The University of Maine Advanced Structure and Composite Center (ASCC) has unveiled a new test home that was 3D-printed with bio-materials. The house is a prototype to test the feasibility of 3D-printing mid-sized homes only using a novel mixture of wood fibers and bio-resins instead of extruded concrete. 

The ASCC designed the 600-sq-ft (about 50sqm) BioHome3D as a simple rectangular unit with an overarching arched roof. Thanks to this design, the team could 3D-print the floors, roof, walls, and even the supporting front columns of the unit.

“Many technologies are being developed to 3D print homes, but unlike BioHome3D, most are printed using concrete. However, only the concrete walls are printed on top of a conventionally cast concrete foundation. Traditional wood framing or wood trusses are used to complete the roof,” said Habib Dagher, ASCC executive director and lead of the project. “Unlike the existing technologies, the entire BioHome3D was printed. The biomaterials used are 100% recyclable, so our great-grandchildren can fully recycle BioHome3D.”

The materials used for BioHome3D are derived mostly from the waste of wood processing facilities. Therefore they’re not just sustainable–they’re also quite cheap. According to Dagher, the technology used to print the Maine prototype house could help alleviate the long-standing shortage of affordable housing in the United States. Researchers estimate that in Maine only, sawmills and processing facilities produce enough wood waste to make about 100,000 BioHome3D every year.