Around the world, private companies and public institutions alike are racing to present “first-of-its-kind” 3D printed buildings, even entire villages.
In the Czech Republic, a developing company in collaboration with sculptor Michal Trpak has been building, what it calls, the country’s first 3D printed inhabitable house in June.
Called Prvok (Protozoon), the project’s building process is promoted as significantly cutting construction time, material waste, carbon emissions, and overall cost when compared to the region’s conventional brick buildings.
“Prvok od Burinky (Protozoon) will have three rooms — a bathroom with toilet, living room with a kitchen and a bedroom,” explains the project announcement. “The building will be anchored on a pontoon and is a year-round livable house.”
“The house offers eco technologies such as recuperation, recirculation shower, remote control, green roof, as well as reservoirs for drinking, utility and sewage water.”
The house has been completed in České Budějovice. The entire structure, including the interior partitions, was printed in 22 hours and required a total of 17 tons of concrete mixture. PRVK is now going through a series of tests to ensure proper performance. Static pressure, for example, has been tested which concluded that the internal load-bearing wall of the home can withstand a 50-ton load, according to the development team.
“Despite minor issues caused by the weather, we managed to 3D print the house successfully. It took us 22 hours in total and we needed 17 tons of custom-developed mixture. As the concrete will take 28 days to harden, we are completing the house, preparing the green roof, floors, all distributions, doors, windows, etc,” said sculptor and project leader Michal Trpák in a statement.
