Black Buffalo Aims to 3D Print Housing Communities

LTG Lofts to go, a PropTech company from Germany, and Black Buffalo 3D Corporation are on a mission to create 3D printed communities. The two are joining together in a strategic partnership to make it happen around the world, and push forward availability and production of commercial spaces and mobile housing fabricated by 3D printing. This is a definitely a song and dance we’ve heard before.

So, here’s some background: Black Buffalo 3D is a subsidiary of Big Sun Holdings Group, Inc. and a member of the Hyundai BS&C family of companies, Established by one of the grandsons of the Hyundai Group’s own founders, Hyundai BS&C is involved in such activities as developing new blockchain technologies. Black Buffalo 3D itself has developed two additive construction printers, the NexCon I, for one to two story buildings at over 100 square feet, and NexCon II, for four story buildings and over 1,550 square feet. The company offers cement printing materials with various additives for color, climate and more. 

LTG develops minimalist yet highly functional mobile module homes, including its patented flagship housing solution, the coodo. These are meant to be sustainable, pre-fabricated buildings, with a contemporary wood or aluminum and steel design. They can be used as event booths, workspaces, and vacation or everyday homes.

Each eco-friendly coodo comes with the following:

• high quality double or triple glazed windows
• adaptable air system for optimal comfort
• high-end insulation

LTG’s modular coodos also feature smart technology, so you can access and control your living or business space remotely through your phone. They are meant to be easy to transport if you need to relocate the structure.

Basic coodo

The flagship series is coodo 32, which features an elongated shape that allows for more natural lighting. You can pick from the coodo 32, coodo 64, or coodo 96, with the numbers denoting the unit’s approximate area in square meters. Next is the coodo 24 series, made of weather-resistant wood in approximate sizes of 24, 48, or 72 square meters. Both of these series offer three options: Plain; Basic, which is Plain with an included bathroom; and Full-Living—Basic with a kitchen, furniture, and other living amenities, like a TV and wardrobe. The event coodo is basically a showroom that comes in Small (one module), Medium (two modules), or Large (three modules).

LTG takes sustainability pretty seriously, always on the hunt for renewable energy sources, working to minimize its own environmental impact, and using resources efficiently.

“Among other things, we are using passive and active housing standards as design and construction guides. Almost all our materials are recyclable. We are constantly researching new technologies and designs, so our houses are optimized and technologically up­dated,” the company states on its website.

By partnering with Black Buffalo, LTG can increase its supply of modular coodos to meet growing demand, and also focus on introducing its tredee solution, “inspired by 3D print innovation,” to the housing market.

“In addition to creating beautiful living and working spaces, Lofts to go introduced coodo to maximize usability of remote destinations and available open spaces in residential areas, cities and even rooftops. 3D printers will will allow us more opportunities to create holiday resorts, housing communities and modular commercial parks without the challenges of navigating offshore production and international business hurdles,” said LTG’s CEO and Founder Mark Dare Schmiedel. “We are eager to bring better living to people regardless of economic status, location or level of luxury.”

Black Buffalo works to increase the availability of sustainable construction solutions to enterprises, governments, and NGOs, in order to support environmentally friendly expansion and decrease how long it takes to build a structure. For its part in this alliance, Black Buffalo will supply its own cement material and NexCon construction 3D printers, invented by the CEO of another Hyundai BS&C subsidiary (HISYS), to LTG developers for use in fabricating the new treedees.

NexCon I 3D printer (Image courtesy of Black Buffalo 3D)

“The goals of LTG Lofts to go and Black Buffalo 3D align perfectly. Our 3D printers will bring LTG offerings wherever they are needed,” stated Michael Woods, the CEO and COO of Black Buffalo 3D Corporation.

(Image courtesy of Black Buffalo 3D)

Construction 3D printing offers many advantages to the traditional way of building houses, such as less labor, reduced material waste, and decreased logistics challenges, as printers like Black Buffalo’s NexCon are typically mobile so they can work onsite. But the biggest claim to fame of using 3D printing to build structures is that homes, facilities, and even entire communities, according to this news story, can be built “in a matter of days.” This is generally an untrue claim…I mean, WASP has been working on the village of Shamballa for years.

However, it seems like we’re getting closer to the day when “3D printed houses in a day” are a pretty common occurrence. The fact that the Hyundai Group is getting involved in the additive construction segment may represent serious industrial interest in the technology, even if it is only a fraction of the car giant’s activities. It’s also worth noting that Hyundai BS&C has shortchanged subcontractors in the past, according to the Fair Trade Commission.

(Images: LTG Lofts to go, unless otherwise noted)