Buy the First 3D Printed House Listed for Sale in the United States

My husband and I have lived in our little Cape Cod house in Ohio for over ten years now, and it’s a good home for us: fenced-in backyard for the dogs, in a residential area but still close to downtown, a ton of closets, and plenty of charm. But every once in a while, I get the urge to check out other homes in the area for sale, just to see what’s out there, and log onto realtor websites to look. And while it’s not anywhere near us or our hypothetical price range, I can report that there is now a 3D printed house on Long Island on Zillow…and it’s said to be the first 3D printed house in the U.S. that’s been listed for sale.

The residential property was 3D printed by SQ4D Inc., a company based in New York that’s focused on engineering and building high-quality sustainable housing with its automated robotic 3D printing system.

(Image: Zillow)

“Own a piece of history! This is the world’s first 3D printed home for sale,” the Zillow listing states. “Built by SQ4D Inc. using their patent-pending ARCS Technology, this home offers 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 1400 sqft, with a 2.5 car detached garage. Architecturally designed by nationally renowned engineering firm H2M, this home is carefully developed to exceed all energy efficiency codes and lower energy costs. SQ4D provides a stronger build than traditional concrete structures while utilizing a more sustainable building process. The future begins with this historic property!”

It’s definitely a beautiful home, with three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, and an open floor plan with more than 1,400 square feet of living space. The house sits on a quarter acre, and also features a two-and-a-half car detached garage, beautiful landscaping, and an adorable front porch.

“At $299,999, this home is priced 50 percent below the cost of comparable newly-constructed homes in Riverhead, New York, and represents a major step towards addressing the affordable housing crisis plaguing Long Island,” said Stephen King of Realty Connect, the Zillow Premier agent who has the listing for the 3D printed home on Millbrook Lane.

Listed on MLS for sale as new construction, the ranch-style home is said to be the first in the U.S. to receive a certificate of occupancy, but it is not entirely 3D printed, as is often the case. SQ4D uses its patent-pending Autonomous Robotic Construction System (ARCS) to 3D print the foundations, footings, exterior, and interior walls out of concrete on-site at the homes it works on.

According to its website, SQ4D’s technology can speed up build times, and because the automation aspect keeps workers out of the way, ARCS is recognized by OSHA for its safety; only three laborers are needed for the printing. Additionally, the company says that it costs much less than normal to build a quality home using ARCS, and that its “concrete compression strength tests exceed the industry standard by double.”

SQ4D is focused on housing that has a low environmental impact, and so works to keep its construction process more eco-friendly by offering:

• low-power consumption
• sustainable materials
• zero waste
• reduced carbon footprint

We usually remain pretty skeptical about 3D printed buildings here at 3DPrint.com, but it seems like a Zillow listing is a pretty big endorsement, and SQ4D is including a 50-year limited warranty with its 3D printed homes, so maybe this is something we can actually get excited about? There are already 3D printed homes in Germany, Italy, Belgium, and France, as well as other countries, and SQ4D states that it has building plans being reviewed all the way from New York to California. So we’ll have to keep a close eye on this one and see what comes in the months ahead.

You can check out the SQ4D website to see a video showing their ARCS 3D printing system in action.

(Source: Woodworking Network / Images: SQ4D Inc.)