A six-metre-tall 3D printer has been developed that can build cheap, sustainable houses using a clay-like paste.

Created by Italian 3D printer company WASP, the giant, three-armed printer was demonstrated at Maker Faire Rome last week. While there are already 3D printers out there that can rapidly build houses, this model is unique as it can be assembled on site within two hours, and then filled with mud and fibre to construct extremely cheap dwellings in some of the most remote places on Earth.




The mud that goes inside the printer first needs to be mixed with another natural fibre, such as wool, to help bind it together, creating a grainy paste that can then be squeezed out into the desired shape, sort of as though you were icing a cake.