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.
“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.
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.
