Wasp 3D-prints eco-homes from local raw earth for $1K
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MLJs1KRa0Y
After years of creating machines to 3D print rubber, recycled plastics, clay, and geopolymers, the Italian start-up WASP created a 3D-Printer capable of printing a home for the marginal cost (which, they say, leans to 0) of the dirt. In 2018, the team printed their first home in 10 days using local earth (30% clay, 40% silt, 30% sand), 40% chopped rice straw, 25% rice husk, and 10% lime. Three years later, WASP printed an all-earth two-domed home dubbed TECLA (Technology + Clay) using two synchronized printing arms, which were programmed to pick, mix and pump materials into layers. WASP (World's Advanced Saving Project) is the brainchild of father-daughter team Massimo and Francesca Moretti. Launched in 2011 when Francesca, a designer, began tinkering with early 3D printers and introduced her electronic technician father to the tech. n late 2021, WASP worked with fashion house Dior to print a pop-up store in Dubai covered in their signature Cannage motif (3D printed using clay, sand, and raw fibers).