Canada's First & Largest 3D Printed Housing Community
Renewable energy and real estate firm Horizon Legacy Group has unveiled plans to build Canada’s “first and largest 3D printed neighborhood.” As part of its ‘Marco Polo 100’ challenge, the company is offering $10 million to fund the R&D of any advanced technologies or building approaches, capable of erecting housing at a cost of just $100/sq ft. Having selected its contest finalists, the group is now tasking them with proving the scalability of their entries, in a final stage that could see six family homes 3D printed into a cosy waterfront community in Ontario. The Horizon Legacy Group is seeking to identify new eco-friendly approaches to construction. Founded initially as a conventional house building firm, the Horizon Legacy Group has changed its approach over the last decade to focus more on green energy and construction technologies. In doing so, the company has increasingly begun to develop solar, wind and water power-generating technologies, and attempted to seek out new approaches to building sustainable eco-friendly real estate. According to the group, the construction industry is making “very little progress” when it comes to house building processes, and many firms still use “century-old technologies.” To help accelerate the sector’s adoption of digital techniques, the Horizon Legacy Group has therefore set up its ‘Marco Polo 100’ contest, through which it aims to develop approaches that represent a “qualitative leap” for the industry. Opened in October last year to designers, start-ups and industry pros alike, the competition’s first phase received 3D printing and robotics-based entries from more than 400 people in 60 countries. Having been assessed by a 12-member jury, with construction, 3D printing and engineering expertise, these approaches have now been whittled down to just six, which will enter initial trials over the next year. Horizon Legacy Group has chosen its finalists based on criteria that are designed to reward those processes that yield “livable and appealing” housing, and are compliant with Canadian building regulations. Prior to selection, teams had to submit a cohesive work plan, covering the predicted cost and schedule for creating both a small prototype, and a more substantive multi-storey build in Ontario.
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