The serial production of 3D printed houses could be within five years

Prague - Serial production of 3D printed concrete houses in the Czech Republic could begin within three to five years. Their price is expected to range from 3.5 to four million crowns. This was stated today by project author Michal Trpák during the presentation of the prototype of the first 3D printed house named Prvok. The house will be available to the public on Štvanice Island in Prague until the end of August.

"As for the expansion of production, we can start immediately. Regarding serial production, although I do not like that term, we expect that within three to five years there will be other construction companies here that will start printing houses," said Trpák.

According to him, the costs of the exhibited prototype are in the range of tens of millions of crowns. "Compared to a serially manufactured house, we need to account for the costs of research and development. Additionally, it is equipped with luxury products from renowned companies. We expect that the price at which this house could be manufactured in some basic configuration will be 3.5 to four million crowns," Trpák added.

Prvok has three rooms and a total area of 43 square meters. It includes a bathroom with a toilet, a living room with a kitchen, and a bedroom. The construction is designed for a two-member family and is anchored on a pontoon.

According to Trpák, the printed house is suitable for nature, urban areas, or water. "Printed houses can reach up to half the costs compared to traditional buildings and can be created up to seven times faster," Trpák further stated. According to him, the house is also designed to last at least one hundred years in any environment. "In the future, owners will be able to crush the building at the end of its lifespan and print it again with the same material," the project’s author noted.

The prototype was made in České Budějovice. The rough construction was completed within 48 hours, and the work on the interior took another approximately two months. It was printed by a robotic arm from Trpák's initiative Scoolpt, which conveyed a special material directly to the site. The concrete mixture for printing is enhanced with nano-polypropylene fibers, plasticizers that according to Trpák improve plasticity and allow for better organic shapes to be created, and a hardening accelerator.

The relocation of the 30-ton house, which is over 13 meters long, took ten hours according to Trpák. It was first divided into three parts and transported on a special trailer to the port in Prague's Holešovice. Subsequently, it passed through three shipping locks to reach its destination. "At the last minute, we had to solve the loan of the pontoon. Unfortunately, the custom-made one from Sweden was delayed by the coronavirus," Trpák added.