4 ms·
This design actually seems pretty interesting - one of the advantages of additive manufacturing by printing is that the resultant parts can be made with a stron
by bri3d 13y ago
This design actually seems pretty interesting - one of the advantages of additive manufacturing by printing is that the resultant parts can be made with a strong internal structure (triangles, honeycombs, etc.) while still being made of mostly air, an outcome that's difficult to achieve using molding/casting, forging, or subtractive manufacturing (milling).
I also suspect that the mostly-hollow walls have a decent R-value on their own.
I do wonder how this competes with straw bale / rammed earth, shipping containers, and other recycled, rapid prefab building manufacturing.
"Making cheap houses for the poor" seems to be a common design+architecture firm/student theme - does anyone know of any success/failure stories where these "cheap house" designs were applied in real life?
- stcredzero 13y agoMonolithic Domes did such a project in India. I have no idea how successful it turned out to be in the end.
- bkmartin 13y agoThis is very promising and on its way to commercial availability http://www.ruralstudio.org/initiatives/20k-house http://www.ruralstudio.org/initiatives/20k-house
- toomuchtodo 13y ago> I do wonder how this competes with straw bale / rammed earth, shipping containers, and other recycled, rapid prefab building manufacturing. On labor? Much cheaper. And labor is typically the greatest cost.
- Turing_Machine 13y agoIn First World countries, sure. In Third World countries, maybe not so much. A lot would depend on whether there was a local concrete industry. Edit: I'm not so sure that this is all that "eco-friendly" either -- cement production requires a lot of energy. That said, concrete is very durable (if made and poured properly) and might be a win in the long term.
- toomuchtodo 13y agoI should have said "skilled labor". Also, while cement production takes energy, it can be made in a carbon-neutral way. I'd argue its a win with regards to longevity vs energy input.
- hershel 13y agoFor the indian market Worldhaus.com has a roof/floor panels that reduce construction cost and time by around 40% and blocks that reduce construction time by 50%.