50 Low-Income Families In Mexico Will Get to Move Into a 3D-Printed Homes

There are almost 600,000 homeless people in the United States and millions more all over the world. It isn’t very easy to try to comprehend those numbers and even more of a challenge to figure out how to help. There are those, however, who are making a difference, and it’s an incredible one at that. A couple of nonprofits and companies have merged their creative minds to help homeless people not just here in the U.S. but in Mexico as well.

A community in Tabasco, Mexico, is getting a makeover of sorts, where currently impoverished families reside. A company is manufacturing 50 3D-printed homes to replace unsafe and makeshift shelters.

You’re probably wondering what a 3D home looks like, and how it’s even possible. Well, through the power of technology, a new kind of construction is now available that not only is environmentally friendly but sustainable too. You may have already heard of 3D printing that has brought forth a new way of making ideas into tangible realities. We’ve seen 3D printed objects, and printing technology has also advanced to the medical field. Now that revolutionary device is constructing homes.

Just the same as an architect draws up a blueprint for a new building, that same blueprint data is fed to the printer, and the result is a home for people who need it most.

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Here’s how CNN explains the process: “The 33-foot printer pipes out a concrete mix that hardens when it dries, building the walls one layer at a time. It takes 24 hours over several days to build two houses at the same time.” ICON is the company that created the big 3D printer, and New Story is the organization that finds the people who get to live in these homes.

“Imagine if we could slash the cost and time it takes to build a home while improving quality and customization,” Alexandria Lafci, COO, New Story, said in a press release. “This 3D home printer has that potential. Change is an open-source pursuit, so we are not working with ICON to bring this technology to only New Story projects, we are bringing it to the world. Our goal is to power our sector, every government and organization building homes for the poor, to do their best work.”

Some families in Mexico have already moved in, as well in Austin, and there are more communities to come. We love seeing this kind of innovation that is not just advancing the lives of people but changing the way we view homes and neighborhoods.

Here’s a video to show you exactly how these homes get built. It’s quite fascinating.