Community First! Village will receive a slate of new 3D-printed homes, Austin-based ICON Technology announced at SXSW yesterday.

The nationally recognized 3D-printing construction company partnered with Wells Fargo, which will fund a $500,000 grant for new construction at the east Austin community for people exiting homelessness.

The homes will be selected from winning designs from ICON’s Initiative 99, which kicked off last year with a challenge for architects to design 3D-printed homes at a cost of $99,000 or less. Community First! already contains a collection of 400-sqft homes by ICON.

So, how does it work?

ICON currently “prints” walls using patented “lavacrete.” The company’s walls are termite-proof, flood- and mold-resistant, and (as of this year) are cheaper to produce, at a cost as low as $25 per sqft, compared to the national average of $35 per sqft.

The company is also behind the Long Center's 3D-printed stage and the world’s first and largest 3D-printed neighborhood.

ICON's new AI platform, Vitruvius, can generate home designs based on a variety of features. | Rendering generated by Vitruvius.ai, provided by ICON

But wait, there’s more.

ICON frequently makes major announcements at SXSW, and this year is no different. Yesterday, the business also unveiled a suite of new products:

CarbonX | The new printable material, CEO Jason Ballard said, is now the lowest-carbon form of construction on a life-cycle basis, while also improving fire and wind protection.
Phoenix | This printing tool allows ICON to build two-story buildings — up to 24,000 sqft and 27 ft tall — and 3D-print roofs and foundations, instead of just walls.
CODEX | Aimed at reducing costs by cutting out design lift, this is a digital catalog of home designs sorted into collections like fire protection, storm protection, and Initiative 99 winning designs. Architects with designs featured in the CODEX will receive compensation every time their design is used.
Vitruvius | The AI home designer will allow users to generate floor plans and renderings based on their own guidance and budgets.