Exposing 5 LIES about 3D Printed Concrete Homes

it may look like toothpaste but this 3d printing technology is spitting out a 1900 square foot house 3d printed concrete homes are one of the hottest topics on social media right now youtube facebook linkedin and twitter are flooded with posts about 3d printed homes this construction technique has millions of adoring fans across the world unfortunately the space is littered with fake news and hyperbole and a lack of critique sounds familiar some of the claims made by these tech companies and the media just make me wanna so in this video we're gonna analyze the claims made not from a pessimistic point of view but a realistic one where we look at the advantages and the drawbacks of the technology the first claim is that 3d printed homes can be built for less than four thousand dollars this is a flat out lie that started circulating in 2018 journalists misled people for the sake of clicks by claiming that icon 3d based in austin texas had a ten thousand dollar tiny home prototype that could cost around three thousand five hundred or four thousand dollars when printed in large quantities jared gross who runs a youtube channel on 3d printed structures interviewed the owners and the marketing team of icon 3d they categorically denied these claims a lack of knowledge of the construction field is not an excuse to publish articles and videos with outrageous claims the cost of 3d printed homes is a hotly debated topic because it is a new field with many unknown variables every company uses a different printer and a concrete mix and no one has printed homes in large quantities icon 3d logan architecture and three strands have teamed up to build a thousand square foot houses with two bedrooms and one and a half baths for 450 000 in austin only the first floor is made of 3d printed concrete the upper floor has conventional stick framing the idea that 3d printed homes are the cheapest option in every market across the world is simply untrue before the blip in lumber prices stick framing was the cheapest option in the states cmu block construction is the cheapest option in the middle east like the uae steel or masonry bricks are the cheapest option in other areas 3d printing can have lower labor costs but there are other expenses to consider the cost of electricity to run the machine which is exorbitant in some countries the cost of renting or buying the printer and the cost of hiring specialists to calibrate and run the machine the next false claim is that homes can be printed in 24 hours 3d printers create walls not homes there are dozens of other components that go into building a house windows doors roofs electrical wiring plumbing insulation hvac systems interior walls finishes mill work etc the 24 hour timeline also ignores the time taken to ship the machine it set it up calibrate it and dismantle it printing the first story of these homes in austin took five to seven days a viral video from 2014 claimed that a chinese company winston printed 10 houses in 24 hours a couple of facts are conveniently left out they had four 3d printers running they printed just wall sections and the houses were assembled by humans after the concrete had cured the glass inserts and the roof were built by humans and they have no plumbing a family in france was the first to move into a 3d printed home in 2017. their home took 54 hours to print and cost 176 000 pounds 20 cheaper than identical construction the walls of this home are made of two layers of poly isoform with poured concrete in the voids installing windows doors a roof appliances and mill work took another four months the outside of the home was manually finished with smooth plaster poly iso needs to be sprayed in a controlled environment so the entire site was tinted you know what could be a better alternative stacking icf blocks with plastic webs to nail or screw into the next claim is that 3d printing will make jobs unnecessary we are a long way off from that potentially happening i think there's a common thread behind all these misleading claims the productivity of the construction industry is lagging far behind others outsiders from the tech field want to fix it by disrupting and automating the entire industry without having any knowledge of its intricacies they think that 3d printing is to construction as tesla is to automation a tesla vehicle can be driven anywhere in the world with relatively small tweaks the construction industry is at the mercy of nature and humans there are millions of variables at play soil conditions weather local materials culture economy design codes and of course farm and function the programmatic needs of a hospital office building factory apartment complex and home are vastly different the global construction industry has thousands of specialized fields improving the coordination between all these trades is an ongoing struggle but automating the printing of walls isn't the answer even on 3d printed concrete structures you need humans to monitor calibrate and clean the machine add reinforcement and insulation frame out the door and window openings take a look at this smooth finish 3d printed garage in florida since the client wasn't satisfied with the rough appearance of printed concrete it was manually smoothened out so much for eliminating humans on job sites so this is the result the raw result of 3d printing it's kind of like concrete corduroy but if you don't love this look they can smooth it out for you and make it look just like a regular wall the next claim is that 3d printed homes can solve homelessness and housing shortages like i've said in earlier videos the arrogance of designers and architects really shines when they talk about homeless shelters making a shipping container or a 3d printed concrete shelter will not solve homelessness we need to approach the issue with humility and address the underlying socio-economic and psychological issues among other things lafarge wholesome has ambitious plans to build affordable low carbon housing in schools in africa using 3d printed technology i recently spoke to nicholas patel the founder of fullbore africa who grew up and ran several construction businesses in kenya his realistic perspective of 3d printing in africa was eye-opening he pointed out the lack of consistent power the need for several backup generators the carbon emissions shipping the machine to africa the poor infrastructure getting to job sites the legal issues clearing the expense of 3d printers at ports 24-hour security the cost of foreign trained specialists to run the machine and their hazard pay the dirt and sand that will get caught in the grooves of the 3d printed structure and the difficulty in getting high quality consistent windows and doors to fit into the precise openings created by 3d printers nicholas believes in light gauge steel framing a structurally sound steel frame should be used to create the bones of a building homeowners can choose any infill that they are comfortable with whether it's compacted bricks made from soil thatch or concrete this method speeds up traditional home building empowers local communities respects local culture and environmental conditions and it's affordable to purchase and maintain this is what i'm talking about when i say we need to approach housing shelters and infrastructure with humility imposing outlandish designs that stick out like a sore thumb isn't the solution another claim is that 3d printing is sustainable while prefabrication and 3d printing can help minimize waste generalized claims of sustainability over all other forms of construction are untrue the building construction industry accounts for 40 of all energy related carbon dioxide emissions of which cement accounts for 8 as much as i love the material and the solidity of concrete structures it is one of the most destructive materials on earth it is responsible for almost a tenth of the world's industrial water use it adds to the heat island effect limestone quarries and cement factories are air pollutants accelerants that are added to concrete to decrease curing time can pollute indoor air also walls are a tiny portion of the entire structure we need a holistic approach to construction to make it truly sustainable now don't get me wrong i am excited about 3d printed construction whether it's concrete mud or synthetic stone i love the raw layered appearance of 3d printed homes i even made a video on this technology a couple of years ago hey everyone it's belinda welcome back to my channel this video is going to be an introduction to 3d printed concrete i do not think the technology is a gimmick but i despise the sensationalist coverage misleading claims and over promises they generate a lot of buzz and probably help fund startups but i think the lie is cheapened the value of the technology in 2019 cobard released a white paper titled the truth facts about the true state of the art of 3d construction printing they tackled the misconceptions in the press like the office of the future in dubai which was actually made of precast elements printed in china all the interesting architectural details were not 3d printed but made manually they also clarified that no one has printed a building in 24 hours no one has printed an entire building just the walls and that as of fall 2019 only three companies supply printers copod and perry group are setting a precedent for the rest of the industry they are pushing for responsible coverage right now 3d printing seems to be a solution looking for a problem maybe it solves homelessness maybe it's the cheapest and fastest construction methodology maybe it's sustainable and will fix the planet it's going through an identity crisis and trying to fit into niches instead of just being itself the technology has so much potential but it's still in its infancy stage i see so many parallels between the hype and media coverage of shipping container homes and 3d printed homes i'm sure people in the comments will call me a buzzkill like i did with the container home video but i hope this video helps people understand the limitations of the tech it helps companies and countries realize that may not be appropriate for them and i hope it encourages critique let me know what you think about the technology in the comments below i'd love to visit one of these structures either completed or under construction so if you can hook me up with any contacts let me know don't forget to hit the like button and subscribe to my channel i'll link all my sources and my patreon page in the description a big thank you to everyone already supporting me on patreon until next time thanks for watching see ya

Channel: Belinda Carr

Views: 1,655,985

Keywords: 3dprinted, 3d printed, 3d printed concrete, 3d printed concrete house, icon 3d, austin, gimmick, scam, truth, stem, lies, concrete, construction, architecture, architect, design, automation, robotics, printers, dubai, homeless, homelessness, housing shortage, housing crisis, sustainability, sustainable, green

Id: sz1LM9kwRLY

Length: 11min 23sec (683 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 09 2021