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 DUS Architects of Amsterdam began construction of the house in
2014 and the prototype walls can already be seen - and touched - on
site by curious visitors.
The house structure uses a plastic heavily based on plant oil that
co-founder Hans Vermeulen, who initiated the project, says is
waste-free and eco-friendly. Vermeulen says the building industry is
one of the most polluting and inefficient around, whereas with
3D-printing, there is no waste, reduced transportation costs, and
everything can be melted down and recycled. The idea is that homes
could also be easily taken apart and put back together at another
location if its occupants want to move area.
 Vermeulen says the 3D printed house won't necessarily be the most
beautiful home, but will act as a pioneer for future environmental
construction. "It doesn't mean that everything needs to be round or
curved or crazy form but it is possible and in that way we are now
discovering a new technique of the wall integrating all kinds of
necessities, let's say, like water systems, installations, strength,
and doing that in a very smart way we can reduce the material we
need and in that sense make the house more smart," he said.
The current material is a bio-plastic mix, containing 75 percent
plant oil and reinforced with microfibres. Speaking at the small
canal-side plot in north Amsterdam, Vermeulen compared his prototype
to the CD player which had a major role in digitizing music.
He said: "The interesting thing about digital fabrication, of which
3D printer is one technique, is that it actually is the...we often
say: it's a CD player of the building industry - so how did
CD-player digitalized the music industry, and that's why we now have
iPods and now Spotify where we share online and everything is
streaming, the building industry is a little bit more conservative
at the moment but digitalization can totally transform that industry
into a more agile industry as well where you can actually share
online and upgrade your neighborhood online, and share world-wide
good ideas and then send it to the machine, the fabrication
technique which can make a connection between the social networks on
one hand and physical making industry on the other hand."
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By 2017 the 3D printed building blocks will have been constructed to
form a 13-room complex, modeled on a traditional Dutch gabled canal
house. The KamerMaker, or Room Builder, a scaled-up version of an
open-source home 3D-printer prints each block. It was developed with
Dutch firm Ultimaker.
Vermeulen says the technology will eventually allow householders to
make custom-built 3D homes. "Digital fabrication allows us and
allows customers to tweak designs into their own personal needs," he
said.
Last April Chinese firm WinSun displayed at the Suzhou Industrial
Park a five-storey apartment building and a 1100 square meter villa
it said it had 3D printed using recycled materials. But the
technology remains in its infancy.
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