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3D-Printed Tiny Home

January-March 2019

Course: Sustainable Design

Skills: Life Cycle Analysis, Sustainable Design

Challenge

To design a tiny home concept using sustainable practices. In addition, our team had to incorporate 3D printing into the construction the tiny home.

Solution

Inspired by 3D printing's ability to create complex geometries, we designed a wine-barrel inspired home, named "The Green Grape." We decided to locate it in Sonoma County, California in order to provide housing for seasonal vineyard workers. 

Our choice of location allowed us to use passive solar heating in our design, but we then had to consider the frequency of wildfires in the area. In order to fireproof the home, our walls were made of layers of recycled plastic and hempcrete, a material comprised of hemp fibers, water, and lime. It is similar to concrete, but is carbon-negative, incredibly strong, and fire resistant. Given 3D printing's current capabilities with concrete, the use of hempcrete was a feasible expansion of this technology.

Wall Cross-Section

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Hempcrete

Recycled Plastic

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