The lasting legacy of a 3D-printed home
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Alan Graham, the founder and CEO of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, walks by two 3D-printed homes made by Icon at Community First! Village. Photo: Nicole Cobler/Axios
This report is part of "Texas Testbed," a series on how the state is becoming a real-world lab for emerging technologies.
Tim Shea made headlines more than five years ago for moving into the world's first permitted 3D-printed home.
Zoom in: After Shea died in January at age 75, Community First! Village honored him with a hand-painted portrait and a resting place in its memorial garden, just as it does for every resident who dies there.
- "What do y'all think about what God has done in here?" Alan Graham, the founder of Mobile Loaves & Fishes and key visionary behind the village, asked visitors as he pulled his golf cart beside the memorial garden on a recent summer day.
Catch up quick: Shea, who had experienced chronic homelessness, moved into one of Icon's 3D-printed homes in Community First! Village in December 2020 — the same week as his 70th birthday.
- The milestone drew national attention, helping put Austin-based Icon and 3D-printed construction on the map.
Between the lines: At Community First! Village, the 3D-printed homes have become more than a place to test new technology.
- Shea lived in his home until his death. Today, he's one of 53 former neighbors memorialized in the village's columbarium, where Community First! Village offers free cremation and a permanent resting place for residents who died while living there.
State of play: Community First! Village, off Decker Lake Road in East Austin, is undergoing an expansion that will more than double its size, adding more than 1,300 homes, including about 100 built by Icon's robotic printers.
- The community and its $225 million expansion are funded by private donations and government grants.
What's next: As Community First! Village grows, so will the memorial garden where residents are remembered long after they're gone.
- "We'll etch your name in granite ... Then we promise you, for the rest of our lives, we'll tell the story about who you are," Graham says.
