The 3D Housing 05 is a prototype home that was constructed and exhibited during the Milan 2018 design week. It was created to demonstrate the potential for new sustainable and affordable housing solutions using 3D printing technologies.
The challenge
CyBe Construction supplied the tools and materials to help clients Arup and CLS Architetti construct their vision of sustainability and design efficiency, conceptualized in the 3D Housing 05. The team set goals to construct a four-room home using only the exact amount of required material. They also aimed to reduce man hours and waste during construction. Equally important, they sought to ensure that the design of the 3D printed house was attractive for living, utilizing the raw aesthetic of the printing process.
The design
3D Housing 05 was named for its five themes: creativity, sustainability, flexibility, affordability, and rapidity. The layout of the house includes the essentials: a bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, and roof garden. After printing the elements and installing the utilities, finishing touches were completed by hand. It was exhibited during the Milan design week to demonstrate how sustainable, attractive, and affordable architectural approaches can be realized with 3D concrete printing.
The takeaways
The 3D Housing 05 2018 design prototype was the first house to be 3D printed on site in Europe. It showed that 3D printing technology can efficiently produce low-cost housing. At the time of the construction, the cost of building this design were half that of traditional construction due to the efficient use of materials and man hours. After its temporary display during the Milan design week, the structure was dismantled and reassembled on the outskirts of the city.
