Constructing a home by hand can be both expensive and time-consuming, especially when the home features a custom design. Some homebuilders have chosen to automate part of the construction process instead.
A new architectural startup called Branch Technology uses 3D-printing robots that can construct parts for homes.
The company will build a prototype of its first home, designed by architecture firm WATG, this year in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Branch’s machines will print the walls, roof, and floor of the 1,0000-square-foot model over the span of a few months, and then a construction crew will assemble the components on-site.
The cost of the prototype (somewhere between $300,000 and $400,000) will be higher than what Branch eventually hopes to offer to customers. The project's larger goal is to push the boundaries of 3D printing in construction.
Take a look at the home, called Curve Appeal, below.
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Branch Technology will complete its prototype of a home using 3D printers in late fall at Chattanooga State Community College, the director of sales, David Fuehrer, told Business Insider.
In 2016, Chicago-based WATG won Branch's Freeform Home Design Challenge, a competition to imagine the future of 3D-printed home construction.
Curve Appeal will span 1,000 square feet, and will feature a bedroom, bathroom, and living room.
From start to finish, the construction process will take three to four months.
To build it, Branch's system will first turn WATG’s design into code that the 3D printers can read.
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