HOUSES MADE OF SOIL FOR $1,000
posted 05 July 2016 at 13:55:20
A Spanish organisation has unveiled a method of 3D printing
buildings from soil for just $1,000 per building, and is now looking for
investment partners to turn the groundbreaking technology into a business.
The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC)
announced that it was looking for commercial backing for its Pylos printer at
the IN(3D)USTRY Show in Barcelona. If successful, Pylos could have a dramatic
impact on poor and developing nations, where soil is plentiful but precious
little else is.
The new 3D printing method is the brainchild of IAAC
researcher Sofoklis Giannakopoulos, who has been looking at ways of producing
inexpensive, natural, strong, locally sourced and biodegradable unbaked
materials for many years. He and his team have already printed several
buildings of up to two metres in height and Giannakopoulos says he has all the
components ready to print a house from soil.
Every soil is different and one of the crucial elements of
the project is to create additives that will work with the soil anywhere on
Earth. 'Soil can be recycled an indefinite number of times over an extremely
long period,' says Giannakopoulos. 'In addition, old dry loam can be reused
after soaking in water, so loam never becomes a waste material that harms the
environment.'
The IAAC's biggest breakthrough, perhaps, is that the Pylos
negates the need to transport materials to any building site, as the basic
material is already there – literally – on the ground. This is one of the most
exciting developments in 3D printing in recent years and, if it works, its
impact could change the lives of millions of the world's poorest people for the
better.
You can finds out more about Pylos at
pylos.iaac.net/main.html#about