A 3D-Printed Suburb in Texas is Nearly Complete

In the heart of Georgetown, Texas, the future of suburban living is being printed, layer by layer. If you’ve ever dreamed of living in a home built by robots—no, not those from your favorite sci-fi movie—then this 3D-printed neighborhood might just tickle your fancy. The colossal project, spearheaded by American company ICON, is closing in on completion, making it the world’s largest 3D-printed community, according to a recent Reuters report.

ICON’s mighty Vulcan printer, a mechanical behemoth standing nearly 14 meters tall and weighing almost 5 tons, has been tirelessly working since November 2022 to churn out 100 homes. Imagine your standard desktop 3D printer, now give it a steady diet of protein shakes, and voila—Vulcan! But instead of spitting out tiny plastic trinkets, this bad boy uses cement, water, sand, and a sprinkle of secret sauce to craft walls thick enough to make even the Texas heat think twice about sneaking in.

The advantages are hard to miss. Faster construction times, lower costs, reduced labor needs, and less waste make Vulcan a real game-changer. Conner Jenkins, ICON’s lead project manager, humorously noted, “Where it once took five separate teams to build a wall system, now it only takes one team and one robot.” (And you thought your Roomba was impressive.) The houses themselves, ranging from three to four bedrooms, take about three weeks each to print, with traditional methods still used for the foundation and roof.

Even with the cool factor cranked up, these homes are more than just futuristic curiosities. Early residents, like Lawrence Nourzad and his partner Angela Hontas, have already noticed the benefits. “Feels like a fortress,” says Nourzad, referring to the thick, insulated walls that keep the blistering Texas heat at bay. The downside? Wi-Fi signals might struggle to penetrate those walls, so consider it your excuse to finally unplug.

The cost of joining this robo-built paradise ranges from $450,000 to $600,000, and while only about a quarter of the homes have been sold, the interest is heating up. Maybe it’s the novelty, or maybe it’s the promise of a house that’s quite literally built like a tank.

ICON isn’t just stopping in Texas. The company first dipped its robotic toes into 3D printing homes back in 2018, and since then, they’ve been on a roll. They’ve built the world’s first 3D-printed village, crafted a mini-neighborhood for the homeless in Austin, and even printed a military barracks. But that’s not all. ICON’s ambitions are out of this world—literally. With NASA’s Artemis program aiming to put humans back on the Moon by 2024, ICON is developing technology to construct landing pads, bases, and other structures on our lunar neighbor. Talk about leaving a footprint!

While other companies like Relativity Space are busy 3D printing rockets to blast off into space, ICON is ensuring that once we get there, we’ll have a place to stay. And with any luck, maybe the Wi-Fi will be better on the Moon.

If you’re a fan of space exploration or just looking for the latest in tech news, you can watch the 3D printing process in action here.

So, next time someone tells you to “think outside the box,” remember—those boxes might soon be 3D printed. And they might just take you to the Moon and back.