Katie Canales/Business Insider
Icon will 3D-print six more tiny homes at a property in Austin housing the city's homeless population.
- Icon is an Austin startup that designs 3D-printing technology capable of building tiny homes in about a day for a fraction of the cost of traditional construction methods.
- Icon cofounder Evan Loomis told Business Insider that pinpointing an exact cost estimate is tricky, but the company successfully printed a 350-square-foot proof-of-concept home for $10,000 in 24 hours in 2018.
- The company isn't the first to design 3D printing technology for home building, but its unique customization and on-site construction could be revolutionary feats amid a growing demand in the US for affordable housing.
- Icon's latest 3D printer, the Vulcan ll, is available for purchase and is already being put to use.
- The Austin-based Cielo Property Group is using the printer to construct homes for formerly homeless residents at Community First Village. New Story, a nonprofit dedicated to housing families in need in the developing world, is building 50 homes in Latin America using the technology.
- "Our hope is that this isn't a novelty, but this is actually the new way of construction for the future," Loomis said.
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