First 3D Printed residential home in Canada to be built in Leamington, Ont.

Windsor, Ont. -

Habitat for Humanity and a handful of partner organizations are putting years of research to practice to build the first ever 3D printed home for residential use in Leamington, Ont.

“We’re going to 3D print some houses! I know it sounds a bit insane,” says Fiona Coughlin, the executive director at Habitat for Humanity Windsor Essex. But it’s actually very real.

Habitat for Humanity is teaming up with Building Bridges Erie Shores to build four tiny homes in Leamington.

Dr. Sreekanta Das, a civil engineering professor at the University of Windsor has been researching techniques for concrete 3D printed homes for two years and feels the innovation is now ready for use in a build.

The 3D printing robotic arm can lay row upon row of concrete in a very short period of time, eliminating the need for an entire crew of workers, making it a very time-efficient process.

“You can print a small house a 600 square feet house my guess would be in three days, with two people,” says Dr. Das.

That’s exciting news for the affordable housing space, solving both the issues of cost and skilled labour shortages.

“That we can affect change and make it easier and faster and cheaper to build affordable housing,” says Coughlin.

Krista Rempel, the executive director of The Bridge Youth Resource Centre, says the plan is to build a tiny home community in Leamington including 42 homes over the next two years. The four homes will kick-start the project, with the remainder being modular homes.

“I think it is so important for our region,” says Rempel. “Housing ends homelessness and we want to make sure we are addressing the needs around this issue.”

The University of Windsor has the largest structural engineering lab in the country.

Das says his research is focusing on load testing, thermal testing, researching new materials and more. 

Habitat for Humanity has received $500,000 from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, but Das is hoping for additional funding to continue his research and bring the idea to mainstream building.

“I’m hoping this information will help the future building code,” he says.

If all goes to plan, construction of the four 3D printed tiny homes should start mid-January and wrap up by the end of March.