Though 3D printing has grown in popularity in recent years, it has yet to mature into a reliable construction method for everyday structures that is cost effective and easy to duplicate. But that isn’t stopping the owner of a hotel—and soon to be home developer—in the Philippines from going all-in on the technology.
In a report from 3DPrint.com, Lewis Yakich, the owner of The Lewis Grand, says he has completed an entirely 3D printed expansion to his hotel. Yakich says it is the first fully-permitted operational commercial building in the world to be built with a 3D printer.
Originally from California, Yakich is an engineer himself and spent time building houses in the U.S. He designed the structure he is printing himself and tells 3DPrint he wanted it to not only be structurally sound, but stronger than current hollow block construction methods allow for.
The expansion is a two-bedroom villa that is about 1500 square feet and includes a living room and a jacuzzi—also 3D printed. The project took approximately 100 hours to print in addition to the installation of plumbing, wiring and rebar placement.
“The Philippines is actually a great place for concrete printing because of the weather,” Yakich told 3DPrint. “Currently everything is made out of concrete, and it’s a third world country so it can do a lot of good in disaster zones, etc.”
In fact, Yakich believes so much in the technology that he has signed a contract to 3D print and entire subdivision of 20 homes. He estimates that it will take them around one week to print six houses, saving 60 percent on building costs..
Yakich plans to use the money saved to build high quality, luxurious homes to those who could normally not afford something like that.
