Courtesy Alquist/Habitat for Humanity
Alquist, a 3D-printing construction company, and Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg recently unveiled a 3D-printed home in Williamsburg, Virginia. The team officially handed over the keys to 129 Forest Heights Road to April and her 13-year-old son on Dec. 21.
The project represents Habitat for Humanity’s first 3D-printed home on the East Coast, following a project started in spring 2021 in Tempe, Arizona.
Courtesy Alquist/Habitat for Humanity
“Thanks to a giant 3D printer, Alquist needed only about 28 hours to print the exterior walls of the 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home, reducing a standard construction schedule by at least four weeks,” says the firm’s press release. “The eco-friendly concrete house is EarthCraft-certified, tornado-, hurricane-, and fire-resistant, and will soon be fitted with solar panels.”
Alquist uses concrete to print its homes, saving up to 15% per square foot in building costs based on preliminary estimates, reports the company. Concrete also confers additional long-term savings because it better retains temperature, saving on heating and cooling costs, and is resistant to extreme weather damage.
Courtesy Alquist/Habitat for Humanity
Each Alquist home comes equipped with Virginia Tech’s proprietary Raspberry Pi-based monitoring system, which monitors the indoor environment, provides security and emergency management, optimizes energy consumption, and analyzes occupant comfort and space utilization. The company also gifted a special 3D printer to April and her family, which can be used for quick and easy home remodeling, repairs, and additions.
Alquist’s future projects include 3D-printed homes in rural communities in Arkansas, California, Iowa, North Carolina, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and others.
