No this is not coming to a sub-division near you. However, it could be part of our future as inter-planetary beings.
3D printing is offering enormous potential for creativity when it comes to the construction of homes. This not only applies to design, it also includes materials.
Part of my theory for rapid technological advancement over the next couple decades is the innovation that is going to take place for space. Many of these breakthroughs will translate into usage on Earth here. This certainly is true for those industries that have not changed a great deal over the past few decades such as construction.
We are already seeing a number of 3D printing projects as it pertains to construction. Just last month there was an announcement of a 3D printing home that floats. Many are aware of the community being printed in Mexico for low income individuals.
NASA put together a competition in 2015 to find a way to colonize space. The focus was upon the development of buildings on Mars using 3D printers and the materials that are known there.
The top prize ($500,000) went to AI Space Factory, a New York-based architecture and construction technologies company focused on building for space exploration. Their dual-shell, four-level design is called Marsha, and unlike Martian habitats we’ve seen on the big screen or read about in sci-fi novels, it’s neither a dome nor an underground bunker. In fact, it sits fully above ground and it looks like a cross between a hive and a giant egg.
Selecting egg-shaped was not done by mistake. The geometric design is known to be durable while also providing plenty of room. Efficiency is also a priority and this option uses less materials.
In my mind, this is one of the more fascinating areas of development. The construction industry is very similar to how it was decades ago. Machinery made progress yet the general process is still the same. It is very labor intensive with materials basically assembled piece-by-piece. Overall automation has not really occurred.
With so much focus being placed upon space colonization, whether it is the moon, Mars, or space stations, the greatest benefit might end up here on Earth. Since the money is being poured into R&D, companies will seek to generate a return by applying them to commercial purposes as soon as possible.
The advantage to the renewed space race is the fact that it forces people to "think big". This is not just developing an application that, even if successful, has little lasting impact upon humanity. Space is the exact opposite. To start, the money being invested is enormous, running into the hundreds of billions of dollars.
Also, the challenges force us to question things at a fundamental level. Many things that are taken for granted on Earth, such as materials being used, are not so clear when it comes to space. The same processes that are used at home here tend not to apply "up there". Hence, we have to rethink everything.
Of course, it is highly possible that the new thinking gives us a better way of doing things as compared to what we are doing now. Using 3D printing in building construction is one such example.
So who knows? There might be a time when we drive into a sub-division and it is filled with egg-shaped homes.
Maybe they will not be exclusive to Mars.
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