Report of astonishment. It is a small concrete house from a floor of about 55 square meters – two bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom. A roof for a family. It was unveiled on the 12 march in Austin, Texas, by the u.s.-based NGO New Story, which struggles to provide decent housing for the poorly housed. A home so simple and yet exceptional : it has been printed in less than twenty-four hours, for a cost of $ 4,000 (less than 3 300 euros), by a 3D printer using concrete liquid. With this process, a New Story could be constructed in one hundred days, in el Salvador or Haiti, a village containing one hundred families, which, together with the traditional methods of construction the less expensive, would take eight months and cost $ 6,500 (5 300 euros) per unit.
To achieve this prototype, the New Story is based on a start-up of makers americans who are dedicated ” to the revolution of the construction of houses “, Icon. They are the ones who designed the massive 3D printer capable of manufacturing the housing. The specifications of the NGOS was strict : Icon was to create a software allowing residents to customize their home. No expensive hardware, and outside the target countries should not enter into the composition of the concrete. The printer had to be lightweight and easily transportable on roads free of dents, and operate with an electrical generator.
The bet has been taken. The printer, called Vulcan, is expected to soon be transported to el Salvador to build fifty house – a local workforce will add the roofs, doors and windows, electrical installation and sanitation. “Everyone deserves a healthy home, affordable and safe “, professes New Story, recalling that, according to a report by the World Resources Institute on urban housing, published in July 2017, $ 330 million families, or 1.2 billion people, live in habitats that are poor and slums….
