Architecture Students Complete First 3D Printed Home in Los Angeles

Los Angeles recently received its first permitted 3D printed home, completed by a team of Woodbury University architecture students in just 15 months. The 425-square-foot house was designed for the solar decathlon, a collegiate competition for high-performance, renewable energy-powered structures, and according to ABC7, it serves as a replicable model for the future of home building. 

The house features a number of sustainable elements, including a recirculated shower water system, solar maximization, and environmentally friendly concrete. The project demonstrates the feasibility of affordable 3D-printed housing solutions for Los Angeles and beyond, costing just over $250,000 to build from start to finish. 

The three-day printing was so precise, no concrete was wasted.

"It's a prototype, it's many things all rolled into one and that was really what we were offering Los Angeles and the community to sort of learn and incorporate in their projects, in their homes, just offering it as an example," says Kishani De Silva, the construction management chair at Woodbury University.

"It's funny, you think that advanced technology is more expensive, but the fact is, we were able to get this project built for just over $250,000, and that's incredibly affordable for housing in Los Angeles," said Heather Flood, the dean of Woodbury's School of Architecture.

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