Amsterdam-based DUS Architects embarked on an ambitious three-year plan to create an entirely 3D-printed canal house along the Buiksloter canal in the northern part of the city. Officially launched in March 2014, the public "Research by Design and Doing" project will culminate in 13 rooms and be constructed on site, starting with the facade then going room by room.
To give a preview of what to expect from the finished row house, DUS has 3D printed a micro version of the Canal House called the Urban Cabin that measures eight square meters (or 86 square feet). The cabin is made of sustainable bio-plastic rendered in layers of a ridged, honeycomb-like pattern similar to the walls of the larger house, with two glass windows on either end, one of which acts as an entrance with a small porch area for sitting outside.
Concrete was used for the floor, infilling a patterned grid and extending from the house to create a small walkway. Because the cabin only has space for a bed, which folds into a seat during the day, a large, also 3D-printed bathtub sits outside. (Though this arrangement makes sense in a secluded area, it’s completely impractical in an urban environment, which is where this home is intended to remain.)
The Urban Cabin, which is open for short-term stays, was built to show how "additive manufacturing," or 3D-printing, can be used in temporary housing or disaster relief. Once the building is no longer in use, its components can be "shredded entirely and re-printed into new designs," the team told Dezeen. Have a look below. Would you consider staying here?