Europe's first fully 3D printed house gets first tenants in Netherlands; see pictures

A Dutch couple recently moved into Europe’s first fully 3D-printed house which looks like a giant boulder with windows. According to AP, Retired Elize Lutz and Harrie Dekkers’ new home is a 94-square meter (1,011-square foot) two-bedroom bungalow. Despite its natural look, the house is actually at the cutting edge of housing construction technology in the Netherlands and it was printed at a nearby factory. 

Lutz said, “It’s special. It’s a form that’s unusual, and when I saw it for the first time, it reminds me of something you knew when you were young”. 

The house was built in just five days. For now, it looks strange with its layers of printed concrete clearly visible even in a few places where printing problems caused imperfections. However, Lutz and Harrie, who are former shopkeepers from Amsterdam, called it “beautiful” and added that the house has the feel of a bunker and feels safe. 

Lutz and Harrie’s house is made up of 24 concrete elements printed by a machine that squirts layer upon layer of concrete before the finishing touches, including a roof. The layers give a ribbed texture to its walls, inside and out. Moreover, the house also complies will all Dutch construction codes and the printing process took just 120 hours. 

The 3D house is the product of collaboration between city hall, Eindhoven’s Technical University and construction companies called Project Milestone. Now, they are also planning to build a total of five houses, honing their techniques with each one. They even revealed that future homes will have more than one floor. 

A 'sustainable' option

Amid the growing population, Netherlands needs thousands of new homes, therefore, the country is seeking ways to tackle a chronic housing shortage. As per reports, Theo Salet, who is a professor at Eindhoven’s Technical University, is working in 3D printing in a bid to find ways of making concrete construction more sustainable. He said that houses can be 3D printed in the future using 30 per cent less material. 

“Why? The answer is sustainability,” Salet said. “And the first way to do that is by cutting down the amount of concrete that we use”.

Salet explained that printing can deposit the material only where you need it - saving waste. Additionally, a new generation of start-ups in the US also are among the companies looking to bring futuristic properties to the mainstream. In a report, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency said that education and innovation can spur the construction industry in the long term, but other measures are needed to tackle Dutch housing shortages, including reforming zoning.

(Inputs & images: AP)