Austin, Texas-based 3D printing construction company Icon completed its luxury House Zero home in 2022.
The walls of the over 2,000-square-foot house and its adjacent tiny home were printed in eight days.
Take a look around the three-bedroom home with high-end finishes.
Out with exposed brick, in with exposed concrete.
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
If you've never seen a 3D printed home, you might be picturing a dark, lifeless cookie-cutter house.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
But Icon — an Austin-based 3D printing home construction company — might prove your preconceived notions wrong.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
In 2022, I spent a night in Icon's then-new House Zero and found the luxurious Austin home as warm and welcoming as any traditionally constructed abode.
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
But unlike most homes, House Zero's walls were constructed (or printed) in eight days, which might be the fastest of any home I've ever stayed in.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
After spending a weekend inside House Zero, I can confidently say I could see myself living inside a printed home ...
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
... especially one as luxurious as House Zero.
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
Using 3D printers for home construction is still a relatively new concept, but printed homes have already begun popping up around the world from China to Mexico to the Netherlands.
Like other 3D printing companies, Icon argues that the technology can build homes inexpensively, faster, and more sustainably compared to traditional homebuilding.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
The tech is still in its infancy, but Icon's robotic system has already made homebuilding "dramatically faster and meaningfully cheaper" ...
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
... with the opportunity to become even quicker and more inexpensive in the future, Jason Ballard, Icon's cofounder and CEO, told Insider in an interview in 2022.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
This solution may sound too good to be true, but Icon's new House Zero might be a testament to these claims.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
According to Ballard, House Zero is the first home designed specifically for robotic construction.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
In short, it's a show home for Icon — a place to take investors, the public, and media to flex the viability of its technology.
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
Icon's 3D printing secret lies in its large in-house Vulcan printer system and "high strength" concrete, called 'lavacrete."
The ADU next to Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
Together, the Vulcan printer and lavacrete can turn a potential years-long construction project into a several-month endeavor.
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
And its newest home House Zero, located in a quiet neighborhood in Austin, is no exception.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
The printer was set up on-site in about half a day.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
It then printed the walls of the over 2,000-square-foot home and its 350-square-foot backyard accessory dwelling unit (ADU) at the same time.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
And despite weather and hardware issues, the walls of both the home and the ADU were completed in eight days, shaving off weeks to months of construction time when compared to "traditional" methods.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
It then took the team five months to put the finishing touches — such as window installation, wiring, plumbing — on the home and its ADU.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
Aesthetically, House Zero's curved concrete walls make the home pop compared to its neighbors.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
And this was intentional: The home was designed to show off the 3D printer's capabilities, a "big risk" for the team, Ballard told Insider.
Inside Icon's ADU next to House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
"We're not only going to invent robots, we're also going to invent architecture," he said at the time. "And it's not clear that robotics companies have any business inventing architecture."
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
But luckily for Ballard, the home is "better than he even hoped."
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
"I became afraid that my technology would be used to build an uglier world," Ballard said. "I don't wanna build a worse world faster and cheaper. I want to build a better world faster and cheaper."
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
With the help of Texas-based Lake|Flato Architects, Icon created a house unlike any I've ever seen.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
Inside, the three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bathroom home is filled with high-end finishes that turn a concrete and wood home ...
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
Its cozy decor contrasts the cool-toned lavacrete that makes up the walls of the home.
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
These walls look more like precisely layered frosting on a cake than layers of concrete, but the unique walls are the home's crown jewels.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
The curved walls of the dining room, shower, and main bedroom were especially eye-catching and created a natural separation of space in a way traditional construction couldn't have done.
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
But it's not just for aesthetics.
Inside Icon's ADU next to House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
The curved walls — made possible by Icon's printing system and supplementary insulation and steel — help strengthen the structure of the home, according to the company.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
And both the thick walls and Icon's lavacrete provide additional insulation, creating a "highly" energy-efficient home, Ballard said.
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
I visited Austin during a particularly chilly February weekend in 2022, and with the help of the heater, I didn't feel the slightest chill (which is obviously the bare minimum of a home).
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
Besides being more attractive than most homes I've stayed in, House Zero didn't differ from the average cozy and clean house.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
The kitchen was large, the bathrooms were glamorous yet functional, and there was plenty of space, storage, outlets, and lights — I have no complaints.
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
And maybe that's the point of House Zero.
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
With the state of our housing and homelessness crisis, any possible solution should be taken into consideration.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
And if a new piece of technology can supply homes faster, cheaper, more sustainability — all with the same comforts of traditional houses — maybe we should dispel our preconceived understanding of construction in favor of a more futuristic but efficient option.
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
But if you're like me and ready to move into House Zero, hang on tight.
Inside Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
Icon likely won't sell its show home for another few years, and it won't be revealing House Zero's price tag anytime soon.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
The company isn't releasing the costs of the new home: "We chose some pretty premium finishes and we don't want some of that to get lost in translation," Ballard said.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
But to Icon, House Zero is more than just a high-end home with pretty furniture.
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
"I think this was an aesthetic, cost, strength, energy performance, and sustainability success," Ballard told Insider. "We're going to do more houses like this now."
Icon's over 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Insider
