California Construction News staff writer
Mighty Buildings, an Oakland-based technology company has completed a 1,171-sq. ft. 3-D printed home in Desert Hot Springs. Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects (EYRC) designed Quatro, a two-bedroom, two-bath home designed to “produce as much energy as it consumes.”
It’s the first of 20 homes to be built in the community each with an additional accessory dwelling unit – for a total of 40 3D-printing volumes – as well as a swimming pool, pergola, hot tub and fire pit.
“We are excited to be the first company in the world to complete what we believe to be the sustainable housing standard of the future,” Mighty Buildings CEO Slava Solonitsyn said in a statement. “As a result, housing developers will no longer have to choose between profitability, quality, design and protecting the planet.”
The exterior composite stone wall panels were 3D printed in a factory in Oakland. The proprietary material – known as Light Stone – is a concrete alternative with four times more tensile and flexural strength, 30 per cent less weight and less carbon dioxide, according to Mighty Buildings.
The home’s light-gauge steel roof cassettes and plumbing/mechanical core module were also prefabricated off-site, allowing the home’s components to be installed on its concrete slab foundation in less than a day.
According to the company, net-zero design is accomplished in three ways: efficient materials, integrated technologies and additional components.
The design also accommodates solar technology and high-performance windows.
“Our manufacturing technology features a high-degree of automation and advanced robotics, enabling us to reduce the completion time by more than half,” Mighty Buildings said.
“The entire home can be constructed within 4-5 months, significantly accelerating onsite completion and resulting in happier home buyers, more productive onsite workers and higher returns for developers.”
Mighty Buildings also designed a 15-home 3D printed neighbourhood in Rancho Mirage, California with the Palari Group as developers. Meanwhile, in Houston, design studio Hannah is constructing the first multi-storey 3D-printed home to be created on-site in the United States.
