Alquist unveils plans for the world's largest 3D printed community

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By Matthew Griffin Industrial Revolution 10th July 2022

WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

3D printed homes are faster and cheaper to build than traditional homes, and this tech’s starting to go mainstream.

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3D printed buildings, that can be constructed up to 90 percent faster and cheaper than those made using traditional building techniques, are taking off everywhere with new communities, futuristic space habitats, and even government buildings being printed in lots of different countries now – there are even plans to 3D print a giant 11 storey skyscraper in the works in, where else, Dubai.

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Now, trying to make the trend mainstream after the US’s largest house builder Lennar partnered with ICON to print future communities, 3D printing company Alquist has said that it will build 200 homes around southwest Virginia and will kick off the project this week with a demonstration in Pulaski near the site of its first two 3D printed homes.

‘Project Virginia’ follows Alquist’s recent Habitat for Humanity project in Williamsburg, Virginia, which it said is the first owner occupied 3D printed home in the world – even though that honour actually goes to a French couple who bought their own 3D printed house in France a couple of years back now.

Alquist, which uses Black Buffalo 3D’s Nexcon printer, said that its mission is to solve the housing crisis in rural and underserved areas of America. It wants to lower the cost of housing and infrastructure in economically distressed and under-served communities.

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Alquist chose Pulaski because demand for housing is soaring there thanks to the more than 3,000 new jobs that Volvo, Blue Star Manufacturing, and American Glove Innovations will create in the area. Also, Virginia’s New River Valley was recently identified as having one of the highest growth rates in the nation for tech jobs in the US.

“With migration patterns shifting due to pandemic, climate, and economic concerns, smaller communities like Pulaski have a huge need – and an amazing opportunity – to develop affordable housing for new residents,” said Zachary Mannheimer, founder and CEO of Alquist 3D. “By 3D-printing these homes, Alquist and our partners will be accelerating Pulaski and Roanoke’s ability to harness current trends and attract new workers to this wonderful community in southwestern Virginia.”

Printing a house is just like printing on paper, only supersized, said Alquist. The ‘ink’ is reinforced concrete, which is layered one row at a time as a home’s exterior walls are printed.

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3D printed walls can be built in days instead of weeks, it said. It took only about 22 hours to print the exterior shell of the three bedroom, two bathroom home that Alquist built for Habitat for Humanity. 3D printing also enables builders to use less timber, which it said is a huge benefit since availability and prices have been highly volatile.

Matthew Griffin / About Author

Matthew Griffin, multi-award winning Futurist and named Futurist of the Year 2024, has been described as a "Walking encyclopaedia of the future" by NASA and a futurist polymath. One of the world's most renowned futurists and strategic foresight experts Matthew is the 15 times author of the blockbuster "Codex of the Future" series, and is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working across the next 50 years, XPotential University, the world's first free futures and foresight university, and the World Futures Forum which works with the United Nations to solve the worlds greatest challenges. Matthew is an in demand international keynote, acclaimed university lecturer and mentor, and host of the hit Fanatical Futurist podcast.

A rare talent in his past Matthew helped build and run several multi-billion dollar business units for Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, and his ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends on global business, culture, and society has earned him a powerful reputation and a roster of clients that include royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77+ governments, and many of the world's most respected brands including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi Group, Coca Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Disney, Dow, EY, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, and many others. He was also the only futurist invited to talk at the UN COP28 held in Dubai alongside world leaders.

Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.