HOME SWEET 3-D PRINTED HOME

Computer-generated housing could be the wave of the future, some developers say

Homes now rising from a dusty subdivision in Desert Hot Springs may be at the forefront of future homebuilding.

Unlike the dozens of houses surrounding this 20-home development on the east side of town, these houses aren't made from wood and stucco.

They're “3D-printed” at a Mexican factory, using a huge robotic arm to layer recycled glass into sturdy wall panels that are assembled like Lego blocks at the home site.

Proponents say 3D printing can produce homes faster and potentially cheaper than traditional construction. Since they can use recycled materials, they're more eco-friendly and generate less waste.

The process, 3D developers say, could be one solution to the housing crisis.

“There is no way in 10years we'll be able to be building like we are today,” said Chris Murphy, chief strategy officer for Oakland-based Mighty Buildings, which produces the houses for the Desert Hot Springs developer,

Palari Group of Beverly Hills. “Even if we didn't have a massive shortage on the supply side, which we do, we don't have the labor to continue building as we would want to today, and we have an environmental crisis.”

Construction with 3D printers was one of several housing innovations on display during the Pacific Coast Builders Conference held in May in Anaheim.

Others at the Building Industry Association-sponsored show discussed modular and “panelization” techniques that use factories to replace on-site carpenters wielding hammers

and nail guns. Another developer touted his high-density single-familyhome project in Ontario as a way to provide detached houses at more affordable prices.

With prices going through the roof and builders able to produce just a fraction of needed housing, new techniques are needed to speed up the process, conference speakers said.

“We're still using the rotary-dial phone if you look at how we do things” in the homebuilding industry, said Rob Corbin, vice president of operations for Newport Beach-based Trumark

PHOTOS BY AXEL KOESTER Gene Eidelman, co-founder of the startup Azure Printed Homes, displays some of his products in Culver City in May.

Azure Printed Homes uses a 3D printer to build small homes at its Culver City factory. Developers say such homes could be one solution to the housing crisis.