As an organization backed by Y Combinator and named as one of the \u201cMost Innovative Companies in the World\u201d, [1] the non-profit New Story is cognizant of the opportunities technology can bring to their goal of providing safe shelter and \u201ccreate a world where no human being lives in survival mode\u201d. [2] This is why they have partnered with Icon, a construction tech company that uses additive manufacturing or 3D printing to build affordable homes in a less wasteful, more energy efficient method. [3]<\/p>\n
According to the United Nations, approximately 1.6 billion people worldwide live in inadequate housing. [4] The lack of safe homes has repercussions in people\u2019s health, education, employment, and opportunities for social mobility, making it a priority in development strategies. However, given that housing is subject to the market, buying, building or even renting a home has become unaffordable for a large portion of the population in the world. [4] For these reasons New Story has focused on building homes in underserved populations using local materials, employing local workers and with a donation of $6,500 USD. [5] With Icon\u2019s help, New Story will be implementing house building with a 3D printer that can build 600-800 ft homes in under 24 hours with a cost of $4,000 USD, a fraction of the time and cost of current home building methods [6].<\/p>\n
Since its launch in 2014, New Story has built almost 800 homes in Haiti, El Salvador, Bolivia, and Mexico. [7] The transition to a 3D printing construction will enable them to expand and grow their impact in more communities in the short term. Additive manufacturing applied to construction has benefits that could change the way the New Story and the construction industry work. Its significant reduction in labor use and in construction time can also decrease the injuries and fatalities related to the building process. The ability to build on site can reduce costs of materials storage, and the technology itself decreases wasted materials that makes this method more sustainable than the traditional one, since construction and demolition generate more than twice the generated municipal solid waste in the United States. [8, 9] Once the equipment is functioning, the technology enables different layouts that can be tailored to each community and family. New Story and Icon have already been successful in printing the first customized home with all required permits in the United States in March of this year. Icon claims their additive manufacturing model is more sustainable and that homes built with this method are more thermally efficient. [10]<\/p>\n
In the short term, New Story has the goal of building the first 3D printed community of homes in El Salvador by 2019. In the future, they plan to democratize access to this technology to governments and other non-profits in the world. [11] However, it is not an easy task and New Story should consider other factors in their future strategy. For instance, 3D printing requires specialized and thus costly equipment, and there is an additional challenge in utilizing materials that are compatible with the technology, that can endure each location\u2019s weather conditions and vulnerability to natural disasters in the long term, and that can be locally sourced. In addition, the process requires significantly less labor per home that will have repercussions in the employment possibilities of the local communities where it is implemented, one of the key value propositions of New Story. The cost reduction in material utilization, transportation and warehousing might also affect the communities in which 3D printing is implemented given the use of local companies to fulfill these needs. Moreover, governments should have processes in place to evaluate the safety of 3D printed homes in an efficient manner, since today there is not a precedent of how to approve these homes that will be built in an exponentially shorter amount of time. New Story should think about scaling their current processes for obtaining building permits and safety clearance from local governments.<\/p>\n
As New Story gains capacity to build more homes in communities in need, they should be thinking about how they can overcome other challenges such as land availability in urban locations. Can they take advantage of the speed 3D printing given external constraints such as government bureaucracy and land access? Additive manufacturing has the potential to revolutionize access to housing, but other challenges remain to ensure it truly has the positive impact New Story, and society, expect.<\/p>\n
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[1] \u201cBrett Hagler\u201d. New Story. Accessed November 2018. https:\/\/newstorycharity.org\/team_members\/brett-hagler\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n [2] \u201cVision and Beliefs\u201d. New Story. Accessed November 2018. \u00a0\u00a0https:\/\/newstorycharity.org\/vision\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n [3] \u201cFAQ\u201d. Icon. Accessed November 2018. https:\/\/www.iconbuild.com\/faq<\/a>.<\/p>\n [4] “Affordable housing key for development and social equality, UN says ….” 2 Oct. 2017. Accessed November 2018. https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2017\/10\/567552-affordable-housing-key-development-and-social-equality-un-says-world-habitat<\/a><\/p>\n [5] “For Locals, By Locals\u201d. New Story. Accessed November 2018. https:\/\/newstorycharity.org\/locals\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n [6] “Frequently Asked Questions\u201d. ICON. Accessed November 2018. https:\/\/www.iconbuild.com\/faq\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n [7] “Our Work\u201d. New Story. Accessed November 2018. https:\/\/newstorycharity.org\/our-work\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n [8] “Sustainable Management of Construction and Demolition Materials ….” Accessed November 2018. https:\/\/www.epa.gov\/smm\/sustainable-management-construction-and-demolition-materials<\/a>.<\/p>\n [9] “3D Printing of Buildings and Building Components as …\u201d. Science Direct. Accessed November 2018. https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1877705816317453<\/a>.<\/p>\n [10] “Home\u201d. ICON. Accessed November 2018. https:\/\/www.iconbuild.com\/home<\/a>.<\/p>\n