Australia’s first 3D printed social homes have just been completed in New South Wales, taking less than half time of a traditional build.
Constructed using 70 tonnes of concrete, the two homes were printed in under 20 days and delivered within 20 weeks.
With a tradie shortage and 1.2 million homes on the national agenda, could 3D printing be the solution to our housing crisis?
On Thursday morning’s episode of The Briefing, we sat down with Contour 3D CEO Nick Holden, one of the minds behind the project as well as UNSW Professor Hank Haeusler to unpack how safe these homes really are and whether we can expect to see more of them across the country.
To build a 3D printed home, Holden says the process is similar to what many know from desktop 3D printing, but on a much larger scale.
“It’s oversimplifying it to say it’s like a larger version of that,” he said.
“We set the printer up on site… you press the green button and off it goes. It just moves backwards and forwards, layer by layer.”
Holden says their fourth-generation printers can map the site, monitor weather data and ensure consistent print quality.
With the federal government aiming to build 1.2 million new homes in the coming years, experts say innovation like this could be critical to meeting demand.
“We’re having a labour shortage… and we have to build more homes,” Professor Haeusler said.
“I would argue we should not ignore 3D printing. It is probably playing an important role amongst other semi-automated or automated construction techniques.”
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