[Science World] The Era of 'Printing' Buildings... A House Built in Just One Day

3D Printing Architecture Spreads Overseas
Legal Restrictions Limit Growth Domestically

Building a house is not easy. Even constructing a small house takes more than half a year. How great would it be if there were a way to complete a house in just a few days? Such technology realistically exists. It is already a frequently considered method when building houses. Because houses are built as if they are printed, it is called ‘3D printing architecture’ (hereafter 3D architecture).

The principle of 3D architecture is the same as the ‘3D printer’ often seen in laboratories. When the blueprint is input, a large robotic arm moves and stacks special concrete layer by layer to build the house, drastically shortening the construction period compared to traditional building methods. For a typical house, the exterior wall construction can be completed in as little as one day or, at most, a few days. Although interior work must follow, the total time still does not exceed 2 to 3 months.

Some people feel uneasy about the idea of ‘printing’ a building. They worry there might be shortcomings in durability, insulation performance, or usability. However, experts in the field believe most of these issues have been resolved. A representative example is the large-scale single-family housing complex ‘Wolf Ranch’ being built by the American 3D architecture company ICON in the southern area of Austin, Texas. The construction is currently in its final stages. The houses are relatively large, ranging from 81 to 115 pyeong (approximately 267 to 381 square meters), and are single-story buildings with 4 to 5 bedrooms. They have excellent insulation, making them 45 to 60% more energy-efficient than typical houses, and are sturdy enough to withstand powerful winds of up to 405 km/h.

3D houses can be made very sturdy. In 2023, a domestic 3D architecture company in Korea conducted safety tests on 3D buildings in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology. They drove a passenger car weighing over 1 ton at 50 km/h into the side wall of the building, yet the adjacent glass window did not break.

The problem is cost. The houses in the Wolf Ranch complex built by ICON start at around $450,000 (approximately 600 million KRW). Another company is building 15 3D houses near Palm Springs, California, with prices reaching about $650,000 (approximately 868 million KRW). Since 3D architecture is still in its early stages, development costs and other expenses are included, resulting in high price tags. However, there is much expectation that prices will decrease as the market grows.

3D architecture offers great advantages in the urgent context of stabilizing the domestic housing market, but legal obstacles remain a problem. Currently, it is limited to constructing small facilities or security posts rather than residential buildings. This is an issue that needs to be addressed quickly. 3D architecture is a global trend. According to market research firm Transparency Market Research, the global 3D architecture market size is expected to grow from $1.2 billion (approximately 1.65 trillion KRW) in 2021 to $3.3 billion (approximately 4.55 trillion KRW) by 2031, with an average annual growth rate of 40.3%.

3D architecture is fundamentally related to robotics and mechanical technology, areas where domestic companies have strong competitiveness. This is why there are calls to promptly revise and supplement domestic laws related to 3D architecture for global market entry.

Jeon Seung-min, Science and Technology Writer, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science