News

Credits: Backbone

The first 3D-concrete printing housing project

In the city of Eindhoven (The Netherlands) the realization of the first of five planned 3D-printed concrete houses will start this year. The project, called Project Milestone, is a world’s first, as the houses will all be occupied. The project partners (municipality of Eindhoven, Eindhoven University of Technology, contractor Van Wijnen, real estate manager Vesteda, materials company Saint Gobain-Weber Beamix and engineering firm Witteveen+Bos) revealed the design and the building site today.

The project will be realized in the Eindhoven city expansion area Meerhoven over the next five years. The first house, which will be a single-floor house, is expected to be ready for occupation end 2019. The other four houses will be multi-storey houses. Vesteda is the prospective buyer and will let the houses to tenants. The concrete dwellings will be subject to all the regular building regulations and will meet the demands of current-day occupants concerning comfort, lay-out, quality and pricing.

The design of the houses is based on erratic blocks in a green landscape. The irregular shape of the buildings can be realized thanks to one of the key features of 3D-printing: the ability to construct almost any shape. The design aims at a high level of quality and sustainability. For example, the houses will not have a natural gas connection, which is quite rare in the Netherlands.

Realtime innovation

During the project, research on concrete printing will be done for new innovations. The five houses will be built consecutively, so these innovations and all lessons learnt can be applied in the next house. The building elements of the first house will all be printed by the concrete printer at the university. It is the intention to gradually shift the whole construction work to the construction site. The last house will be fully realized on site, including the print work.

Eindhoven is a hot spot for 3D-concrete printing, with the research group of concrete technology professor Theo Salet and its concrete printer as pivotal elements. The group recently printed world’s first 3D-printed concrete bridge for cyclists in the village of Gemert.

Game changer

3D-printing of concrete is a potential game changer in the building industry. Besides the ability to construct almost any shape, it also enables architects to design very fine concrete structures. Another new possibility is to print all kinds, qualities and colors of concrete, all in a single product. This enables integration of all sorts of functions in one and the same building element. Also it becomes easy to incorporate individual wishes for every single house, at minimum extra costs. Another important advantage is sustainability, as much less concrete is needed and hence much less cement, which reduces the CO2 emissions originating from cement production.

Share it
  • Project Milestone to be continued: 4 new 3D concrete printed houses are going up

    In 2021, the first 3D concrete printed house of Project ‘Milestone’ rolled out of the 3D printer and the first tenants received the key to this unique house in the Bosrijk district of Eindhoven. A world first that made the international press; never before has a printed house actually been lived in. Now, three years later, the project is to be continued with four upgraded houses, this time...

  • EenVandaag: innovaties in de bouw

    Het actualiteitenprogramma EenVandaag heeft in de zomer opnames gemaakt in Eindhoven, Heerenveen en Julianadorp voor een zomerserie. In deze serie komen innovaties in de bouw aan bod met als centrale vraag: hoe zorgen we voor één miljoen nieuwe woningen in 2030? In beeld is gebracht hoe onze woningfabriek in Heerenveen daaraan gaat bijdragen. En hoe kan onze 3D-betonprinte woning daaraan...

  • News 3D concrete printed house is going all over the world

    On Friday, April 30, 2021, the first occupant of the 3D concrete-printed house in Eindhoven received the key. And that news has not gone unnoticed! From Australia to America and from China to Honolulu. The first house of the five of "Project Milestone" is going all over the world. A long line of national and international top media turned it into messages, articles or video items. That...

  • Live stream presentation

    On April 30, 2021, the first Milestone home was presented to the outside world via a live stream. This broadcast can be viewed on YouTube.

  • Images and videos

    Would you like to download images and video material from the Milestone project? Then look in our gallery or on Youtube. Special requests? Please contact us via milestone@vanwijnen.nl

Partners

Project Milestone is made possible by

Read more