Step Into ICON’s Latest 3D Printed House Zero

High-profile construction technology company ICON revealed its latest collaboration with renowned architecture firm Lake Flato Architects; a 3D-printed home in Austin named “House Zero”. The work will be displayed during the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival.

House Zero by ICON and Lake Flato. Photography by Casey Dunn

House Zero was constructed using ICON’s Vulcan building technology and is located in a single-family residential neighborhood in East Austin, Texas. The walls of the 2,000-square-foot (186-square-meter) mansion are built using 3D printing, a process that mechanically dispenses layers of material based on a computer program. It took only ten days to print the 3D-printed walls section of the house.

The walls are reinforced with steel and printed with a unique ICON material called Lavacrete, which is a cement-like substance that is airtight and provides greater insulation than conventional materials. The design team was committed to using materials that are both “honest to their nature” and supporting concrete. This way, they ensure that House Zero satisfies the 3D-printing requirements and connects to organic architecture.

“The home expresses our shared passions for craft and performance in an inviting and comfortable family home constructed through a totally new way of building”.

ICON Creates a Basis for New Design Languages

Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of ICON, says House Zero sets the foundation for the emerging new design languages and architectural vernaculars that will use robotic construction to deliver the things we need most from our housing: comfort, beauty, dignity, sustainability, attainability, and hope.

According to ICON, the first company to sell ready-to-purchase 3D printed homes in the United States, the home was constructed utilizing biophilic design principles, with the smooth curves of the 3D-printed support walls creating “naturalistic circulation routes throughout the residence.” In addition to being able to build houses faster, technology may also allow for the construction of homes like these at a reduced cost.

House Zero by ICON and Lake Flato. Photography by Casey Dunn

House Zero contains three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, and a one-bedroom, one-bathroom auxiliary living unit. While the outer walls are made of Lavacrete’s gentle lines, the inner walls, ceiling, and rafters are mostly made of wood.

“It’s regional and sensible and welcoming so, in that way, it’s what a really good mid-century ranch house wants to be, […] And yet the new technology has freed it from rigid stylistic definitions and easy labels.”
—Said Lewis McNeel, the associate partner at Lake Flato.

The semi-circular Lavacrete walls that encircle the living space at the front of the house are accented with glass that allows views of the street, while rafters that run the length of the house and cantilever into awnings support the flat roof.

According to Dezeen, ICON has no intentions to sell House Zero, but would instead utilize it to attract “partners, architects, organizations, developers, and exhibit the future of homebuilding.” The structure was built in time for the SXSW festival in Austin, which runs from March 11 to March 20, 2022.

House Zero by ICON and Lake Flato. Photography by Casey Dunn

In terms of sustainability, McNeel said that both the insulation properties and the cutting down of material used make it a viable option. He added that the number of separate materials and construction steps on a job site can be eliminated if we can print the equivalent of cladding, sheathing, thermal breaks, formwork for structure, and interior finish all in one pass of the printer.

ICON has been collaborating with different designers and disciplines to make the best of the 3D printing technology—last year, ICON collaborated with both Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and NASA to create a 3D-printed structure that simulates human life on Mars. The structure, called Mars Dune Alpha, is currently under construction at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas, USA.