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Couple Move Into Europe's First 3D-Printed House Built In Five Days

Couple Move Into Europe's First 3D-Printed House Built In Five Days

It's hoped that this might provide a solution to the housing crisis

Amelia Ward

Amelia Ward

A Dutch couple have moved into the first fully 3D-printed house in Europe. Check it out in the video below:

Elize Lutz, 70, and Harrie Dekker, 67, are renting the 94-square metre, two bedroom bungalow in Eindhoven for €800 (£695 / $960) per month.

The bizarre building looks like a huge boulder with windows, and was printed at a nearby factory.

Retired shopkeeper Elize said: "It's a form that's unusual, and when I saw it for the first time, it reminds me of something you knew when you were young."

PA

She added: "It is beautiful."

The houses can be built in just five days, with the couple, who are from Amsterdam, receiving their digital key on Friday. With the key, the front door can be opened by pressing a button.

Harrie said: "It has the feel of a bunker - it feels safe."

It's hoped that the buildings can be used on a larger scale as a solution for the Netherlands' housing shortage. The country needs to build thousands of new homes in the next ten years in a bid to house an ever-growing population.

PA

Theo Salet is a professor at Eindhoven's Technical University, and he says that using 3D printing for houses in the future will save on materials and will make construction more sustainable.

Prof Salet said: "Why? The answer is sustainability. And the first way to do that is by cutting down the amount of concrete that we use."

It also means that waste would be reduced.

PA

The home in Eindhoven is made of layers of concrete, with 24 elements printed by a machine that squirts layer upon layer, giving it a ribbed texture. The finishing touches - like the roof - are then added.

The concrete used has the consistency of toothpaste, according to Professor Salet. This means it's strong enough to build with but wet enough to stick together. The printed elements are then filled with insulation.

PA

Bas Huysmans, chief executive of construction firm Weber Benelux, said: "This is also the first one which is 100 percent permitted by the local authorities and which is habited by people who actually pay for living in this house.

"If you look at what time we actually needed to print this house it was only 120 hours.

"So all the elements, if we would have printed them in one go, it would have taken us less than five days because the big benefit is that the printer does not need to eat, does not need to sleep, it doesn't need to rest.

"So if we would start tomorrow, and learned how to do it, we can print the next house five days from now."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Interesting