Construction at the ready: The future for commercial in low-cost, quick-build habitats

The phenomenon of 3-D printing is steadily gaining relevance in all industries lately; the commercial sector is seeing both practical and aesthetic applications.

In El Salvador, an entire village of 650-square-foot houses was constructed at less than $4,000 per house and under 24 hours to build. Human workers install doors and windows into the dwellings, which provide a safe shelter in poverty-stricken communities. Similar prototypes for 3-D habitats have appeared in population-dense Bologna, Italy, and in the harsh wintry terrain of Russia.

As 3-D printing technology evolves, the costs decrease. The 410-square-foot Apis Cor house in Russia cost the company around $10,150; windows and doors contributed $3,548 of that cost, according to the company’s website.

A more whimsical example of 3-D printing comes from a Toronto-based company that created a beautiful stained glass window that doesn’t actually include any glass. Instead, the plastic panes were 3-D printed
on an industrial stereolithography (or SLA) machine and then dyed by hand. The stone frame holding the glass in place is also 3-D printed, then spray-painted to resemble an ornately sculpted piece of masonry.