The latest instalment of our Dezeen x MINI Living series features a sustainable 3D-printed house made with soil and agricultural waste.
Italian 3D-printing technology developer WASP, built the house to showcase the abilities of Crane Wasp, a modular 3D-printer that can create homes in a variety of formats and sizes.
Called Gaia, the 30-square-metre house has a 3D-printed outer shell and internal timber beams holding a timber roof. It was printed on site in Massa Lombardo, a town in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, in October 2018.
The Gaia house was 3D-printed using natural materials such as soil and waste from rice production
The house was printed using a natural mud mixture made from soil taken from the surrounding site, as well as waste materials from rice production such as chopped straw and rice husks. "Gaia is the result of a limited and optimised use of agricultural resources, which through technology have been converted into a complex building with a minimal environmental footprint," WASP told Dezeen.
The company also claims the final product is biodegradable.
"If the building isn't maintained, it will turn back into soil," stated the company.
The mixture is layered using a 3D-printer suspended from a crane, creating walls with vertical cavities inside, which are then filled with rice husks for insulation.
The house was built with the company's Crane Wasp printer, a modular 3D-printer made to print homes
The company claims this method of i...