Inside the world’s largest 3D printed housing development

Just outside Austin, in Georgetown, Texas, brand new planned communities sprawl out as far as the eye can see, which is pretty far in this part of the country. But one small subdivision instantly draws focus. Just completed, it is now the world’s largest 3D-printed community.

Two years ago, Lennar, the nation’s second-largest homebuilder, partnered with Icon, a 3D technology company, to print 100 homes in the Wolf Ranch development. The companies say about 75% of them have already sold.

All the walls have rounded edges, as that’s how the printers navigate with the concrete. The layering process makes it feel like hard, wide-wale corduroy. The roofing is the only part of the structures not 3D-printed, and, in this community, is made of metal. Each home is solar-powered.

“We have a durable product here that if you look at its wind resistance for hurricanes, its fire resistance for fire-worn areas — the ability to adapt modern product to what we need for the future in housing and building a healthier housing market is amazing,” said Stuart Miller, chairman and co-CEO of Lennar.

Icon started the project at Wolf Ranch in 2022, using two 40-foot robotic printers. By the second year, the company was using 11 machines, cutting print time in half and squeezing out two homes per week. Each printer does the job of more than a dozen construction workers. The systems operated 24 hours a day.

“All the learnings about this technology need to happen at scale,” said Jason Ballard, CEO of Icon. “The truth is in the field, not in the lab.”

Ballard said his team had to work out large-scale logistics with Lennar’s teams, everything from laying foundations to printing walls, installing interior systems and adding roofing.

“Figuring out how to integrate with Lennar’s operations, who are probably the best scale builders in the world, was a real growing up moment for our company,” Ballard said.

The homes have all the amenities of a conventionally built Lennar community. They come in 2- and 3-bedroom models and start at just under $400,000.

Holly Feekings and her husband, both retired, moved into their 3D-printed home about a year ago. She said the best part of living in the printed home is her electric bill — just $26 last month. Concrete retains its temperature, heat or cold air, better than her previous standard colonial, Feekings said. She also likes the home’s durability.

“I feel safer in this house than any house I’ve ever lived in, because it’s so well built, it’s not going to burn down,” said Feekings.

Around the corner, Pierre Megie and his girlfriend were drawn in by the look and feel of the home.

“We wanted tall doors, taller ceilings, cement floors, somehow, and this home had everything. Really just a combination of energy efficiency, the practicality, the price point, and then the aesthetics,” said Megie.

The…