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3D-printed net-zero home part of 40-unit community in Desert Hot Springs.
Mighty Buildings, an Oakland-based technology company recently completed a 3D-printed 159 Sqm home in Desert Hot Springs, California, that establishes the technologies environmental and economic credentials. (main pic: Mighty Buildings 3D-printed net-zero home.)
The 3D-printed two-bedroom, two-bath home, known as the Quatro, was designed by Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects (EYRC) utilising Mighty Buildings’ standardised kit-of-parts.
The team says it produces as much energy as it consumes.
“We are excited to be the first company in the world to complete what we believe to be the sustainable housing standard of the future,” said Mighty Buildings CEO Slava Solonitsyn.
“As a result, housing developers will no longer have to choose between profitability, quality, design and protecting the planet,” he continued.
The exterior composite stone wall panels were 3D printed in their factory in Oakland using a proprietary material called ‘Light Stone’. According to company sources their, ‘patented Light Stone Material quickly cures into a stone-like composite and has 4x the tensile and flexural strength of concrete while weighing 30% less.”
The home’s light-gauge steel roof cassettes and plumbing/mechanical core module were also prefabricated offsite, allowing the home’s components to be installed on its concrete slab foundation in less than a day.
According to the company sources, Mighty Buildings achieved net-zero design in three ways: efficient materials, integrated technologies and additional components.
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According to Mighty Buildings, Light Stone has the characteristics of stone with better thermal performance, and the panel interiors are insulated to reduce the home’s energy consumption.
The design also accommodates solar technology and high-performance windows.
“Our manufacturing technology features a high-degree of automation and advanced robotics, enabling us to reduce the completion time by more than half,” Mighty Buildings said.
“In this way, the entire home can be constructed within 4-5 months, significantly accelerating onsite completion and resulting in happier home buyers, more productive onsite workers and higher returns for developers.”
When complete, each of the 20 homes in the community will feature an additional accessory dwelling unit – for a total of 40 3D-printing volumes.
