“I think from my personal experience and from my former lifestyle, that I developed a shell,” Tim Shea, 70-year old, told The Post.

Tim Shea is the first American to live in a printed house located in  Community First! Village at Austin Texas. It is a 51-acre master-planned development that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness.

“I didn’t feel secure, and any time I had the opportunity, I would hide or isolate. I never really wanted to interact with people.”
Homelessness is a social issue that pervades different communities in the world. It brings forth personal issues in individuals struggling to find their place on Earth.

Shea’s house is built by ICON, tech construction company. “Surely there is a better way to build homes that is more affordable, less wasteful, and more energy efficient than conventional building methods,” Jason Ballard, co-founder, said.

Going digital, means the process of printing a house has never been as easy as pressing a button.

To make this possible the company uses its own proprietary Portland Cement-based mix, “Lavacrete”. Its capabilities include a compressive strength of 6,000 psi, resilience to withstand extreme weather conditions, rapid build times, and wall system takes the place of traditional cladding, framing, and sheetrock.
It is then delivered by their Magma system with built-in reservoirs. No manual mixing is involved; hence lower labor cost.
The 3D printer used, “Vulcan”, features intuitive tablet-based controls, remote monitoring and support, onboard LED lighting for printing at night or during low-light conditions.
The Vulcan size is 11.5 inches in height and 28 inches in width that can prints up to 8.5 inches by 28 inches, print length is effectively infinite. It can be clocked 5-7 inches per second.
About

ICON develops advanced construction technologies that advance humanity by using 3D printing robotics, software and advanced materials. Their mission is to mission is to re-imagine the approach to homebuilding and construction to make affordable, dignified housing available to everyone throughout the world.

www.iconbuild.com