Technology Innovations in ADU Construction

The construction industry is currently undergoing a revolutionary change as 3D printing technology proves to be a promising solution to the global affordable housing crisis.

Companies from Germany to Australia are pioneering additive manufacturing techniques that could fundamentally change the way we build homes, potentially enabling shorter construction times, lower costs and greater sustainability.

These innovative companies are going beyond feasibility demonstrations to deliver actual social housing projects, with impressive results already seen in communities across Europe, North America and Australia. With traditional construction methods no longer sufficient to meet the growing demand for housing, these technological pioneers are showing that 3D printing could be not just an alternative, but potentially the future of affordable housing worldwide.

Key Companies and Their Activities:

PERI 3D Construction (Germany): This German firm completed Europe’s first publicly funded 3D printed social housing development in Lünen, Germany in 2023. The project comprises a three-story building with six apartments, where the first two stories were 3D printed using a COBOD 3D printer. While the printing process for the multi-family house took 118 hours, the overall construction time was 1.5 years, with a total cost of 1.9 million euros supported by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The rent for these social housing units is approximately six euros per square meter. PERI has also been involved in other 3D printing projects in Germany, including a football clubhouse and a data centre. Notably, PERI partnered with Holcim to unveil the largest 3D printed villa in France, ViliaSprint².

They are also collaborating with Krause Group to build what is set to be the 'largest 3D-printed building in Europe', a data centre in Heidelberg, Germany. PERI's construction printing aims to expedite the industrialisation of the construction process, potentially leading to a greater number of buildings in a shorter time and at a lower cost, as well as increased sustainability.


Harcourt Technologies Ltd (HTL.tech) (Ireland): This construction 3D printing specialist recently completed three social housing units in Grange Close, Ireland. This development is recognised as Europe’s first social housing project compliant with the ISO/ASTM 52939:2023 additive manufacturing standard.

These 1,184 square feet apartments were built using COBOD’s BOD2 3D printer. The entire construction process reportedly took only 132 working days, which is 35% faster than traditional methods.

The buildings feature a load-bearing wall system with two concrete walls and a cavity, eliminating the need for steel reinforcement. HTL.tech emphasises the role of the COBOD BOD2 3D printer in achieving this accelerated and sustainable approach to housing construction.


Contour3D (Australia): This local company is integral to a 3D printed social housing project in Dubbo, Australia, led by an aboriginal-led organisation. The project, supported by the government of New South Wales, is currently underway, with roof trusses recently installed on the 3D printed frame of a duplex.

The development is expected to take just 16 weeks to complete and will consist of two-bedroom duplexes offered to local residents through the Aboriginal Housing Office.

Contour3D's technology was also used in Australia’s first 3D printed one-bedroom home to be granted a full occupation certificate.


ICON (USA): This construction 3DP firm has partnered with Mobile Loaves & Fishes, a non-profit in Austin, Texas, to build a significant number of homes in its Community First! Village, a neighbourhood aiming to house 1,800 formerly homeless people.

ICON is slated to construct 100 more homes in the community, following an ongoing partnership where they built 17 homes and facilities using their 3D printing technology. ICON has also worked on other housing projects, including 100 affordable 3D printed homes at Wolf Ranch in Georgetown, Texas.

ICON's 3D-printed homes feature elevated architectural and energy-efficient designs, showcasing resilience and sustainability. They utilise their Vulcan robotic construction systems, software, and advanced materials, with each wall produced with less waste and more design freedom.

Their Vulcan system includes the printer and the Magma portable mixing unit for their proprietary building material, Lavacrete. The hardware is driven by ICON’s BuildOS software suite.


Azure Printed Homes (USA): This company manufactures affordable housing by transforming diverted plastic waste into recycled plastic building material. Each 3D-printed home repurposes approximately 150,000 plastic bottles.

Azure's customizable homes can serve as studios, backyard accessory dwelling units (ADUs), and tiny homes. The company generated over $4 million in revenue in its second year and secured $30 million in pre-orders in 2024.

Executives have noted favourable trends accelerating consumer and investor interest, such as the loosening of rules on ADUs, interest rate decreases, and faster approvals for factory-built homes.


Mighty Buildings (USA): This company utilises innovative 3D printing, robotics, and automation to build customisable home kits with, they claim, 99% less waste and a lower carbon footprint than traditionally constructed homes.

Their goal is to produce fully carbon-neutral houses by 2028. Mighty Buildings was involved in the construction of Mighty House Quatro, a 20-home, net-zero development in Southern California, using 3D-printing methods reported to be twice as fast as traditional construction and generating 99% less waste.


COBOD International (Denmark): This company is a world leader in 3D construction printing solutions, constantly aiming to improve printing speed, efficiency, labour needs, and material costs.

They have sold over 50 3D printers and are helping to lead the way in 3D construction printing. COBOD's BOD2 3D printer was crucial in the completion of the social housing project by HTL.tech in Ireland, achieving a 35% faster construction time.

Their technology is also being used to construct the first 3D printed school in Lviv, Ukraine. COBOD helped Danish startup 3DCP Group construct Europe’s first 3D-printed tiny house, House 1.0, in 2022.

Kamp C in Belgium used a special printer supplied by COBOD to 3D print its namesake demo house in one piece, claiming it has a compressive strength three times greater than conventional brick.
 WASP (Italy): This company focuses on 3D printing using bio-plastic, clay, silicone, and biocompatible materials, aiming to build ‘zero-mile’ homes using locally sourced materials and renewable energies.

In 2018, WASP introduced Crane WASP, a collaborative 3D printing system capable of printing houses. Their TECLA project, developed with Mario Cucinella Architects, is a bioclimatic, low-carbon proof-of-concept housing built from 350 layers of locally sourced clay.

TECLA represents a circular housing model and was constructed rapidly in 200 hours, with 72 hours of active printing time.


Apis Cor (Russia/USA): This award-winning construction technology company is making progress in concrete 3D printing. They designed and successfully tested 3D printed concrete walls comparable to structurally reinforced concrete block walls, with their proprietary concrete material reportedly 33% stronger.

Apis Cor seeks to introduce automation to increase productivity and speed up construction, aiming to build low-rise buildings robotically to meet housing demand. They constructed Russia’s first fully 3D-printed house in Stupino, Moscow, in just 24 hours using a transportable 3D printer. They also built the first 3D printed home listed for sale in the United States using their Max Autonomous Robotic Construction System (ARCS).