(Chesky / Shutterstock.com)
Today, you can 3D print almost anything from medical devices to faux meat. And now, you can even 3D print homes. And Czech sculptor Michal Trpak, with the help of a team of architects, is doing just that.
But he is not printing a typical house, According to Kafkadesk, Trpak is creating a floating 3D-printed house covered in plants. The one-of-a-kind house is being printed in Ceske Budejovice. Intended to be a countryside home housing a small family, the unique project is being called “Protozoon” after the single celled creature and is financed by the Czech building society.
“I dare say it’s the first-ever floating 3D-printed building in the world,” Trpak told Kafkadesk saying he drew inspiration from 3D-printed housing projects in the Netherlands.
So, why build a floating 3D-printed house? Trpak didn't want to wait to secure a building permit, which can take up to two years. Obtaining consent from the navigation body was much faster, he said. What’s more, he didn't have a plot of land to place it on.
Consequently, he decided to make the 3D-printed house float on the picturesque Vltava River in Prague. The house will be transported there, in July 2020, in three parts because it weighs a remarkable 35 tons. The floating house will be installed on pontoons where it will be displayed to the public.
According to Inhabit, this unique floating home is eco-friendly too. The home will be partially self-sufficient and have environmental features like a recirculated shower, a green roof, and water reservoirs for clean and gray water.
When the home is complete, it will have a concrete bedroom and bathroom that is connected to a wooden core complete with large windows and a wooden roof.
The construction will create less waste and will take fewer workers, Trpak told Inhabit than conventional homes. And when it eventually wears out— after around 100 years – it can be demolished and the material can be recycled into a new home.
While the average house takes four to seven months to build, this 43-square meter home took just 48 hours to print. A robotic arm built the entire house at an impressive 15 centimeters per second according to The Jakarta Post, and curves are no problem.
The unique structure, inhabit said, is being made of a special concrete with nano-polypropylene fibers that are sensitive to temperature changes and are very strong. It will actually begin to harden just 24 hours after it is printed. The house will be able to be lived in after two months.
It took a lot of trial and error to get it right, which is why this prototype costs 3.5 million Czech crowns ($127,500) to construct. The houses are expected to be very affordably priced in the near future.
Overall, the advantages of building 3D-printed houses far outweigh any obstacles. If the floating home is well received, it could usher in a new era of affordable housing solutions in Europe and around the world. What more could you ask for?
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