Sustainability and affordability in the housing industry is a big concern… plus the building and construction sector is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases.
This, combined with the fact that she sawmills of Maine generate about 1 million tons of wood waste each year has inspired researchers at the University of Maine to figure out a way to to those wood residuals to create homes… printing them using the world’s largest 3D printer of its kind.
Designed to address labor shortages and supply chain issues that are driving high costs and constricting the supply of affordable housing, they have created a prototype, 600-square foot home that they’re calling BioHome3D…. constructed using just two ingredients: wood waste and corn resin.
Why 3D printing could make housing cheaper and more sustainable
Another company, Miami-based Renco USA, is also building sustainable housing but it’s using interlocking bricks made from recycled materials instead of 3D printers. “It’s all interlocking, like a Lego, so all the pieces have this same top and bottom component here, and they fit together,” Patrick E. Murphy, managing director of Renco, told ABC News. “They’re as easy as that.”
Building Homes With ‘Legos on Steroids’
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com
Photo from Green Designation eNewsletter for May 2025
