan,” a 3D Home Printer designed to print a home for less than $4,000 in less than 24 hours. This robotic breakthrough delivers: * Cost decrease (from $6,500/home to ~$4,000 and even lower future cost) * Speed increase (from ~15 days to 12–24hrs to build one home) * Improved quality and customization of the home unit for families More here -> newstorycharity.org/3d-home We'd love to answer any and all questions.

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7yr ago

Drew Meyers

Horizon

@matth3wmarshall So freaking brilliant. I run a private real estate tech mastermind group (www.geekestate.com), and I talked about this announcement in the weekly newsletter I sent to members today. I love everything about it. The world needs more people tackling huge challenges like this.

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7yr ago

Shlok Vaidya

So I'm in Austin, have a 7000 square foot lot, and a budget for this. What are the obstacles to making this a reality in my backyard?

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7yr ago

ICON

3D printing homes for the homeless

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