Pioneer in large-scale 3D printing, ICON announced the construction of a 3D-printed 100-Home Community co-designed by BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group and developed by Lennar. Located north of Austin, in the city of Georgetown, "The Genesis Collection at Wolf Ranch" will become the first and largest house estate in the world built by a fleet of robots integrating additive construction techniques.
Combining the digital possibilities of 3d printing with sustainable features at an affordable price, the project aims to support the housing crisis in Austin, one of the U.S.A's most dynamic and growing cities, home to the new Tesla Gigafactory and other giants such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Oracle.
Printed using ICON's Vulcan construction system, the houses will incorporate a type of 3D-printed wall comprising a cementitious-based material known as Lavacrete. Creating the walls layer by layer through a nozzle, the structure is built up with no need for extra support or finishes, representing less waste and time. Based on previous prototypes, the construction timeframe of a house ranging from 90 to 200 square meters is around 5-7 days of printing, a significant schedule reduction compared to traditional techniques such as timber frame, which can take 16 weeks for the same area.
The upgraded expression of the contemporary Texas ranch style is complemented by generous double-height living spaces and a material palette consisting of natural and high-quality materials, featuring the printed wall texture, polished concrete floors, 7' windows, and built-in furniture options. The robust 3D-printed walls will offer superior energy performance with integrated services and are topped with metal roofs and photovoltaics, improving the sustainability and resiliency of the complex. The community will offer eight floorplans ranging from 150 to 200 square meters with 24 elevations.
In the future, I believe robots and drones will build entire neighborhoods, towns, and cities, and we’ll look back at Lennar’s Wolf Ranch community as the place where robotic construction at scale began. We still have a long way to go, but I believe this marks a very exciting and hopeful turn in the way we address housing issues in the world.” Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO, ICON
Selected as ArchDaily's Best New Practices of 2021 and featured as one of the 100 emerging leaders, according to the Times, ICON embodies a new generation of creators, entrepreneurs, and designers that are shifting the paradigm of the homebuilding industry and beyond. Their vision of construction-scale 3D printing delivers higher-quality housing alternatives and has opened the possibility of imagining humanity's home in outer space. In partnership with BIG and SEArch+ (Space Exploration Architecture), the Texas-based company is working on a space-in-situ construction system that could support future NASA's exploration of the Moon.
