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Luyten’s AI-powered printer builds the first multi-storey home in Melbourne.
In Melbourne’s outer suburbs, a multi-storey house is being built using 3D printing technology, and may well mark a shift in how housing construction is approached in Australia.
The 350-square-metre house, printed using LUYTEN’s PLATYPUS X12 Crane 3D Construction Printer, is the first of its kind in the country. Designed and built in Sydney and Melbourne, the project aims to test the viability of large-scale 3D printed housing in urban environments. The home will be occupied by LUYTEN CEO and Global President Ahmed Mahil, who sees the project as a demonstration of 3D printing’s potential in the housing sector.
“As the first CEO to live in a 3D printed house, printed by my own company’s robots, I intend to break the psychological barrier people may have and dispel any doubts about the future of 3D printed homes,” said Mahil.
Previous applications of 3D printing in residential construction have mostly been limited to single-storey structures built in controlled conditions. This project, however, has been exposed to Melbourne’s summer temperatures, which have ranged from 35 to 42 degrees Celsius, along with storm conditions. The design incorporates structural features, including a lift core and acoustically optimised walls to minimise noise using the diffraction principle.
Watch it being 3D printed.
The AI-powered printer employs reinforcement learning algorithms to ensure precision at each stage of the build. Unlike traditional concrete pours, which focus on formwork and reinforcement, 3D printing layers are both aesthetic and structural, requiring high levels of accuracy. The build is expected to take five weeks, significantly shorter than the typical eight to eleven-month timeline for conventional home construction.
Government interest in 3D printing’s potential for housing supply is growing. LUYTEN’s advancements have attracted attention from federal and state agencies, with Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic visiting the company’s Melbourne factory last year.
LUYTEN is working with engineering firm Bollinger + Grohmann to certify the structural integrity and performance of the house. Collaboration with the University of New South Wales ARC Centre for Next-Gen Architectural Manufacturing has also shaped the home’s design, incorporating research into construction automation.
First 3D Printed Indigenous Housing Project
LUYTEN’s 3D printing capabilities are also being applied to remote housing needs. The company in September 2022 launched its first commercial project to print five housing units in Alice Springs, described as the world’s first Indigenous housing project built with 3D printing.
Regulatory approval for the project followed testing of LUYTEN’s Heptapod, a test house printed with the company’s proprietary Ultimatecrete mix. The material achieved a compressive strength of 82.5 MPa after 28 days—four times stronger than conventional residential concrete.
Mahil said the Heptapod build demonstrated the speed and efficiency of LUYTEN’s approach.
“The structure looks great, and it only took three business days to complete. The printed elements were ready to handle and move within five hours, and the overall cost was 70 percent lower than traditional construction methods.”
LUYTEN, founded in 2020, designs and manufactures large-scale 3D construction printers for residential and commercial applications. The company’s leadership team includes Mahil, Chief Scientific Officer Dr Godfrey Keung, Chief Technology Officer Dr Michael Stanley, and Chief Information Officer Shaun Heap.
See: LUYTEN
