On April 30, 2021, tenants of the first 3D printed concrete house in the Netherlands received their keys. The house in Eindhoven, fully complies with all the country's stringent construction requirements.
The single story building has 94 square meters of floor space, including a living room and two bedrooms. It replicates the shape of a large rock, which fits well with the natural site and demonstrates the freedom of form offered by 3D concrete printing. Thanks to extra thick insulation and a connection to the heating network, the house is highly comfortable and energy efficient, with an energy performance coefficient of 0.25.
The house consists of 24 printed concrete elements that were printed layer by layer at a factory in Eindhoven. The elements were then transported by truck to the construction site and placed on a foundation. The house was then equipped with a roof and window frames, with finishes applied afterward.
According to the team, it was especially challenging to print the building's inclined walls, but learning from the prototype helped them master the technique in the next 4 buildings planned. Concrete has been the most widely used building material in the world for decades and we are all by now familiar with it.
In principle, printed houses can be built much more quickly, with more flexibility and potential for custom designs. The ambition of the Milestone Project partners is for 3D concrete printing to become a sustainable construction method that contributes to solving the housing deficit.