Government Funding Fuels Advanced Construction 3D Printing in Canada

There could soon be more construction 3D printing taking place in Canada.

Canada, like many countries in recent years, has suffered from a housing crisis. A combination of increased housing prices from the pandemic, increased immigration and slower than required rates of construction has led to the current state. Many people find themselves homeless because they cannot afford the current rates.

One solution to the crisis is to simply build more affordable homes. That would not only provide additional housing capacity, but also put more homes on the market and thus lower demand, resulting in lower housing prices for everyone.

But how to do so? Evidently private builders haven’t done so, and are likely hoping for high prices to be maintained.

The Canadian government announced Friday a series of initiatives to help trigger the construction of more affordable housing, to the tune of CA$600M (US$442M). This announcement is one of several made in recent days regarding housing, and is understandable as a federal elections is looming.

While the announced funding includes a variety of intended uses, one of them is related to advanced building construction techniques. According to a report on the Daily Hive:

“Another $50 million will be invested in ideas and technology such as prefabricated housing factories, mass timber production, panelization, 3D printing, and pre-approved home design catalogues — specifically projects already funded.”

This opens up the possibility of increased construction 3D printing in Canada. The concept of prefabricated buildings is ideal for the technology, and has actually been implemented by Mighty Buildings in California.

The idea would be to establish a centralized construction 3D printing facility, where building components can be printed. These would then be shipped out to building sites where they would be assembled into the structure.

If the concept proves successful, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t, then we may see an increased use of the approach not only in Canada, but in other countries as well. If it works in one place, it can work in another.

Via Daily Hive