3D-Printed Homes Offer Affordable Solution To Homelessness

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Screenshot from: Icon 3D-Tech Official YouTube Account

With the increasing number of older adults becoming homeless, 3D-printed homes offer a promising retirement sanctuary.

Indeed, modern problems require modern solutions as 180 formerly homeless people have found shelter in the most expensive city in Texas. According to a recent article, the 51-acre development in Northeast Austin called Community First Village provides affordable permanent housing, including the 3D variety which is expected to include more than 500 units.

With the help of Austin-based construction technology company Icon, these 3D-printed homes could not only provide housing for people on the margins but also dramatically reduce the time and money spent on construction.

"I see this innovative idea as being a powerful piece of the puzzle, along with other ideas of what it's going to take to have more affordably built houses," said Alan Graham, a real estate developer turned founder of the nonprofit Mobile Loaves & Fishes, which opened the village in 2016.

The average age of residents in the village is 55, he added.

Tim Shea, 69, will be the first to live in one of six such rentals made of 3D technology.

Shea is among the growing number of seniors in America who have experienced difficulties in keeping affordable housing.

Shea who had been homeless, has arthritis and manages to get around with the help of a walker.

"I'm over the top about it," said Shea, a Stratford, Connecticut native who made his way to Austin in 1993. "They had an interview process where a bunch of people applied. Then I found out it was a 3D-printed home, and I was gung-ho."

Shea said he had attended Ohio State University but didn't graduate and then worked at several jobs in Ohio and in Austin until poor health caught up with him and forced him onto the streets. He lives on a modest fixed income of disability and Social Security payments.

At Community First Village, residents pay monthly rents ranging from $220 to $430, way cheaper that the U.S. housing rent average of $1,405 per month. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-urban-rents-hit-all-time-high-at-average-1405-report/ Meanwhile, the 3D-printed houses will cost a rental fee of $430 per month. Residents in the village can also earn wages by working on-site.

According to Icon, the 400-square-foot houses are the nation's first 3D-printed residences. Icon is also responsible in the ongoing construction of a 3D-printed neighborhood in Mexico.

To create the 3D-printed houses, the process incorporates the second-generation 11-foot-tall 3D printer called Vulcan II that weighs 3,800 pounds. The printer ooze beads of a pliable concrete material dubbed Lavacrete, in ripples that stack and harden into a wall with curved corners.

Also read: 3D Printed Homes Being Built in Mexico

The idea of 3D print is to cut the time and as much as half the cost of traditional construction, said Jason Ballard, Icon's co-founder and CEO. It also aims to limit the environmental footprint and trim the number of workers on crews.

The process could also allow more design freedom, he added.

"Because 3D printing uses slopes and curves, in the future new design languages will emerge that are only accessible through 3D printing," Ballard said.

Department of Housing and Urban Development inspects the site twice last year.

"Innovation is key to solving our affordable housing crisis," Secretary Ben Carson said in an email. "The work that companies like Icon are doing could have a huge impact on housing affordability in communities across the country."

For Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, the move is overdue. In October, the center published a study illustrating a growing income disparity among Americans of older age.

According to the study, the federal government considers housing affordable when a resident can spend 30% or less of income on it and those who spend more are "cost burdened."

"While many households now of retirement age have the means to age in place or move to other suitable housing, a record number are cost burdened and will have few affordable housing options as they age," the analysis said. "In addition, many older renters are less well positioned than homeowners because they have lower cash savings and wealth."

Moreover, the study shows the increasing homelessness among older adults.

Homelessness among people age 50 and older surged to 33.8% in 2017 from 22.9% in 2007. According to the study, those figures suggest the "need for affordable, accessible housing and in-home supportive services is therefore set to soar."

Housing insecurity has an impact in a person's health and well-being. "Financial pressures can also lead to depression and other physical problems," the study added.

With the new 3D-printed homes, Shea is positive that 3D-printed homes will help "not just for the homeless but for affordable housing."