Netherlands Housing Shortage Could Be Solved By 3D Printed Homes

Could 3D printed homes be the housing answer for expats flocking to the Netherlands?

Rents and purchase prices of homes in the Netherlands are soaring due to demand exceeding supply, especially in Amsterdam and The Hague. The situation has been exacerbated by the huge number of expat professionals and tech entrepreneurs arriving in the small country over the past few years. Eindhoven has the same problems with supply versus demand, but an unconventional solution may have been found.

By 2019, the world’s first lived-in 3D printed home will serve as a model for a development of five and will comply with all Dutch building regulations. 3D printed homes can be seen elsewhere in the world as examples of the innovative technique, but this group will be the first to be occupied year-round. The first concrete, single storey, dwelling will be printed off-site and delivered, with plans to print the fifth, three-storey home on site. Three companies and the Eindhoven municipality are working together on the project, with the occupants of the first house reporting on possible improvements which will be including in the second construction and so on, ending with the build of the fifth house.

Architectural and construction bureau Houben and Van Meirlo took the futuristic design inspiration for the homes from boulders in a green landscape, resulting in rounded edges and asymmetry whilst allowing for perpendicular walls in the normal manner. 3D printed houses could well be a game-changer both for the Dutch construction industry and the real estate market as a whole. Construction is faster, far less expensive and far more environmentally friendly as well as reducing the labour-intensive nature of the industry.