Belgian company Kamp C has 3D-printed, with Europe’s biggest 3D-printer, an entire two-story house in Westerlo, Belgium.

Featuring 90 square meters, the house was printed in one piece with a fixed printer, in just three weeks.

The idea behind the project is to use the achievement to encourage the construction industry to implement 3D concrete printing in their construction techniques. It's also a way to measure how the home, which was built using greener practices than typical constructions, holds up over time. 

"What makes this house so unique, is that we printed it with a fixed 3D concrete printer," Kamp C project manager Emiel Ascione said.

"Other houses that were printed around the world only have one floor. In many cases, the components were printed in a factory and were assembled on-site. We, however, printed the entire building envelope in one piece on-site."

The low-energy house also has floor and ceiling heating, special facade solar panels and a heat pump, and Kamp C will eventually add a green roof.

The 3D-printed two-story house is three times stronger than a house built with quick building blocks, explains Marijke Aerts, project manager at Kamp C.

In addition to the fibers contained in the concrete, only minimal shrinkage reinforcement was used. The printing technique makes concrete formwork superfluous. This saves an estimated 60% of the material, time and money.

Experts will continue to watch the home to see how it holds up over time and use those insights on future 3D printing projects.

Sources: Designboom & Dezeen

Photography is by Kamp C and Jasmien Smets

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