• The US Army is working with Icon to build the largest 3D printed buildings in the United States.
• The 5,700 square foot structures will be used as a training barracks in Texas.
• Homebuilding tech startup Icon has built a variety of real estate, from luxury homes to neighborhoods.

The US military is partnership with home-building tech startup Icon to construct the largest 3D-printed buildings in the United States, the agency announced on April 5.

The US Department of Defense and Icon will print the three structures – which will serve as the training barracks at Fort Bliss, Texas – over the next 10 months. The structures will measure 5,700 square feet each when complete, larger than any existing 3D-printed building in the Americas, according to Press release.

“Building facilities using this advanced technology saves labor costs, reduces planning time and increases the speed of building future facilities,” said Lt. Gen. Doug Gabram, commander of the US Army Installation Management Command, in the press release. , echoing other 3D printing enthusiasts.

Icon uses its large in-house Vulcan printing system and “high-strength” concrete, known as “lavacrete”, to create its construction projects, which have included luxury homes, tiny homes and what will be soon to be the largest neighborhood of 3D-printed homes. He also previously worked with the Texas Military Department to create 3D-printed training barracks, but this new build with the federal agency will be the largest of its kind.

The department is now looking at ways to implement the state-of-the-art “rapid” construction method in “other types of facilities beyond barracks,” according to Gabram.