Dutch Architect Wants To Build A House Using 3D Printers

For as amazing as it is that 3D printing technology can produce small plastic items such as toys and parts for medical appliances, a Dutch architect envisions an entire house printed in 3D. Janjaap Ruijssenaars is that visionary, and together with a 3D printing expert named Enrico Dini, he believes he can do it.

Ruijssenaars apparently already has the design in mind, too--a “Landscape House” that is essentially a large mobius strip and is intended to bring together the indoors and outdoors. Obviously, the project requires a special printer; models such as the ones we looked at recently are a mite too small for such an endeavor.

Enter Enrico Dini’s giant D Shape 3D printer, a “mega scale free-form printer of buildings” that uses sand to create a strong, marble-like material. Using the D Shape, Dini will create 20 by 30-foot blocks that will be reinforced with fiberglass and concrete.


The first house should be completed by 2014, and Ruijssenaars hopes to build one in every country. Each house will cost about $4-5 million euros to complete.