ICON and Michael Hsu to create 3D-printed houses in Austin

3D-printing company ICON has announced a series of homes in Austin designed by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture for the 700-acre Mueller development on the grounds of a former airport.

The twelve two-storey houses will be located in a section of the Mueller community in Austin, an in-progress redevelopment of the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport that contains houses, retail and greenspaces.

Michael Hsu Office of Architecture designed an assortment of one-, two-, and three-bedroom houses for the development, which ICON is set to 3D-print in the interest of accelerating the "speed and quality" of construction.

Renders of the houses show 3D-printed bases that curve inwards to create entrance programmes for the houses, with a second-storey clad in a grey wash. Slim, celestory windows separate the 3D-printed aspects of the ground floor from the soffit of an overhang, while a variety of square and rectangular windows sit on the upper level.

Interior images show light washes, punctuated by the textural 3D-printed walls on the first level.

The houses will range from 198 to 731 square metres (650 to 2,400 square feet) in size.

"We've been looking to collaborate with Michael Hsu for years and are excited to bring to life the elevated designs," said ICON Vice president of real estate development and sales Jared Kuhn.

The houses will be constructed using ICON's proprietary Carbon X material, with traditional construction methods used for the second storey, roofs, windows and doors.

According to the company, the 3D-printed material provides a high level of insulation, decreasing the house's temperature fluctuations. It is also water, mold, termite and fire resistant.

The houses are some of the last to be built in the Mueller community, and will begin construction in 2025.

"Mueller is an incredible Austin community to bring our resilient, energy efficient ICON homes to," said Kuhn.  "As some of the last newly constructed homes in the highly sought-after community, the to-be-built homes will be located along the Southwest Greenway and offer unobstructed and protected views of the golf course and walking trails."

Other houses in-progress in the community include a series of nine homes built by the Muskin Company and designed by local architects Side Angle Side, Don Harris, and Clayton Korte.

Upon completion, the mixed-use neighborhood is set to contain at least 6,900 single-family and multifamily homes, 1,725 of which will be affordable homes.

Mueller is a joint venture between the City of Austin Financial Services Department and Catellus Development. The project has been in development since the 1980s and is nearing completion as of 2023 construction updates.

ICON also recently completed its first 3D-printed house in the Wimberley Springs development outside of Austin, while Michael Hsu has also designed a number of projects around the city including a seafood restaurant with dark wood and green accents.

The imagery is courtesy of ICON

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