STORY: :: University of Bio-Bio
This machine is building a 3D-printed concrete home in Chile.
The team behind it says it’s Latin America’s first such building.
A robot “printer” pours layers of concrete according to a digital plan controlled by a computer in the city of Concepcion.
The end result? This so-called “seed house.”
Project director Claudia Munoz says it took 29 hours to print the walls and a couple mornings to put them together.
She’s with the University of Biobio’s architecture faculty, which unveiled the finished home this month.
It covers an area of about 325 square feet.
The house is on land belonging to a private construction company, which was also involved with the project.
While there is plenty left to be proven about cost and reliability, university faculty member Rodrigo Garcia says the tech is flexible.
“This is very revolutionary technology because it changes the traditional way of building, where plans are made, products are quoted, a large number of elements have to be purchased, and the land prepared, which is time-consuming.”
Garcia adds that the project has the potential to be a home-grown solution to housing.
“We have many housing demands in Latin America, and we are used to importing things; standard solutions often come from other countries. The interesting thing here is how a private company, a public university, and state funds have come together to address this complex change,
:: University of Bio-Bio
which needs to be adapted to our Chilean reality—rooted in earthquakes and our variety of climates.”
