Eindhoven University of Technology has set off on an ambitious new construction venture using 3D printing. By next year, the university hopes to have built fully habitable concrete housing for an entire community. Project Milestone is a collaboration between the university and 4 other companies. This marks the first time an organised effort of companies will result in a fully 3D printed housing community.
We’ve previously covered the various advancements in 3D printing and construction. In fact, we’ve even covered previous inventive new methods coming out of Eindhoven. This new project is the evolution of those same concepts but at a much grander scale.
“The idea came about two years ago during the Dutch Design Week… We have managed to control the printing technique and now we want to know what it is like to live in,” says Theo Salet, head of TU/e’s 3D Concrete Printing Center.
Project Milestone & the Future of Construction
Project Milestone will take place in multiple stages over the course of the year. The early stages will start with one storey housing, with floors printed off-site on university grounds. Subsequent floors will also become part of the design as later additions, ending production with a 3-floor structure through on-site development processes.
Theo Salet has also praised the industrious design and its potential for customisation saying “every new home can benefit from advancing insights and knowledge and can be adapted directly to the wishes of the residents“.
Even though local building regulations present certain limitations, the future residents have a lot of input into the design. Aside from the customer oriented process, there are numerous other advantages to this style of construction. Firstly, the Project Milestone houses are affordable and quicker to build than regular homes. Architects and designers also benefit from all the various improved precision tools in their toolbox. The project presents a new model for designer homes that could upend and disrupt construction as we know it.