Australia: plans for the construction of the first 3D-printed social housing units

It is widely known how revolutionary is the technology of 3D-printing. More and more 3D-printed projects are going to be constructed around the world, while others have been already completed. A new project is about to start in Australia according to the statement of the New South Wales government, who announced that they decided to construct the first 3D-printed social housing units in Dubbo, an area five hours away from Sydney.

The idea for the project was conceived by the government, due to the challenges that people of New South Wales face to find available and cheap properties. They chose this construction method because it is cheaper than the traditional ways, while for the construction process 50% less time is needed. They have defined that the duration of the construction process will be 16 weeks, in contrary of the traditional methods that require at least 40 weeks.

The construction company that will undertake the project is Aboriginal Sustainable Homes with the aid of the local 3D-printing construction company Contour3D. It is mentioned that they will use Contour3D’s gantry-based 3D-printing technology. They are planning to build multiple two-bedroom Semi-detached houses, which will be offered to potential residents through the Aboriginal Housing Office and the construction is about to start at the end of September of 2024.

The Minister of Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson stated that the project is significant for the region, because for the first time they will use modern construction methods to deliver affordable housing. This initiative demonstrates at the same time two different aspects of the project. Initially, the success of the 3D printing project will determine if that method could be used as a standard method to construct social housing units. Furthermore, the commitment of the government to help those that are in need is another significant aspect.

To conclude, officials have already used Contour3D’s technology to construct public amenities block in Dubbo. In addition, according to the member of the Legislative Council named Stephen Lawrence, they are planning to evaluate the 3D-printing method they used in such a large-scale concrete project, and they will use the finding as a guidance for future applications.