It wasn’t easy, all I had was a town name and I had never been to Patchogue, NY before. I set off early in the morning not knowing what to expect, I had seen the address for the SQ4D headquarters online so I put that into my maps app and was on my way. Previously I had emailed SQ4D asking to come see their 3D printed house hoping they would provide an address but they never responded. I was on my way anyway but when I got to the headquarters there was no 3D printed construction to be found.
For the past couple years I’ve been following this industry intently even going to china to see the progress they are making with 3D printed construction technology. I do my best to cover the things I see on my YouTube channel so that other people can learn more about this emerging bleeding edge technology. I had already driven many hours and I was not prepared to give up just yet.
I did more research online and found an article in the Calverton, NY local news outlet about a 3D printed construction project that was 1,900 sqft the biggest currently in America. For the next hour or two I drove around the town of Calverton aimlessly looking for this unique residential unit but when I saw a large concrete plant I had a feeling that was a good place to look. It was a huge property but after making more than a few wrong turns eventually I stumbled upon the 3D printed house I was looking for! This made me one of the first outsiders to see this project! I hadn’t seen any detailed footage of the building so I took out my camera and recorded as much as I could.
Construction automation is an important field because it brings quality housing at an affordable price especially in markets where there is a construction labor shortage. Places like Guam, Puerto Rico, or California suffer natural disasters in the form of typhoons, hurricanes, and fires that leave tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people homeless after disaster strikes. 3D printed homes can be a rapid solution that will last long term because concrete is strong. It can be hard for these regions to repair but over time as deteriorating residences are replaced by durable long lasting homes for distressed citizens the impact of the natural disasters will decrease and the community will be safer.
After I published the video I recorded, the company that build the house SQ4D actually saw it and reached out to me. They gave their approval of the video, which meant a lot to me because I was worried they could be mad I shared their work with the world. I look forward to covering all the progress that they make in the future.
Automated construction is not only beneficial for marginalized groups, Apis Cor has printed a 10,000 sqft office building in Dubai. Hopefully that is one of the locations I can visit next! If this upcoming industry is interesting to you follow me on my journey as I chase the future of construction automation.
