He moved into a community of 3D printed houses in Texas – see what it’s like inside

• Daniella Glaeze posts her 3D printed house on TikTok, gathering millions of views.

• Icon and Lennar are building a community of 100 3D printed homes in north Austin.

• The houses, made of “lavacrete” and have a biophilic design, offer energy efficiency.

3D printed houses can seem like they are from a future filled with hoverboards and holograms. For Daniella Glaeze, she is already living it up.

Glaeze started listing his 3D printed house on TikTok shortly after joining it in April. His videos showing the concrete house of the future have received several million views – and questions.

“I’m really excited to bring some of these things to viewers and anyone who’s interested in seeing how and how these houses work,” Glaeze told Business Insider in an interview over the summer.

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“Homes,” in general, because it’s not just their home – it’s the whole community. 3D printing construction icon has partnered with home construction giant Lennar to build a community of 100 3D printed homes, called Wolf Ranch, north of Austin.

According to Icon, 95 of the villages already have their walls painted since July and all 100 are expected to be completed by 2025. However, residents like Glaeze have already started to enter.

First-time homeowners Glaeze and her husband, both software engineers, became interested after seeing some of these homes on TikTok.

“We’re both in tech, so we know the kind of engineering and skill that goes into making something like this, so we’re really excited,” Glaeze said.

The houses were built using a large gantry-style printer, called the Vulcan Construction System, measuring 45.5 feet wide and 15.5 feet tall.

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In one TikTok with more than 4 million views, Glaeze visited his house, which has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a garage. Several commenters were concerned about the possibility of grime settling in the ribbed walls, with one writing, “I can’t stop thinking about all the dust that would collect on the walls.”

However, Glaeze assured that despite the undisturbed grooves, he had not encountered construction dust. He said that a towel or a hand towel got the job done.

“The areas on the wall are not like small, thin shelves,” he said. “Even if the dust would collect, I don’t think it would be very noticeable, and the walls are easy to clean, to be honest.”

A simple answer seemed to be reflected in many of his answers to some of the questions people brought up. Yes, you can hang things on the wall using a concrete bit. Yes, you can paint the walls with an airbrush. And yes, you can make the walls smooth by sanding or using plaster.

“The walls are the only thing that is concrete and stamped in the foundation,” Glaeze said. “Everything else, like the electricity, the roof, the doors – everything is like a traditional house.”

In fact, the only issue he has encountered has been the colorful WiFi connection due to the thick concrete material, which he tackled with a WiFi booster.

So why print your home?

“My favorite thing about living in a 3D printed room is the art,” Glaeze said. “I think it’s really cool; something new and different and innovative.”

Icon, which has signed houses with the construction company Bjarke Ingels Group, told Business Insider that in addition to increasing structural support, 3D printing provides freedom of construction that would be more expensive with traditional construction. They mainly rely on biophilic design that includes more organic forms with rounded edges and curves, the company said.

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Glaze said she likes that curved walls make “the whole house feel seamless and clean” and has been experimenting with different lighting designs that “look really cool with the steps.”

“It’s interesting to see how people create and decorate a house,” he said. “I have a neighbor who plays with different light and shapes and abstract art that pops off the walls.”

Glaeze also said the thick concrete material, dubbed “lavacrete” by Icon, is not only well insulated to keep temperatures cool in the Texas heat, but is also “strong” against storms and outside noise.

“They have a lot of drills and machines outside, and I can’t hear anything,” he said. “I can hear loud noises so being in this room is quiet and peaceful.”

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Icon said its wall systems are hurricane-tested and also announced in March a new lavacrete product called CarbonX, a low carbon emission cement material that will be used for the rest of the wall systems.

3D printing promises to be cheap – soon

While one of Glaeze’s motivations for moving in was the home’s “good interest rate,” the actual price is right in line with other properties in the area.

Since homes in this area are sold by Lennar, their prices are determined by the current market, Icon said. According to the company’s website, the homes currently available range from $489 to $558,000 – $508,890 – with more homes on the way.

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However, Icon reported that homeowners reported lower lifecycle costs and utility bills due to higher energy efficiency. It also said that 3D printing offers lower construction costs and faster development.

According to the company, its robotic system usually requires two people to operate, and each wall in Wolf Ranch took, on average, two weeks to complete.

“The one thing Icon told me is that they want to fight the housing crisis,” Glaeze said. “They want to have affordable and functional housing.”

In a follow-up interview with BI in November, Glaeze said the community is “growing rapidly.”

While phone service remains a problem, he said he “wouldn’t sell anything.”

“All in all, it was the best decision we made!”

Update November 30, 2024 – Added the latest quotes from Glaeze.

Read the first article on Business Insider