According to New Story, a nonprofit pioneering solutions to end global homelessness,—the world’s first 3D printed community is officially underway with the first two homes already built in Mexico.
The resilient, 500-square-foot homes were each 3D printed in around 24 hours of print time across several days by ICON, a construction technologies company, and feature final construction build-out by ÉCHALE, New Story’s nonprofit partner in Mexico.
The built-to-last homes located in rural Tabasco, Mexico will be granted to local families currently living in extreme poverty and makeshift, unsafe shelter. The community of 3D printed homes will contain 50 homes in total.
After 18 months in planning, New Story and ICON completed the first two printed homes using the Vulcan II, a massive 3D printer that is designed to work under the constraints that are common in rural locations.
This printer, designed to tackle housing shortages for vulnerable populations, is the first of its kind.
The 3D printed homes feature two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and bath. Co-designed with feedback from the families who will live in them, the homes have been created to meet the specific needs of the community.
“I think it’s important to remember what makes this project different, what makes it matter,” said Alexandria Lafci, the COO of New Story. “We’re not an R&D company just for the sake of innovation, and we’re not here to turn a profit. These homes are for real people, with real needs, and everything we do is for them, and includes them in the process.”
New Story is a nonprofit serving families in need of shelter. Since their founding just five years ago, the team has built more than 2,700 homes, serving over 15,000 people, using traditional construction methods across Haiti, El Salvador, Bolivia, and Mexico.
