Habitat for Humanity builds 1st 3D-printed house in the United States

April Stringfield's dream of becoming a homeowner came true right before Christmas, thanks in part to a 3D printer.
Her new house in Williamsburg, Virginia, is Habitat for Humanity's first completed 3D-printed home in the United States, created as a collaboration between Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg and the 3D printing company Alquist. The 1,200-square-foot home has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and was built from concrete, so it will better retain temperature and hold up against high winds.
It usually takes Habitat for Humanity about four weeks to build a home, but this house took just 12 hours. It also comes equipped with a 3D printer, so Stringfield can reprint anything "from electrical outlets to trim to cabinet knobs," Janet Green, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg, told CNN. Green said she hopes to make many more 3D printed houses, as they go up fast and save the new homeowners money.
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Stringfield is still settling in her new home, and told WTKR she's "excited to make new memories in Williamsburg and especially in a house, a home. Some place I can call home and give my son that backyard that he can play in and also for my puppy to run around the yard."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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