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Habitat for Humanity Gifts Family U.S.’s First 3D-Printed Home
The Stringfield family received the keys to their new 3D-printed home in time for Christmas. The home is Habitat for Humanity’s first 3D-printed home in the nation, according to their news release. Janet V. Green, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg, told CNN it partnered with Alquist, a 3-D printing company, in early 2021 to begin the process. The Alquist’s crew made it their mission to print the house.
This 1,200-square-foot home is noted to have has three bedrooms, two full baths and was built from concrete.
This new technology allowed the home to be built in 12 hours, which saved roughly four weeks of construction time for a typical home.
April Stringfield purchased the home through the Habitat Homebuyer Program. She and her 13-year-old son were able to move into the home just in time for Christmas!
“My son and I are so thankful,” Stringfield said in a live feed streamed on Habitat’s Facebook page. “I always wanted to be a homeowner. It’s like a dream come true.”
Image: CNN
“The concrete exterior of the new Habitat for Humanity 3-D printed house.
Homebuyers must log 300 sweat equity or volunteer hours, another requirement of the Habitat Homebuyer Program, Sunny Skyz notes. To purchase the home, Stringfield “logged hundreds of hours of sweat equity,” Green told CNN, which is one of the requirements for homebuyers through the program. The other requirements include having an income between 45-80% of the areas median income and good credit. Habitat for Humanity homes are sold at no profit with a zero-interest mortgage.
“Every Habitat affiliate in the nation and worldwide sells home to partner families who have low to moderate incomes,” Green said. “They must have and maintain good credit and be willing to partner with us.”I’m excited to make new memories in Williamsburg and especially in a house, a home,” Stringfield told CNN. “Someplace I can call home and give my son that backyard that he can play in and also for my puppy to run around the yard.”
The concrete used in the house’s 3-D construction has many long-term benefits, such as the ability to retain temperature and withstand natural disasters, like tornadoes and hurricanes. Stringfield’s home also includes a personal 3D printer that will allow her to reprint anything she may need, “everything from electrical outlets to trim to cabinet knobs,” Green shares with CNN.
While this is the first 3D home for Habitat for Humanity in the US, they say it definitely won’t be the last. Green told CNN it hopes to continue partnering and developing the technology used with the printing.
Image: Sunny Skyz
“This is all for my son,” Stringfield added. “If you truly believe in something, keep trying and you can do it.”