70-year-old Tim Shea has come a long way since his days as a homeless heroin addict. In what feels like a 180° life transformation, in September, he moved to the outskirts of Austin to live in a 400-square-foot home constructed by a 3D printer from the company Icon.
“I could never have imagined from where I came from that I would ever have this beautiful place to live in,” Tim told the press recently and called his new home “a miracle.” Before coming to live in the Community First! Village, a 51-acre site which accommodates 500 homes for the chronically homeless, Tim lived in an RV.
Icon’s 3D homes printed with a Vulcan II printer feature one bedroom, one bath, a full kitchen, a living room and a large porch, and give hope to many people without a place to call home. The company’s CEO Jason Ballard said their mission was to “make dignified housing accessible to everyone, everywhere,” and with Tim being the first proud resident of the 3D house, the future looks brighter than ever.
More info: IconBuild.com | Community-First! Village
Formerly homeless man 70-year-old Tim Shea had his life transformed when he became the first resident of a 3D printed house in a community in Austin, Texas in September
Image credits: ICON / New York Post
Before this now-permanent 3D home, Tim lived in the community in an RV. Previously, he struggled with drug addiction and just like many seniors in the US, couldn’t keep affordable housing.
Tim’s 400-square-foot 3D house was built with a 3D Vulcan II printer by the company ICON, which specializes in advanced construction technologies
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
Tim is said to be the first resident of one of the 3D printed house
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
In an interview with NY Post, Tim said that his previous lifestyle made him hide from the world. “I think from my personal experience from my former lifestyle, that I developed a shell. I didn’t feel secure, and any time I had the opportunity, I would hide or isolate. I never really wanted to interact with people.”
The house is located at Community First! Village which is known for its advanced vision on homeless accommodation
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
After moving to a beautiful 3D house, Tim’s life changed dramatically
Image credits: ICON / New York PostBut after moving into his new home in September, at the Community First! Village, he had his life completely changed. “Everything I do is just the opposite, and I have many activities to do every day with others,” he said.
ICON has so far developed six different 3D homes, all with different layouts
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
Tim says “it’s just a miracle to me to be living there in a house this beautiful”
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
At first, Tim couldn’t believe he’d be the first person to live in a 3D printed house like this. “When I found out I’d be the first person in America to move into a 3D-printed home, I thought it was pretty awesome. The very people I used to run away from, I’m running to. If you’ve been on both sides of the fence, you know some people just need a little encouragement and support,” he told NY Post.
His 3D house features one bedroom, one bath, a full kitchen, a living room, and a porch
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
Tim’s 3D house is located in the Community First! Village which has been helping homeless people with shelter, community, and support. Alan Graham, a real estate developer and a founder of the village as well as the project called Mobile Loaves & Fishes, has been helping others to find a place to call home for the past two decades.
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
According to Graham, “Home is fundamentally a place of connection and of relationships that are life-giving and foundational.” His goal is “to make everyone feel truly at home by finally inviting those living on the fringes of society into your heart.”
Tim, who has overcome drug addiction, chose an open floor plan because of arthritis
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
ICON’s printer is controlled by a tablet remotely and takes a crew of four to six people to build a house
Image credits: ICON
Tim’s 3D printed home is not the only one of this kind in the village. ICON has constructed 6 3D homes, all with different layouts for different needs to shelter the homeless on the site. Tim has selected an open floor layout since he has arthritis.
A special formulation of concrete was used for the project and applied by a 3D printer that’s basically just a concrete nozzle on the end of a giant robotic arm
Image credits: ICON
Image credits: ICON / Casey Dunn
The project was made possible by a continued partnership between ICON, the construction technologies company, and Austin’s Mobile Loaves & Fishes non-profit.
Alan Graham, the founder and CEO of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, commented on the project: “Vulnerable populations like the homeless are never among the first to access leading-edge anything, but now here in Austin, Texas they’re among the first in line who will be living in some of the most unique homes ever built—and we think that’s a beautiful thing.”
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
“ICON at its heart is innovation for a better future,” said Jason Ballard, co-founder and CEO of ICON. We’re going to have to take some risks if we want a better world for ourselves, and the team at Mobile Loaves & Fishes shares a similar vision in their efforts to empower the community around them into a lifestyle of service with the homeless. We need a radical rethinking in the way that we approach solving vexing issues in our society like homelessness. At the end of the day, this is all about people and the dignity of human beings.”
Image credits: ICON / Regan Morton
Many people praised the project and its potential for helping those in need
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Liucija Adomaite is a creative mind with years of experience in copywriting. She has a dynamic set of experiences from advertising, academia, and journalism. This time, she has set out on a journey to investigate the ways in which we communicate ideas on a large scale. Her current mission is to find a magic formula for how to make ideas, news, and other such things spread like a virus. Read more »
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