3D Printing Brings Housing to Tabasco

Vulcan II, a 3D printer, has built two of fifty anticipated homes in southeast Tabasco, Mexico, at the direction of US and Mexican non-profits aiming to provide homes to the most vulnerable families in the region.

New Story, which has helped built more than 2,700 homes and served over 15,000 people throughout Mexico and Latin America, has pivoted from traditional construction methods and partnered with construction technology company ICON and Mexican non-profit ECHALE to screen for qualified families to live in the homes built by Vulcan II.

Since the state is rife with seismic activity and prone to flooding these variables were key considerations to design development in conjunction with the “feedback from the families who will live in them.” The final product will “meet the specific needs of the community,” detailed a press release by New Story. Moreover, for added safety and durability, the homes and community were engineered above standard safety requirements with reinforced foundations.

The 33-foot printer developed by Austin based ICON, uses a concrete mix to build the walls of the 500 ft2 (46m2) homes one layer at a time. The individual homes of this community will have two bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room and a kitchen with a flat roof and curved walls reminiscent of the design native to the region. Since the printer has yet to complete the other 48 homes, and hence an active construction zone, future residents have not been able to move into their new homes. Notably, there is no price tag on the homes as of now, but New Story says it want to provide a sense of ownership and is working with the selected families to have them pay 20 to 30 percent of their income.

The families selected to live in this community were screened from a pool of 500 applicants by non-profit ECHALE, which has provided 250,000 housing solutions throughout the country as of January 2021. "These families are the most vulnerable, and in the lowest income [bracket] ... they're living on about an average of US$3 a day," said Brett Hagler, CEO and Co-founder of New Story.

This project is also being developed alongside the local government as part of a larger community plan where families will have access to “green spaces, parks, community amenities and basic utilities through this master plan provided by the local government,” says New Story.

Click on the links provided if you wish to donate to New Story or ECHALE.