ICON is known for being the first company in America to get a permit for constructing a 3D printed home. The company wanted to construct a proof-of-concept home for investors, and their first home was built in Austin, Texas.
Now, ICON Homes is an industry leader in 3D concrete homes and has developed:
- Robotics
- Software
- Materials
All three components listed above have allowed ICON to construct multiple homes since their first proof-of-concept in 2018.
Who is ICON?
ICON’s mission is to re-imagine the way homes are constructed worldwide. The company notes that since the Middle Ages, the way homes are built has remained stagnant. Some advancements have helped speed up the process, such as using excavators, but the actual home construction is similar.
The lack of innovation in traditional construction is one of the main reasons homes are still costly and slow to build.
Using traditional construction techniques to build homes has not allowed the industry to keep up with the demand from population growth.
3 Key Problems ICON 3d Printed Homes Are Trying to Solve
ICON Homes is trying to solve three critical problems facing the housing market, especially in the past few years:
- Affordability: Unfortunately, the average person cannot afford a home of their own. 3D printed houses lower the cost of building new homes, putting ownership in reach of consumers who need a home and cannot afford it.
- Sustainability: Wastefulness is a major concern in homebuilding. Thousands of pounds of waste are sent to landfills for a single 2,000 home construction. However, using ICON’s 3D printing method, waste is minimal, leading to a more sustainable form of homebuilding.
- Availability: Homes, even if they’re modular, take 6 months to complete, at the very least. Stick-built homes may take 12 – 18 months to complete. However, 3D printed homes are completed rapidly, significantly reducing the time it takes to go from ordering a house to living in it.
The Team Behind ICON Homes
The team behind ICON is comprised of designers, engineers and software developers. Decades of experience in construction and sustainable technology have led to the design and construction ability of ICON Homes.
The company’s three co-founders began working on the 3D printing technology for homes in 2017.
Each owner brings something to the team:
- Jason Ballard, the company’s co-founder and CEO, spent a decade working on sustainability and worked on thousands of homes.
- Evan Loomis, the co-founder of TreeHouse, worked on building the prototype for 3D constructed homes and worked on weekends in an Austin warehouse to construct them.
- Alex Le Roux is the final co-founder and CTO of the company. His expertise in 3D printers and co-founding of Vesta Printers made him an immediate asset to the ICON Home family.
Of course, teams of brilliant designers, engineers and software developers help bring the company’s vision and mission to life.
The team has completed numerous projects since 2017.
ICON Building & Construction Projects
While ICON Homes has an impressive portfolio of homes and projects that they build, we feel in love with the two following projects below:
3 Strands 3D Concrete Homes
ICON 3D printed houses in Austin continue to hit the market with great reception from consumers. The 3Strands, a multi-home housing development in Austin, is using ICON’s proprietary 3D technology to create homes in one of the country’s most popular real estate markets: Austin.
Inside of the 3Strands Homes
Logan Architecture was responsible for the design of the community’s homes, and they relied on ICON’s Vulcan construction system to print the entire first floor of the building. ICON’s technology was chosen because of the material:
- Lasted longer
- Offers higher strength
- Resists wind, fire, flooding and other issues
3D printing technology from ICON eliminates the threat of natural disasters with construction strength that can withstand the natural disasters found in Austin, primarily tornadoes and flooding, which can decimate traditionally-built homes.
The small neighborhood consists of four homes in East Austin. Two of the homes sold within just days of being listed.
The homes are aesthetically pleasing, with:
- Large, covered porches
- Covered parking
- Open floor plans
- Large windows
- Much more
Each home in the neighborhood relies on the strength offered by ICON to provide owners with peace of mind that their homes can withstand harsh winds, flooring and more.
Housezero
ICON Homes also offers Housezero, a home that aims to push the boundaries of design and sustainability. Housezero is one of the most stunning 3D printed home options available by ICON, and the specs include:
- 2,000+ square feet of space with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms
- 350 square feet accessory dwelling unit featuring 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom
The home features ICON’s wall system, saving time and reducing waste by eliminating the many steps required in traditional construction wall building. ICON uses Lavacrete, their own cementitious material, adds in insulation and reinforces the structure with steel to maximize structural strength.
All of the wood in these structures is Douglas Fir, which was chosen due to its high sustainability.
The wall system of the home takes just 10 days to print. However, you do need to consider finish out time. For example, a home printed in June is often finished out in February of the next year.
Energy-efficient appliances from Jennar & Viking are used to keep the home as efficient as possible. Morning light shines through the light shelf and clerestory windows. A deep overhang on the building reduces solar heat gain, while the thermal insulation layer of the home’s walls keeps the interior temperature at a comfortable level.
If homeowners want, they can take the home’s sustainability and high efficiency to the next level with solar panels on the roof.
Housezero shows the power of ICON Home’s technology with an advanced, stunning home that can have the entirety of its walls printed in less than two weeks.
ICON Homes continues to revolutionize the 3D home printing industry with new, exciting technologies that are already bringing down the cost of construction. The 3D technology is the innovation that can help meet the demand of a growing population that can no longer afford homes.
Visit https://www.iconbuild.com/ to learn more.
