On the Ground as Illinois Begins Construction on 3D Printed Housing

What resembled a space vehicle launchpad—complete with a 40 ft x 40 ft pad encircled by a steel lattice and twin two-story gantries towering over the corners—was in fact the site of a groundbreaking project. One of the gantries began to glide along the lattice, revealing its true identity: the head of an enormous 3D printer. It was extruding a cementitious substance, akin to a giant tube of adhesive traversing a dry white gum-line. Despite the sweltering summer heat, the crowd stirred with excitement as they witnessed history: one of the first 3D-printed domiciles designed to withstand earthquakes in the United States had begun construction.

The project, located in Cairo, Illinois—a rust-belt city of 1,700 often lamented as a ‘ghost town’—might just be the technology-driven revival the area needs. If all goes according to plan, the structure of the duplex will be completed in just a few weeks. The printer, requiring only 45 hours of continuous operation to lay down the 220 layers needed, will require a crew of just three to four people. Once the structure is complete, additional crews will take several weeks to finish the home with drywall, plumbing, electrical wiring, flooring, and interior elements, making it ready for habitation.

The 12-ton 3D printer, manufactured in South Korea by Black Buffalo 3D, was purchased by Eminence Resource Inc., a construction firm headquartered in Harrisburg, Illinois. It was shipped to Cairo in three semi-trucks and assembled on-site. Peter Cooperman, interim CMO of Black Buffalo 3D, noted that their firm worked closely with Eminence to ensure compliance with the stringent regulatory standards required for construction in Cairo—a city located in both a floodplain and an earthquake zone. Black Buffalo 3D asserts that its homes are resilient against hurricanes and natural disasters.

Black Buffalo 3D is an increasingly prominent firm involved in 3D printing technology for construction, providing not only the printers but also proprietary cement-based ink and structural walls. The company claims that additive construction offers a 50-80% reduction in build time, labor costs, and site waste. Its partners include notable organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, the National Hemp Association, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, and the Milan-based MAPEI Company, which manufactures “Planitop,” the proprietary cement used in this project. MAPEI describes Planitop as a “one-component, fiber-reinforced, shrinkage-compensated, high-early-strength, fast-setting, polymer-modified, high-build cementitious repair mortar with a corrosion inhibitor.”

“We are proud to donate the first 3D-printed duplex in Illinois to the city of Cairo,” said Josh Burtis, General Manager of Eminence Resource. Burtis has long been excited about the potential of 3D printing for human-scale, habitable structures, drawn by its speed, resilience, longevity, and aesthetic appeal. When planning the Cairo build, he was confident that Planitop’s 10,000 PSI compressive properties would meet the stringent standards set by the International Code Council for construction in the Mississippi Valley region—a region historically impacted by earthquakes and floods. The structure will be further reinforced with both horizontal and vertical steel rebar, making it “over-engineered,” according to Burtis. “The best test is a real-world project,” he added.

Although no concrete plans for additional 3D-printed construction in Cairo have been announced, the various business and political leaders at the inaugural event expressed hope that this home would usher in a new era of prosperity for the city. Burtis indicated that while Eminence Resource has donated this first home, the company hopes to keep the machine in Cairo and is in discussions with private contractors about further projects. “Our main goal is to build affordable workforce housing and keep growing these communities back,” Burtis said. Mayor Simpson echoed this sentiment: “I will continue to do what needs to be done to see things happen… We’re going to make Cairo a prosperous city again.”

The technofuturism suggested by the 3D construction project stands in stark contrast to Cairo’s historical trajectory, where a once-thriving population of 15,000 in 1920 has dwindled to 1,700 by 2022 due to flooding, racial strife, and business closures. Despite these challenges, the city has attracted a few startups and entrepreneurial projects through a mixture of tax incentives, including a 0.5% investment tax credit and a 100% property tax abatement for three years. While the plan to revitalize the Cairo port—granting businesses access to both the Mississippi and Ohio rivers—has faced delays and funding issues, its completion could be the final step needed to bring the future to the present and revitalize the city.