Dylan Bettencourt
Researchers from the University of Johannesburg (UJ) have built a six-roomed RDP house using concrete 3D printing – and they did it in one day.
South Africa’s social housing backlog is one of the most pressing issues in the country with not enough houses being built and existing projects taking too long.
“The Department of Science and Innovation of UJ has identified 3D printing as a transformative technology that has the potential to revolutionise housing delivery in the country,” the university wrote on its website.
“The DSI has embarked on a programme for the piloting and demonstration of 3D printing additive technologies for sustainable human settlements in South Africa.”
UJ vice-chancellor Professor Tshilidzi Marwala revealed that a team at the university built the RDP house in one day.
“This 3D Printer at the University of Johannesburg is fast. A full house in one day. If we invest in this technology, we can provide our people with decent housing fast and end informal housing,” he wrote on Twitter.
UJ’s findings revealed that the 3D printing system, depending on the system used and the thickness of the walls, an RDP house can be built in just five hours.
However, as good as it looks and sounds, there are downsides to 3D printing a house.
“Two perceived disadvantages of 3D printing were identified: it reduces local labour employment (in number of workers and time) and reduces contribution to the local economy (local material purchasing and local labour employment),” the UJ research team said.
The study concluded that in terms of factors such as time and cost, 3D printing a house is an alternative method to delivering a house quicker with a better quality of finish, at a lower cost.
Image source: @IOL
