3D Printing Could Help Solve Homelessness

According to a report from the World Resource Institute's Ross Center for Sustainable Cities, 1.2 billion people are living in cities that don't have adequate housing. New Story is working to narrow that gap.

In three years, the nonprofit organization, New Story, has built over 850 homes in countries like Haiti and El Salvador. But thanks to a new 3-D printer, they will soon be able to build a lot more houses for a lot cheaper.



"A traditional style New Story community of about 100 homes will take close to a year to complete. With the 3-D home printer, if we just had one, it would take about three months to complete the community," said New Story CEO Brett Hagler.


At SXSW earlier this year, New Story revealed a proof of a 600-square-foot, 3-D printed home. The house was printed in less than 24 hours. "Three-D printing opens almost unlimited design possibilities, said Icon co-founder Jason Ballard. "It uses very resilient materials, produces almost zero waste, and it can be done much more affordably than conventional building methods."

The prototype cost about $10,000 to develop, but Icon and New Story hope to eventually cut that cost to $4,000 per home.