France unveils first 3D-printed home
Scientists working in the French city of Nantes have unveiled what is being billed as the worlds fi
(Web Desk) - There have been 3D-printed cars, 3D-printed cosmetics and even 3D-printed surgical instruments.
But now scientists working in the French city of Nantes have taken things one step further – unveiling what is being billed as the world’s first 3D-printed home.
According to a report published in The Independent, the five-room, 95-square-metre property will house a local family qualifying for social assistance from June. And authorities say they are now considering the feasibility of developing an entire district of such homes.
Benoit Furet, a University of Nantes professor who worked on the year-long project said, “It s a solution and a constructive principle that is interesting because we create the house directly on site and, in addition, we are able to create walls with complex shapes.”
While this is not the first building to have been created using printing technology, those behind the scheme – including academics, engineers and manufacturers – say it will be the first to be permanently habituated. And they say that, if scaled up, the process could be used to build energy efficient homes quicker and cheaper than current techniques allow.
Nantes Métropole, the city authority, says it is now launching a feasibility study into the possibility of printing out a complete suburban housing estate with homes in different shapes and sizes, as well as a 350-square-metre public reception centre.
The unveiling came just weeks after the Shanghai company, Polymaker announced its LSEV car – a small electric vehicle that can reach 43 mph – was to become the first in the world to be mass produced using 3D printing technology.
