The company WASProject is pursuing an innovative idea: it will develop materials to build homes by using 3D printing technology.

WASProject – which stands for “World’s Advanced Saving Project” – is based in Italy and has already produced an impressive line of distinct and advanced 3D printers.

However, the team now has even bigger dreams focused on impacting lives. The money accumulated from selling the previous printers was used to finance a bigger printer – created with the noble goal of providing housing to those living in developing nations.

The company’s main objective is, “to produce a big Delta Robot, capable of printing huge objects and use this machine to produce housing structures or housing modules, using natural materials such as clay, soil, natural powders, mixed with resin, etc,” said WASProject team member Sebastiano.

The Big Delta 3D printer already made its debut in 2013 at the Rome Maker Faire, which considers itself the “World’s Largest Show Festival” and is sponsored by Intel, the reputable semiconductor chip maker.

The basic goal of the Big Delta is to produce building material for houses made of clay. The building material is created by inserting a mixture of soil, water and oil into the printer in order to print out the pieces of clay housing structure.

The Big Delta is incredibly versatile. It will not necessarily be confined to printing the same housing structures, and therefore, can prevent the creation of a monotonous and dull neighborhood of tract houses in these developing countries.

In developing areas, such as Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeastern Asia, many families live in poor conditions, with little or no access to energy or sanitation. These areas are often also affected by floods and landslides.

With new technology and social inventions, devices like the Big Delta can be utilized to address these issues of sustainable housing that millions of people throughout the world face.

A properly established housing structure serves as a launching pad to address other pressing issues. For instance, after the problem of housing is dealt with, the issue of proper sanitary structure can be implemented, including access to latrines and clean water.

The Big Delta has the potential to improve the economy of a region by providing work to the citizens to boost the demand for labor. While the printer only prints structures, human hands are needed to piece them together to build the homes.

– Christina Cho

Sources: WASProject, 3DPrint
Photo: Wikipedia