About a year ago, the U.S. Army announced a pilot program to 3D print a series of barracks at Fort Bliss, Texas with the aim of improving living conditions for soldiers and enhancing overall readiness. Now, the 3D printed barracks, which span 5,700 square feet, are complete, making them the largest 3D printed structures in the Western Hemisphere.
The 3D printed barracks were inaugurated this week with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by Congresswoman Veronica Escobar and various military personnel. The impressive structures, which will be used to house soldiers, are made from a mold-resistant building material and have been designed for weather and earthquake resistance. Three barracks were built at Fort Bliss, and each will house up to 72 Soldiers.
Manufacturing on Demand
Inside the 3D printed barracks at Fort Bliss (Photo: US. Army by Alyx Riebeling)
ICON, a construction 3D printing firm based in Austin, Texas, played a vital role in building the barracks. The company worked in collaboration with the Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit and the Army to design and build the structures. ICON has brought to market two construction 3D printing solutions: Vulcan, a gantry-style system and Phoenix, a robotic system capable of building multi-story structures. For this application, the Vulcan platform was used, along with ICON’s proprietary Lavacrete, a concrete material formulated for strength and printability.
The 3D printed barracks at Camp Swift Training Center
Down the line, the U.S. military is also thinking about how to use construction 3D printing in the field or in expeditionary environments to rapidly construct living structures for soldiers. You can find more photos of the Fort Bliss 3D printed barracks at The El Paso Times. Notably, this isn’t the first time barracks have been 3D printed, nor even the first time ICON has been involved in constructing the army housing. In 2021, ICON collaborated with the Texas Military Department to build a 3,800-square-foot training barracks at the Camp Swift Training Center in Bastrop, Texas, about 600 miles from Fort Bliss. This barracks can house up to 72 soldiers or airmen while they train for missions.
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Author: Tess Boissonneault
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