The Netherlands' first 3D printed home has been put into use. Tenants were handed the key to their new home by housing corporation Vesteda on 30 April.
The house is part of Project Milestone, where five 3D printed homes will be realised within it. The homes are being built one by one. Lessons learned from the construction of the previous home(s) will be used in the construction of the remaining homes. For instance, this first home was 3D-printed off-site in a factory. The resulting components were then shipped to Eindhoven and assembled here.
Project Milestone
Project Milestone is a joint construction and innovation project by Eindhoven University of Technology, Van Wijnen, Saint-Gobain Weber Beamix, Vesteda, Eindhoven municipality and Witteveen+Bos. The parties jointly realised a detached single-storey house of 94 square metres net floor area. The home in Eindhoven's Bosrijk district.
The home is shaped like a large boulder, in keeping with the natural location where it is located. According to Vesteda, the house features a "generous living room" and two bedrooms. Extra-thick insulation combined with a connection to the heat grid ensure energy efficiency, with an energy performance coefficient of 0.25.
3D printed elements
The house is printed in concrete. The house consists of 24 concrete elements. These were printed layer by layer at a 3D printing factory in Eindhoven. The elements were then placed on a truck and driven to the construction site. Here, they were placed on a foundation. The house was then fitted with a roof and window frames, among other things, and further finished.
The 3D-printed house is shaped like a boulder. This included experimenting with printing tilting walls, which was challenging. The participants report that they have now mastered this technique and argue that the project opens the door to houses with non-traditional shapes. Among other things, this will enable personalised designs and give more flexibility in design. Homes should also be able to be realised significantly faster by 3D printing them.
Sustainability
The technology is also interesting in terms of sustainability. The parties involved point out that with 3D concrete printing, less concrete is needed to build a home. In time, the parties hope 3D printing will also help solve the housing shortage in the Netherlands.
Pieter Knauff, Chief Investment Officer at Vesteda: "The freedom of form that 3D printing in concrete creates creates a huge new space of possibilities to design and experience a home. At the same time, this new technology contributes to the necessary sustainability of the construction sector, the acceleration of building production and the control of construction costs, which is much needed to continue building affordable housing."
3D concrete printing in construction
Bas Huysmans, CEO Weber Benelux: "By printing curved, insulated and self-supporting wall elements in three planes, in this project we have taken important steps in the further development of 3D concrete printing in construction. Together with all partners, we completed a challenging project and created a very special home. I think we will soon be proud to add the Milestone houses to the list of iconic projects in Eindhoven".
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
