A company has listed what is reported to be the first 3D printed house in the United States. The property, built by SQ4D and located in Long Island, New York, has received a certificate of occupancy and is already listed on MLS for sale as new construction for $299,999 – which the company claims is 50% cheaper than regular new homes in the area.
SQ4D is a New York company that focuses on engineering and building high-quality sustainable houses with an autonomous robotic 3D construction system (ARCS). The company uses an approach where robots build the foundations, exterior walls, interior walls, utility conduits, and more, which reduces labor to three people, uses far less energy, and cuts construction times.
Essentially, the approach uses more expensive materials and robots to cut down on construction time and worker cost, so it’s best suited in areas where labor costs are high — like New York, for instance.
However, the technology will be soon be able to eliminate more expensive and inferior building materials, SQ4D believes, making 3D structures even more cost-effective. Using concrete reduces the cost by at least 30%, as well as making the structure more fire resistant than traditional methods. Here’s a video presentation.
The 3D house that just entered the market in Long Island has 1,400 square feet of living space and a 750 square car garage. It includes three bedrooms and two full bathrooms, featuring an open floor plan. It’s fully built with concrete and includes a 50-year limited warranty that SQ4D gives on its 3D printed structure.
Of course, in addition to the technology (which is innovative), the house also comes with some bragging rights and a lot of marketing.
“Own a piece of history! This is the world’s first 3D printed home for sale,” the listing of the house states. “This home is carefully developed to exceed all energy efficiency codes and lower energy costs. SQ4D provides a stronger build than traditional concrete structures while utilizing a more sustainable building process.”
Stephen King of Realty Connect, the Zillow Premier agent who has the listing, said in a statement that the US$300,000 market price is actually 50% below the cost of similar newly-constructed homes in Riverhead, the neighborhood where the house is located. That’s why this is “a major step” to address the “affordable housing crisis plaguing Long Island,” he added.
3D printing has been consistently making headlines over the past few years, slowly becoming a reality for us commoners. Companies are building houses either fully on 3D or with most of their elements made out of a printer. In Mexico, the world’s first 3D printed neighborhood is already moving forward, while Germany’s first 3D residential building is under construction.
But it’s not just housing, it can be almost anything. With the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers discovered they could print face shields and ventilator parts much faster and cheaper than with regular methods. A 3D printer even built a miniature heart, using a patient’s own cells, as well as human cartilage.
This means that whether you have the almost $300,000 to buy the house now on the market or not, you have plenty of options to choose from in the 3D world. A study a few years ago even showed that a printer can make anyone at least a 1000% return on investment over five years. So it might be time to get on the 3D printing world.
