Hannah Design Studio Builds Two-Story Home With 3D Printer, First In US

JAKARTA - 3D printers have taken house building to a whole new level literally. A massive printer weighing more than 12 tons has created what is believed to be the first 3D-printed two-story house in the United States.

The machine kept humming as it removed layers of concrete to build a 4,000-square-foot home in Houston.

"Construction will take a total of 330 hours to print," said architect Leslie Lok, co-founder of design studio Hannah and designer of the house.

“You actually can find a lot of 3D printed buildings in a lot of states,” says Lok. “One of the things about printing a second floor is you need, the machine…And of course, there are other challenges: structural challenges, logistical challenges when we print a two-story building.”

According to Lok, the three-bedroom, wood-framed house is half finished and sold to a family, who wished to remain anonymous.

The project is a two-year collaboration between Hannah, Peri 3D Construction, and Cive, a construction engineering company.

Hikmat Zerbe, Cive's head of structural engineering, hopes the innovative technology could one day help build multi-family homes more quickly and cheaply.

In addition, the concrete from the 3D-printed house is believed to be able to withstand hurricanes, major storms, and other bad weather in Texas that are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change.

As printers do all the heavy lifting, less workers are required at construction sites.

“Traditional construction, you know the rules, you know the game, you know the nature of the materials, the behavior of the materials. Here, everything is new,” said Zerbe. “The material is new, although concrete is generally an old material, 3D printed concrete is something new.”