3D printers are the way of the future, and these brand new prefabricated and 3D-printed homes are proof of exactly that. They take the best of both these worlds, plus they add in the incredible use of discarded plastic, and it would seem that this business has come up with a truly genius idea!
The startup, named Azure, was created in Culver City, and it’s using recycled plastic water and drink bottles to construct homes that re 90% complete at the time they leave the factory.
By combining both the manufacturing speed of 3D-printing with the assembly speed and modular possibilities provided by prefabrication, Azure’s houses could be a major game changer when it comes to real sustainability in the housing industry.
According to the startup company, they can build a home 70% faster and 30% cheaper than the “traditional home construction methods” all because they 3D print the floor, roof, and walls of its model units within their factory.
By the time they get to the build site, all that’s needed to be done is to connect the prefab panels to each other and to the foundation. After which, they just need to connect the utilities.
It was back in April when Azure revealed what they call the ‘world’s first 3D-printed building with recycled plastic materials. It was marketed as a small addition to the home, meant to be either a gym or outdoor office that was priced at $25,000. Meanwhile, the larger “accessory dwelling unit” (ADU), or what is primarily a one-bed one-bath unit, is priced at $40,000.
Due to the rush of pre-orders that have come in for the ADU, it’s left the Culver City factory of Azure, they’re currently backed up for 3-months as the company waits for the rest of the equipment they need to be able to begin mass producing these houses.
Presently, the company has a number of partners that provide them with plastic waste recycled from industry, but the hope is to shift towards more plastic waste generated by consumers.
Azure hopes that by December, in partnership with an LA real estate company, they will have 14 of their print-prefab houses already arranged in a community. Then by 2024, they will be able to manufacture larger sized ADUs.
Once the concept is established and secure, and the revenue is stable, Azure also wants to focus their technology towards helping the state of California better deal with their homelessness epidemic.
Co-founder of Azure, Ross Maguire, told Business Insider, “3D printing is a more efficient way of building and it should only get better as we develop the processes, technology, and materials further. I can only see it becoming more and more prominent in [construction] as we move forward.”
See more about their process in the video below.
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