A construction technology firm is working with charities in Austin, Texas, to deliver 100 3D-printed homes intended to provide dignified accommodation for homeless people.
ICON is working with Mobile Loaves & Fishes, an Austin-based non-profit that has served the area’s homeless community for more than 26 years, and is building the homes at its Community First! Village.
The ICON homes are built in partnership with Lennar Foundation, the charitable arm of Lennar, one of the United States’ leading homebuilders, and are part of the expansion of the village, which is currently underway.
This isn’t the first time that ICON has worked with Mobile Loaves & Fishes. Over the last four years or so, it has completed a variety of projects at the Community First! Village, including 17 homes and facilities.
Brooke Bauguess, VP of marketing and communications at ICON, said: “Community First! Village is at the centre of innovation in our country in terms of communities and movements that are effectively addressing homelessness.
“With the help from our friends at Lennar Foundation, we can continue our mission to deliver dignified homes for those in need and continue the long-term relationship with Mobile Loaves & Fishes.”
Lennar has a long history in Central Texas of developing thriving communities, including a 100-home 3D-printed community of homes at Wolf Ranch in Georgetown; again in collaboration with ICON.
Community First! Village is said to be the only neighbourhood of its kind in the United States, and provides affordable, permanent housing, and a supportive community for men and women who are coming out of chronic homelessness.
A development of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, the charity describes it as a “transformative residential programme [that] exists to love and serve Austin’s neighbours who have been living on the streets, while also empowering the surrounding community into a lifestyle of service with the homeless.”
The expansion of Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ North East Austin development adds an additional 127 acres to Community First! Village, and nearly 1,400 new homes across two new phases of the village.
Once the expansion of the village is completed and at full capacity, it will be home to an estimated 1,800 formerly homeless individuals. The portion of 100 homes 3D printed by ICON across village’s expansion will be a mix of townhome units and family homes spanning 380 sq ft to 1,040 sq ft.
Alan Graham, founder and chief executive of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, the developer of Community First! Village, said: “We are delighted to continue our relationship with ICON and utilise their groundbreaking technology in Community First! Village as we continue building homes and bringing dignity to our neighbours who need it most.
“With support from the good folks at Lennar Foundation, we are able to continue demonstrating why Community First! Village is a recognised leader in terms of communities and movements that are having a profound impact on the pandemic of homelessness in our country.”
Main image: ICON’s Vulcan construction system 3D printing townhomes and family homes on Phase 3 of Community First! Village’s expansion
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