Winsun Pushes the Frontier of 3D Printed Housing

The idea of using additive manufacturing (AM) systems to build full-scale architectural projects hasn’t really caught on in the West. Sure, we have 3D printed castles and vague plans for a moon base, but the resounding response to bringing AM to the construction yard seems to be, “meh.”

Not so in China, where WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Co. continues to push ahead with AM architecture. Winsun previously came to our attention by constructing a number of 3D printed, pre-fab small housing units essentially overnight. Since then, the company has continued to refine its construction techniques, and now is able to produce entire habitable buildings.

Winsun construction projects are printed off-site and rapidly assembled to create a finished building. Courtesy of Winsun.

Suzhou Industrial Park in Jiangsu province is the home to two new buildings. One is a standard looking five story apartment building, the other a sort of mini-mansion, complete with external decorations. Both of the buildings were constructed in basically the same manner, using Winsun’s giant AM system.

We built houses with a 3D Printer, which is 20 feet tall, 33 feet wide and 132 feet long… The parts, such as frame, [and] walls were printed separately. Such a new type of 3D-printed structure is environment-friendly and cost-effective. All materials used were created from recycled construction waste, industrial waste and tailings. We produce a mix of cement and construction waste to construct the walls layer by layer, a process much like how a baker might ice a cake.

Winsun’s vision of a deluxe 3D printed mansion. Courtesy of Winsun.

What Winsun is describing is basically a giant fused deposition modeling (FDM) system that uses recycled material to build new objects. The company claims it will construct over 100 new recycling centers across China to help keep up with material demands. Added up, that may well make Winsun the greenest manufacturing outfit in China.

Winsun has also begun to have some success in peddling the idea of 3D printed houses to outside buyers. A Taiwanese real estate company has ordered a $160,000 prototype mansion, and the Egyptian government has ordered 20,000 smaller, simpler housing units. Other obvious areas for development include parts of Africa and South America where cheap, durable housing would be welcome.

Below you’ll find a video about Winsun’s projects.

Sources: Winsun, Arch Daily