Portugal gets its first 3D-printed house

Havelar, Porto, has completed the first 3D-printed house in Portugal. Using COBOD‘s 3D printing technology, a modern 80 m2 two-bedroom house was 3D printed in just 18 hours.

Patrick Eichiner, CEO and Co-Founder of Havelar, said: “More than a printing or construction company, we promote Construction 2.0, which enables us to deliver new complete houses in less than 2 months well below current market prices. We can deliver modern mid-market designed houses for just €1.500 per m2”.

For just €1,500 per square meter, Havelar offers modern, mid-range homes – a stark contrast to the average property prices in Porto of €3,104 per square meter, according to the latest report from the Portuguese Statistics Office.

The curved façade of the house illustrates the design flexibility offered by the 3D printing construction process.

Rodrigo Vilas-Boas, Co-Founder of Havelar, underlined the transformative nature of their business approach: “We want to team up with partners who see themselves in building sustainable and accessible communities. With €150,000, it’s possible for a young couple to have the home they’ve always dreamed of, in an area with good access and services”.

Beyond simply offering contemporary designed homes at competitive prices, Havelar has bigger ambitions: The company aims to achieve carbon neutrality in its operation by 2030 by using alternative building materials such as soil, mud, slag, straw and other biomaterials.

Henrik Lund-Nielsen, Founder & General Manager of COBOD commented on the large aspirations of Havelar: “When you are setting very ambitious goals, there is always a risk, that these are not realized, but if you do not aim high, you will reach nowhere. We are happy to support Havelar in their ambitious endeavors, our printers are open source when it comes to materials and can print with many different types”.

This approach could have far-reaching implications for the construction industry, not only reducing building costs, but also contributing to greener and more accessible construction.