News

The technology behind 3D-printed concrete homes has improved rapidly over the past few years, opening up an exciting new frontier for the construction industry and potentially offering solutions to key aspects of the current housing crisis.  

Much of the excitement behind this form of construction is fueled by the potential for 3D-printed houses to lower construction and labor costs, speed up construction timelines, and withstand natural disasters like fires and earthquakes.  

By some estimates, 3D-printed homes can be as much as 35% cheaper to build than conventional homes and can be built up to 20 times faster than traditional construction methods.  

In addition, printing homes results in far less waste, and breakthroughs in low-carbon concrete have made printing homes increasingly sustainable.  

In the West, another important draw of 3D-printed homes comes from their resilience against wildfires and other natural disasters. In Colorado, the local construction company VeroTouch recently finished construction on the state’s first two 3D-printed homes in the town of Buena Vista. The homes are built with A1-rated concrete walls – the highest fire-resistant rating in construction.  

The project from VeroTouch earned the attention of Governor Jared Polis, who helped award the company $680,000 through the state’s Innovative Housing Incentive Program. They are already working on a new 32-home project in the nearby town of Salida.  

In addition to their fire-resistant design, 3D-printed homes also have the advantage of speed in the construction process, making printing an appealing option for areas looking to rebuild after natural disasters.

In Los Angeles, where fires last year destroyed 9,000 single-family homes, some local residents and community leaders are considering 3D printing to quickly rebuild fire-resistant homes.  

While construction of printed homes takes just a matter of days, sometimes regulatory hurdles slow down the process of building. States like Montana, however, have been out front on this issue when it comes to 3D printing, as the state became the first to give broad regulatory approval to the use of 3D-printed walls in new construction in 2022.  

Another western state that has been leading the charge for 3D-printed houses is Texas, where multiple large-scale developments have been built using 3D printers.  

In Houston, the Zuri Gardens project will soon feature 80 homes, each around 1,300 square feet, for residents making up to 120% of the area’s median income.  

In Austin, the world’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood is home to 100 printed homes built by the homebuilder Lennar and 3D printing company ICON. ICON is also working on a 100-home community in Austin for the area’s unhoused population.  

In a fascinating expansion of its portfolio, ICON is expanding its construction and robotics work with potential projects in space and on the moon.  

To learn more about how Western Governors are exploring innovative housing solutions, read New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s BRAND West housing report from her term as WGA Chair last year.  

Quantum takeoff: quantum technology is growing by leaps and bounds in the West, with states like New Mexico and Colorado continuing to expand their quantum industries.  

In New Mexico this week, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an agreement between the state and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to establish the Quantum Frontier Project, which is designed to accelerate the testing, development, and validation of quantum technologies to help determine whether utility-scale quantum computing can be achieved by 2033. 

In Colorado, Governor Jared Polis celebrated the grand opening of Quantum Commons in Arvada, which will serve as a centerpiece of Colorado’s growing quantum industry. The new building is the first addition to the Elevate Quantum campus, which aims to blend cutting-edge research with real-world applications for quantum technology.  

Bridging the digital divide: in Montana, Governor Greg Gianforte approved $308 million in broadband deployment funding to support 32 projects covering 71,975 unserved and underserved locations in the state.

The projects will bring fiber, fixed wireless, and low-earth satellites to locations in need of high-speed internet access. 

"Since taking office, we’ve worked with the Legislature to bridge the digital divide for unserved and underserved areas of Montana," Governor Gianforte said. "Thanks to the work of the Communications Advisory Commission and the Department of Administration, we have taken another step toward making Montana a national leader in Internet connectivity.” 

Saving an iconic tree: when a fire threatened one of the world’s tallest Douglas fir trees last month, a team of volunteer tree climbers snapped into action to save Oregon's iconic Doerner Fir.

The 450-year-old tree unexpectedly caught fire in mid-August, and dozens of firefighters from federal, state, and local crews worked to extinguish the blaze. After employing high-tech strategies like helicopters to drop water on the fire and drones to monitor hotspots, the crews turned to local arborists to help put out the fire for good.  

The team of tree climbers successfully scaled the 300-foot tree and sprayed water directly into the burning area. Thanks to their efforts, the tree remains alive, although it lost about 50 feet of height from the fire.  

Transformative homeless support campus: in Utah, officials recently announced that they had identified a property for a new 1,300 bed homeless services campus near Salt Lake City.  

Leaders envision not just a homeless shelter, but a full campus to support the area’s homeless population. It’s set to support people with services for recovery, employment, criminal justice assistance, and housing, all in one place.

“This is more than a campus, it’s a turning point for Utah of reimagining hope,” said Wayne Niederhauser, the state homeless coordinator. “It will further fulfil the identified need to provide additional beds and treatment in Utah’s homeless response while providing individuals served by the campus a transformative path from crisis to stability and, ultimately, thriving.” 

Western dark sky places: the Mountain West is proving to be a leader in a global push to reduce light pollution and improve access to dark night skies. Flagstaff, Arizona, was named the first official International Dark Sky City in 2001, and since then, more than 230 locations in 22 countries have followed suit.  

In Idaho, visitors can enjoy the country’s only dark sky reserve, and Utah is home to the highest concentration of dark sky places in the world.  

More recently, western cities like Leadville, Colorado, have pushed for certification as a dark sky city, and the state has helped 35 locations join the queue to become official dark sky places.  

Visit DarkSky International to find one of the numerous dark sky places in our region.