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Collage of photos with Apis Cor 3D house printing construction and finished house

Housing Innovations

Santa Barbara County is a region where it is difficult and expensive to develop affordable housing. Local impact fees, environmental review, construction costs and time delays make development extremely expensive, and it is not unusual for one to two-bedroom units in an affordable housing project to cost over $600,000 per unit. These costs are simply too high to be affordable to local residents without extensive layering of limited financial subsidies. HTF has decided to embark on a new Housing Innovations Program to research and demonstrate innovative technologies that reduce the cost of constructing affordable housing and encourage sustainability through the use of natural, recycled, climate resilient and fire-resistant building materials and state-of-the art energy systems.

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3D Printed Affordable Home

Apis Cor printer and staff

Our first project is to sponsor the construction of a prototype 3D printed affordable home in collaboration with Apis Cor, an engineering firm that was a NASA finalist to develop housing on Mars. Apis Cor has developed a state-of-the-art 3D printing robot that can print entirely on-site an earthquake reinforced concrete structure. The technology is scalable to any sized home. Apis Cor and HTF have entered into a collaboration to construct the first 3D printed affordable home in Santa Barbara County using this robotics construction technology.​

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The prototype model will be a one-story single-family home designed by RRM Design Group, whose design won an Award of Merit at the 2024 Pacific Coast Builder's Conference. The home will be approximately 1,433 SF with a 460 SF two-car garage, a private patio, raised vegetable beds, fruit trees, and a play area for the residents. The walls of the home will be 3D printed, while the foundation, roof, and finishings will be completed using conventional construction. We plan to incorporate energy efficient systems and sustainability features into the design of the 3D printed affordable home, including a solar photovoltaic system and drought tolerant and/or edible landscaping. 

Apis Cor staff working with 3D printer

The home is scheduled to be built on the site of Cambridge Drive Community Church in Goleta, CA. The church will lease the home to Transition House, a local social service provider who operates a homeless shelter and transitional housing for women and children. Transition House will manage the home and rent the home to a formerly homeless low-income family who has a Section 8 voucher to subsidize the rent.
 
We would like to engage the community in the planning and design of the project through a construction start 3D printing event, followed with outreach and presentations on robotics construction to local schools, business and civic groups after the home is completed. The 3D printing will be filmed, and a report on the project's key findings will be completed and disseminated using multi-media techniques. The completed 3D printed home will serve as a regional model for new housing technology."
 
Funding for the pilot 3D printed affordable home project has been provided by grants from the Montecito Bank & Trust Michael Towbes Community Impact Grant, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the County of Santa Barbara, the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments (SBCAG), the City of Goleta and Arthrex Charity Giving Program.

 

Download the 3D Printed Affordable Home Description (PDF)

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MAIN OFFICE

Jennifer McGovern
President and CEO
(805) 770-5261

J.McGovern@sbhousingtrust.org

WORKFORCE HOMEBUYER OFFICE

Yvette Lounsbury
Homebuyer Loan Administrator
(805) 845-3585
YLounsbury@sbhousingtrust.org

© 2024 Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County

ADDRESS

Housing Trust Fund
of Santa Barbara County
P. O. Box 60909
Santa Barbara, CA 93160-0909

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