Icon 3d printed house location

Situated north of Austin in the city of Georgetown’s master-planned community of Wolf Ranch by Hillwood Communities, a Perot company, the 100-home community combines innovative robotics, software and advanced materials to create homes that are technologically advanced, environmentally sustainable and architecturally striking. Each Lennar home in Wolf Ranch is co-designed by the renowned architectural firm BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group. Prices are anticipated to start from the mid-$400,000s.

“We are very pleased to partner with ICON and BIG in building a first-of-its-kind, printed home community that combines innovative designs with sustainable features at an affordable price,” said Stuart Miller, Executive Chairman of Lennar. “Given the housing shortage that persists across the country, it has never been more important to innovate in order to find new methods of construction that will enable greater design flexibility and greater production at affordable prices. ”

Blending contemporary Texas ranch style aesthetics, the community of 3D-printed homes features elevated architectural and energy-efficient designs that highlight the benefits of resiliency and sustainability with the digital possibilities of additive construction. Delivered at speed and at scale using a fleet of ICON’s Vulcan robotic construction systems, software and advanced materials, each home’s full wall system - including interior and exterior walls - are produced with less waste and with more design freedom.

“For the first time in the history of the world, what we’re witnessing here is a fleet of robots building an entire community of homes. And not just any homes, homes that are better in every way… better design, higher strength, higher energy performance and comfort, and increased resiliency,” said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO, ICON. “In the future, I believe robots and drones will build entire neighborhoods, towns, and cities, and we’ll look back at Lennar’s Wolf Ranch community as the place where robotic construction at scale began. We still have a long way to go, but I believe this marks a very exciting and hopeful turn in the way we address housing issues in the world.”

Construction at Wolf Ranch deepens a relationship that began with Lennar’s investment in Austin-based ICON’s series B financing round and offers a promising path toward an alternate method of delivering technology-driven homes that meet rising demand in desirable communities. In addition to state-of-the-art homes, Lennar homeowners in Wolf Ranch can enjoy all of the amenities offered in tree-covered hill country – including pools, recreational trails and parks within easy access of downtown Georgetown and a short drive to Austin.

Lennar’s investments are facilitated by LENX, which drives a focused strategy within Lennar to integrate technology solutions across the homebuilding industry. With a clearly defined strategy of investing in technology companies directly adjacent to Lennar’s core homebuilding operations and a disciplined investment process, LENX provides hands-on mentorship and guidance from senior leaders of Lennar’s management team and a marquee opportunity to provide products and technology to Lennar customers, allowing portfolio companies to scale at an unprecedented pace.

The community will offer eight stunning floorplans with 24 unique elevations ranging from 1,574 to 2,112 square feet of thoughtful living space. The homes will offer three to four bedrooms and two to three baths. All homes will be powered by the sun with rooftop solar panels and will feature components from Lennar’s Connected Home package including a Ring Video Doorbell Pro, a Schlage Encode™ Smart WiFi deadbolt and a Honeywell Home T6 Pro WiFi smart thermostat. Plus, each home will come equipped with the Wolf Ranch security package.

“We are excited to welcome Lennar and ICON's cutting-edge home construction technology to Georgetown,” Georgetown Mayor Josh Schroeder said. “The Georgetown community prides itself on honoring our past and innovating for our future, and we are eager to see the future being built right here.”

"Hillwood Communities is honored that ICON and Lennar chose Wolf Ranch to launch this exciting initiative and we look forward to the positive impact it will bring to the homebuilding industry,” said Fred Balda, president of Hillwood Communities. “This innovative approach aligns with Hillwood’s long history of elevated design and the thoughtful development approach we take to ensure a higher standard of living for the residents of our communities."

Reservations begin in 2023. Interested homebuyers can join the interest list by clicking here.

About Lennar Corporation

Lennar Corporation, founded in 1954, is one of the nation's leading builders of quality homes for all generations. Lennar builds affordable, move-up and active adult homes primarily under the Lennar brand name. Lennar's Financial Services segment provides mortgage financing, title and closing services primarily for buyers of Lennar's homes and, through LMF Commercial, originates mortgage loans secured primarily by commercial real estate properties throughout the United States. Lennar's Multifamily segment is a nationwide developer of high-quality multifamily rental properties. LENX drives Lennar's technology, innovation and strategic investments. For more information about Lennar, please visit www.lennar.com.

About ICON

ICON develops advanced construction technologies that advance humanity. Using proprietary 3D printing robotics, software and advanced materials, ICON is shifting the paradigm of homebuilding on Earth and beyond. For more information visit www.iconbuild.com or follow the conversation on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube (@ICON3DTech).

About BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group

BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group is a Copenhagen, New York, London, Barcelona, and Shenzhen-based group of architects, designers, urbanists, landscape professionals, interior and product designers, researchers, and inventors. Led by Bjarke Ingels, the studio is currently involved in projects throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East. BIG’s architecture emerges out of a careful analysis of how contemporary life constantly evolves and changes. BIG believes that by hitting the fertile overlap between pragmatic and utopia, architects can find the freedom to change the surface of our planet, to better fit contemporary life forms.

About Hillwood

Hillwood, a Perot company, is a premier commercial and residential real estate developer, investor and advisor of properties throughout North America and Europe. Through its Communities division, Hillwood has delivered more than 40,000 single-family lots in more than 100 master-planned communities across 13 states and Costa Rica. These communities continue to raise the bar in terms of quality, innovation and the unmistakable sense of community that sets each property apart. Before laying the physical groundwork for any new residential development, Hillwood Communities takes the time to focus on the ideals that draw people together — and the everyday interactions that strengthen those bonds. By purposefully designing its walkways, gathering spaces, and structural amenities to spark spontaneous encounters and foster shared interests, Hillwood Communities believes in the power of community. For more information, please visit http://www. hillwoodcommunities.com.

About the City of Georgetown

Georgetown is a welcoming, vibrant city that has been ranked No. 1 in Southern Living Magazine’s “South’s Best Cities to Live in” and is home to the “Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas.” Georgetown has a rich history, with Victorian storefronts and a cultural district with a wide selection of restaurants, wineries, shops, art galleries, theaters, and museums, as well as Southwestern University, tied for the No. 1 National Liberal Arts College in Texas in the latest U.S. News & World Report ranking. Outdoor recreation includes 40 parks, 16 miles of hiking and cycling trails, and Lake Georgetown. Georgetown is the fastest growing city in the U.S. with a population of more than 50,000.

ICON builds the first building in a new series of 3D printed dwellings

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02/06/2021

Texas-based ICON has released another redesign of its Vulcan 3D construction printer and launched the construction of a new series of 3D printed residential buildings, scaling up and exploring new approaches to architectural design.

Austin-based ICON is the most productive building 3D printing company, with the possible exception of China's WinSun. Texans have a lot of already successful and so far only promising projects using 3D printing technologies: a demonstration 3D printed house, projects to build affordable housing for the poor in their native Austin (pictured below) and the Mexican state of Tabasco, training of US Marines 3D - printing of caponiers for ground equipment. nine0005

In March of this year, several residential buildings designed by ICON were put up for sale on the US real estate market. The company is even working with NASA on 3D printing technologies for habitable structures on the Moon, but space is a long-term prospect, but for now, you need to continue working on Earth, which the company is doing, taking up the construction of an object called House Zero.

The name "Zero House" owes its name to ICON's intention to build a series of structures to test new building methods, integrate smart and energy-saving technologies, and test new approaches to architectural design. The layout of the first or "zero" building (in the title illustration) provides for three bedrooms and three bathrooms - two full and one incomplete. The size of the living space will reach 220 square meters, although this is not the limit for the new additive system. nine0005

3rd Generation Vulcan 3D Printer

Not only is the company building the first house in a new series, but also testing a new generation 3D construction printer, the third modification of the Vulcan system. The first version has been in operation since at least 2018, and the next year ICON rolled out an improved version of the Vulcan II. The third-generation 3D printer still prints with cement mortars, but it works twice as fast as previous models and covers one and a half times the working area - up to 280 square meters. Equipment weighing 4.3 tons is maximally automated and controlled using a mobile application. nine0005

Vulcan II 3D printer in action

“House Zero will be the most incredible 3D printed house in the world because it is designed and optimized specifically for additive manufacturing. This is the moment when people around the world will see the increased freedom of architectural design and the benefits of 3D printed houses, and will want to live in such buildings themselves. We hope that this project will serve as a catalyst for a general enthusiasm for the building technologies and architecture of the future. We are preparing to launch production at our new facilities and are ready to participate in even larger projects,” said ICON co-founder and CEO Jason Ballard. nine0005

Source

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