(Radio Iowa) – Iowa State University is using a one-point-four million-dollar grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority for a project to use 3-D printing for the vertical framing of homes. I-S-U’s Pete Evans says they are trying to help with the shortage of affordable housing. “Being able to automate some of that function, because we have a workforce shortage, that is part of the housing shortage, also the speed of construction, those two factors allow us to try to really impact that immediate need,” Evans says.

Evans is an assistant professor of industrial design at I-S-U — and says they are working on finding the right machine that will be able to print a one-story house. Evans says they hope this can be part of a holistic solution for affordable housing. “This is definitely not trying to just look at one aspect of this. But really, now that we’re here, and we talk about industry, four-point-oh or 21st-century solutions that we can really try to re-imagine what housing might be,” according to Evans.

They are working with a contractor on the demonstration project in the southwest Iowa city of Hamburg as the area continues to recover from flooding in 2019.

(By Catherine Wheeler, Iowa Public Radio)