Further development of the technique
After the realization of the first 3D printed house, work has continued in the background to further develop the printing technique. Saint-Gobain Weber Beamix, with a facility in the De Hurk business park in Eindhoven, has invested heavily in the development of the overall process in recent years in order to achieve an industrial and scalable 3D concrete printing process.
Partly in cooperation with Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), this process has been worked out and optimized in detail in recent years. As a result, less material is needed for printing and a new mortar is used with less cement, which also saves CO2.
New designs
Following that, two new house types were developed that, unlike the first house, consist of multiple floors. The new homes derive their structural properties entirely from the printed concrete, a globally unique feature within 3D printed housing construction. With their organic design, the new homes fit ideally into their wooded surroundings, and like the first home, have a unique design that resembles a liveable boulder. It is the intention to place two of each type of home at the Bosuil in Eindhoven. A total of four 3D printed homes will then be added to this wooded part of Eindhoven.
Pre-sale new homes
Unlike the first home within Milestone, the new homes will be offered for sale. To gauge interest in the market, the homes are currently being offered in a pre-sale. The website www.woneninmilestone.nl has all the information about the 3D printed homes and this is also where interested parties can register.
Working together on innovation
Characteristic of the Milestone project is the cooperation of government, knowledge institutions and industry. The Municipality of Eindhoven is a co-initiator, catalyst of innovation and facilitates the project, the TU/e is the knowledge partner within this collaboration, Saint-Gobain Weber Beamix developed the process needed to deliver constant quality on the production line, Houben / Van Mierlo Architects designed the homes, Witteveen+Bos is working on the building technical and constructive aspects, and Bouwbedrijf Van Wijnen is leading the project and building the homes.
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