Sphere micro-houses will cost about as much as a compact car, designers say.

Last year Japan’s Serendix Partners caught our eye with its concept for spherical, 3-D-printed houses. Not only do they have a stylish, futuristic appeal, Serendix wants them to be low-priced enough to make the cost of buying their 3-D-printed houses comparable to that of a budget-friendly new car.

In order to do that, Serendix needs to be able to make its houses in a very short amount of time, and they’ve recently shown it’s possible by achieving their goal of building a 3-D-printed house in less than 24 hours.

▼ The under-24-hour house

What construction there was took place at the factory of Hyakunen Jutaku, a residential architecture and construction company in the city of Komaki, Aichi Prefecture. With the help of its domestic and overseas partners, Serendix was able to print a 20-metric ton (44,092.5-pound) reinforced concrete frame for the house, with assembly of the pieces taking just three hours. From start to finish, it took 23 hours and 12 minutes to build the house, which Serendix says meets Japanese earthquake and European insulation standards.

It’s worth noting that Serendix doesn’t show, or mention, anything about how the interior of the house it put together in under 24 hours was equipped, but it’s an impressive accomplishment all the same. The company also says that a considerable amount of the total construction time was spent applying paint to the house’s exterior, and that advancements and/or increased automation for that step, as well as fine-tuning of the entire process, could make the total production time even shorter.

Serendix is calling the 3-D-printed house Sphere, and hopes to offer the 10-square meter (108-square foot) structures at a price of three million yen (US$26,090). Initial sales are planned to be through Serendix’s consortium partners for use as camping cabins, vacation homes, and disaster relocation shelters.

Source: Press release
Top image: © Clouds Architecture Office
Insert images: Serendix 
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