In Italy, 3D printer builds affordable homes from mud

WASP are producing a full sized, portable 3D printer which can print mud houses up to 3 metres high.

3D printing is now being used to produce anything from personalized action figuresto tactile maps that help the visually impaired navigate. Now, Italian social businessWASP is developing a full size portable 3D printer which prints bio-architecture houses — combining one of humanity’s latest technological developments with one if its oldest building materials, mud.

In many parts of the world where affordable housing shortages are a growing problem, mud remains the most affordable and widely available raw material. However, building with it is an arduous and labour-intensive process. WASP intend to produce a commercially-available three armed, 20ft portable 3D printer which can be assembled on site, by two people, in two hours and print structures up to 3 metres high. For…