3D Communities: The future of housing

“There are more decent and cost-efficient structures that can be built for those living in displaced areas.

Sunday’s magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Mindanao was another wake-up call for authorities to find alternative means to protect Filipinos and provide more disaster-resilient living conditions.

As various netizens posted photos and videos of the destruction, affordable and safe housing comes into mind especially after a six-year-old girl was among the casualties in Davao del Sur after she was pinned down inside their house.

One of the possible options that the Philippine government and disaster officials should look at is the construction of 3D (three-dimensional) communities. While the current application of the mid-rise to high-rise tenements are being used for human settlements in urban and non-urban areas, there are more decent and cost-efficient structures that can be built for those living in displaced areas.

One example that can be replicated in the Philippines is the 3D housing in Tabasco, Mexico. You read that right, 3-D houses that are not prototypes and are livable. The people who will transfer to this community are from places that are known to be prone to flooding and earthquakes. The beneficiaries will be living in their new 500-square-foot houses that are safer compared to their makeshift shelters that are usually built with old plywood and other materials.

The American construction technologies company which led the project, ICON, said the houses were printed in 24 hours across several days using robotics and advanced software. The revolutionary shelters were printed by an extra-large 3D printer called the Vulcan II.

The company said these customized homes can be built quicker, with less waste and at a lower cost. It took them 18 months to complete the planning of the creation of the 3D housing community which will have 50 homes in the remote part of Mexico.

“The 3D-printed homes feature two bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and bath. Co-designed with feedback from the families who will live in them, the homes have been created to meet the specific needs of the community. Resting within a seismic zone, the community and its homes were engineered above the standard safety requirements including robust foundations to ensure the homes will last for generations,” the company website stated.

The construction was not easy. The area where they built the houses did not have a stable power supply and frequent flooding also became a challenge. However, the sustainable houses were designed to tackle the shortages for vulnerable residents.

The situation in Tabasco is similar to the Philippines since we are susceptible to disasters. In extreme cases, rebuilding the houses would also become cheaper and the government would avoid more expensive materials for traditional construction.

The future of safe shelters is now, and it would be foolish to ignore these alternate facilities that we can provide our people. It is safer. affordable and more importantly, readily available for us to look into.