For immediate release: February 22, 2021
WORLD HOUSING: ON A MISSION TO END HOMELESSNESS
The mission of World Housing has been to solve issues of homelessness by funding and building homes for the world’s poorest. In addition, they collaborate with innovative partners to develop technologies that will change the way the world delivers housing to those who need it most.
“We are profoundly aware of the need for adequate supply of safe and affordable housing. We believe that every person deserves a safe place to call home, and the well-being of our communities at large is dependent on bridging the housing gap.”
— Peter Dupuis, Co-Founder World Housing
ENDING HOMELESSNESS IN CANADA: BY PROVIDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING
According to the recent report from the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, complementary sets of actions are needed to end homelessness.
- Reducing the inflow into the homeless service system, and by providing affordable housing to the most vulnerable to fall into homelessness.
- Accelerate the outflow in the form of permanent housing move-ins from the homeless system
Both strategies are supported by rapidly expanding the stock of permanent supportive and independent living housing options. World Housing embraces the following strategies:
- Pursue opportunities to acquire and redeploy existing properties as permanent supportive housing.
- Augment with expanded funding to construct permanent supportive housing and to fund necessary support services
- Expand construction of housing for Urban Indigenous Peoples delivered by Indigenous Peoples.
INNOVATION: CHANGING THE WAY WE BUILD AFFORDABLE HOUSING
With the leadership support and collaboration of government, indigenous nations, business partners, and charitable organizations, the advancement of 3D home building technology to provide affordable housing could be realized in Canada.
“We need a radical re-thinking in the way that we approach solving complex issues in our society like homelessness. 3D technology can advance the goal of providing safe affordable housing and preventing the slide of the most vulnerable into homelessness. World Housing is excited to partner with Twente Additive Manufacturing to help revolutionize the way we provide housing.”
— Don McQuaid, Managing Director, World Housing
PARTNERING IN 3D BUILDING INNOVATION: TWENTE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING (TAM) + WORLD HOUSING
As part of the vision to end homelessness, World Housing is excited to announce it has joined forces with Twente Additive Manufacturing (TAM) in the development and utilization of their 3D printed home construction technology.
TAM’s 3D-printing construction process, which makes use of robotics, automated material handling and advanced software, offers a new way to quickly build homes that are both resilient and adaptable to the varying climates, geography and topographies of Canada.
“Our collaborative goal is to address the housing crisis, and specifically issues of affordable housing through the development of our 3D technology.”
— Ian Comishin, Founder, TAM
WHY 3D BUILDING: IMPACT ANALYSIS
3D technology has proven itself in Austin, Texas through ICON, who printed the first experimental and permitted home in East Austin in 2018. ICON subsequently advanced their technology by printing 3D homes in Tabasco, Mexico. These first homes were funded by World Housing and gifted to homeless families. World Housing realized early in its development that 3D technology construction could have a huge impact on homelessness.
ICON has 3D printed 7 of the homes in Phase II of the Mobile Loaves & Fishes development (called Community First) in Northeast Austin, that will eventually be part of a 51 acre village with homes built with various construction methods. This community will house an estimated 480 formerly homeless individuals —which represents about 40 percent of Austin’s chronically homeless population.
World Housing intends to replicate this successful advancement of 3D printing homes in Canada, and is currently raising funds to support the development of an affordable housing community in their home country.
CANADA’S FIRST PERMITTED 3D HOME – THE FIBONACCI HOUSE
TAM has already achieved the first step of a permitted 3D printed house in Nelson, BC. The goal now is to expand on this pivotal first, and advance the technology to the next phase of development to build five two-bedroom homes. This progression from the Fibonacci home will be to build Canada’s first 3D printed affordable housing community.
DEVELOPING CANADA’S FIRST 3D PRINTED AFFORDABLE HOME COMMUNITY
World Housing and TAM have collaborated with other passionate and leading-edge local BC companies in constructing this 3D printed affordable community. This innovative and uniquely designed project will be located in Nelson, BC where there is not only great need for housing, but the support needed from the local community and government. It is also the hometown for TAM.
As ICON did in Austin, TAM and World Housing will make long term sustainable impact on the growing homeless issues, firstly in Nelson, BC and then branching out to other communities across Canada.
The secondary goal of this first project is to showcase the unique capabilities and potential of 3D printing technology as a viable and superior alternative to traditional construction methods. The potential to print less expensively, more efficiently, with less waste are key benefits that will be accessed as the technology is advanced. This development will also provide the important benefit of on-site construction for future affordable housing in remote indigenous communities. The benefit of 3D printing technology is the ability for printers to build onsite in remote areas where traditional construction techniques are prohibitive.
THE WORLD HOUSING X TWENTE 3D PROJECT BRINGS EXPERTS IN FOR ALL ASPECTS OF THE PROJECT
ENGINEERING: EFFISTRUC
World Housing has the expertise of one of Nelson’s leading civil engineering firms who have developed a reputation as the go-to firm for unique structures. Effistruc Consulting Ltd. took many years of experience as the foundation for their design of the first 3D Printed home in Canada.
This house became a historical accomplishment that was permitted for construction under the British Columbia Building Code designed by Effistruc. Click here for more info about Effistruc.
DESIGN: ALTERATIV ARE INNOVATING THE WAY HOMES LOOK
Building upon the original Effistruc 3D printed home that already stands at Kootenay Lake Village, Alterativ Design collaborated with TAM to create the design for a unique and purpose-designed multi family compound. This unique design for the nation’s first 3D printed affordable village was chosen as a great fit for the topography of the area, and it’s unique design for the Nelson area. Alterativ will be an integral part of the design development team for World Housing’s future 3D printed home projects.
Home design – shared common space with gardens surround these beautifully designed and functional 700 square foot 2 bedroom homes.
Modern housing design that takes into consideration the benefits of digital manufacturing requires forward thinking architectural firms such as Alterativ. Alterativ Design Lab already understands the robotic processes used by Twente Additive Manufacturing to create wall systems and layouts the showcase 3D Printing best practices.
CONSTRUCTION: RED DOG CARPENTRY
The construction technology used to construct 3D printed homes still needs the finishing work for the roof, windows, doors and connection to services. World Housing will entrust the finishing construction of the 3D printed multi family dwelling to one of Nelson’s most trusted builder. With many years of experience in erecting structures of all types including for CMHC Funded Housing Buildings, the Red Dog team is the best suited to oversee this Unique Project. Click here for more info about Red Dog.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Twente Additive Manufacturing has already begun a joint research project with the University of British Columbia. Cristina Zanotti, Ph.D. of the UBC Civil Engineering Department is working alongside the TAM team and one of UBC’s Mechatronics Students, Parsa Khodabakhshi.
Left to right: Parsa (UBC) Don (World Housing) and Jim (TAM) conferring on state of the art print processes.
TAM’S 3D PRINTING: CHALLENGING THE STATUS QUO
Twente Additive Manufacturing is developing brand new building techniques that will provide 3 key benefits:
- Increased accessibility – printers can be moved to remote locations to build onsite providing ways to build affordable housing where it has previously been prohibitive
- Lower building costs – making homes more affordable
- Improved construction design – 3D printers can change the way we design homes to fit better than traditional: culturally, environmentally, and uniquely adaptive for human centered design.
Topography Optimization Allows Scan-To-Print techniques to eliminate the need for expensive and destructive processes. No need for excavation or dynamite to prepare a home build-site.
Caterpillar Home Structures Takes into consideration efficiencies gained from shared wall strategies and rapid deployment of 3D printed structures in-situ. Long lasting affordable homes can be erected in mere days.
Thermal Bridging Optimization TAM is developing advanced algorithms for 3D Concrete Printing wall designs to achieve the lowest thermal bridging geometry possible. Hollow foundation walls can perform equally well with a fraction of the concrete and much better thermal performance.
Topology Optimization The next big revolution in digital construction that is exclusively only possible through using 3D printing technology is the use of generative design to eliminate unnecessary concrete in structural applications and massively reducing CO2 contributions associated with solid concrete slabs.
Twente Additive Manufacturing began developing several different types of small and large-scale concrete 3D printers.
Photo above: TAM’s Kebbekinator – Cartesian 3D Printer – small scale printer.
WHO IS TAM: TWENTE ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Prior to joining the construction industry, the founders of Twente Additive Manufacturing built robotics for the wind energy and aerospace industry under the brand PH Windsolutions.
Photo above: Boeing 777X Carbon Fibre Wing placement automation.
TAM strives to be the world’s premier developer of advanced construction methods through automation integration and modern materials research in an effort to create sustainable and long-term building solutions that reduce the overconsumption behaviours of humankind.
Concrete 3D Printing is one of the fastest growing sectors of the construction industry. Twente Additive Manufacturing is revolutionizing virtually every manufacturing process on the planet. For the construction industry this comes in the form of concrete deposition by robotic placement. This modern technology allows for a near infinite number of architectural forms to be produced at almost no cost compared to standard concrete forming techniques.
Click here for more info about Twente Additive Manufacturing.
WORLD HOUSING: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE
World Housing’s vision is a ‘home for everyone’ and was created in 2013 by Sid Landolt and Peter Dupuis, Co-founders of S&P Real Estate, a successful luxury real estate sales organization.
Up until 2020, World Housing has primarily worked in the developing world and has funded the construction of over 800 homes, housing more than 4000 people in 6 countries. World Housing funds are raised through its donor base of ‘Ambassador’ organizations who provide contributions through philanthropic partnership programs.
World Housing Ambassadors are primarily in the real estate industry and include real estate developers, real estate agents, and support services like real estate lawyers and title companies. The real estate industry is keenly aware of the importance of the right to a home for everyone, so the ability for them to help fund homes profoundly resonates.
WORLD HOUSING WERE EARLY ADVOCATES OF 3D PRINTING CONSTRUCTION
World Housing was one of the first charities to back ICON in the development of 3D building technology as a way to address homelessness. Since funding the first 3D homes built in Mexico, World Housing has looked for more pioneering partners of 3D printing and discovered Twente Additive Manufacturing in their home country of Canada. The future development of communities in Canada will be part of World Housing’s strategy for the coming years.
World Housing holds charitable status in Canada and is a registered 501 (c) (3) organization in the United States, and is based in Vancouver, BC. 100% of all funds raised by World Housing is used to build homes for families in need.
For more information contact: [email protected] or go to www.worldhousing.org