3D-Printed Homes Solution for Public Housing

From decades of bad public housing policy to retrofitting the suburbs for sustainability to near consistent affordable housing shortages, innovative housing solutions are needed. Not looking to solve all that, but certainly falling somewhere within the mix is Mighty Buildings, an Oakland based 3D-printing company generating affordable homes. Like container homes, 3D printed homes seek to offer a generally affordable alternative to a small, sustainable home created in a non-traditional manner. 3D-printed homes are not a new concept but have mostly been stuck in the conceptual phase until recently. Mighty Buildings built a 79,000 square foot facility and received approval under the California Factory Built Housing program as well the first UL certification under the new standard for 3D printed construction. It can create 3D-printed homes quicker and more efficiently (it's literally a giant 3D-printer that prints homes) and sells its output for $115,000 for a studio at the low end to $285,000 for a 3b/2ba. Mighty Buildings has developed a new composite material to build its homes, making them more energy efficient and structurally sound. The new composite solves general issues with the existing 3D process that still involves concrete and requires greater time to install load-bearing and insulation. This new material uses UV-curing to harden as close to instantly as possible, allowing builders to bring the whole shell of the house, including ceilings and overhangs, walls and floors. It's more thermal resistant than concrete and is immediately load bearing. This is leading to a shift in using composite building materials to make cheaper, more energy efficient homes. Mighty Buildings' 3D-printed components can be produced with 95% fewer labor hours, two times as fast as regular construction and with 10 times less waste. Regardless of the benefits, 3D-printed homes will have to overcome the public fascination with container homes in order to gain true market traction.