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Dec 22, 2021 - Economy & Business

A 3D-printed home for the holidays

Joann Muller
Alquist CEO Zachary Mannheimer with new homeowner April Stringfield and her son.

Alquist CEO Zachary Mannheimer with new homeowner April Stringfield and her son. Photo: Alquist

Habitat for Humanity handed over keys to its first 3D-printed home to a Virginia woman and her son on Tuesday.

Driving the news: The house in Williamsburg, Virginia, was built by a construction tech startup called Alquist, using a giant 3D printer.

  • It took just 28 hours to print the exterior walls of the 1,200-square-foot, 3-bedroom, 2-bath home, shaving at least four weeks off standard construction methods.
  • It's the first home owned by April Stringfield, who invested 300 hours of sweat equity with Habitat to qualify.

The big picture: 3D-printing technology is transforming the homebuilding process to help solve an affordable housing crisis as well as a shortage of skilled labor and rising material costs.

  • Zachary Mannheimer founded Alquist in 2020 and partnered with Habitat for Humanity to help solve the rural housing crisis.

Editors' note: This story has been corrected to reflect the amount of time it took to print portions of the Habitat for Humanity home. 

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