On June 8, 2024, Antarctic Bear learned that Havelar, a Portuguese startup founded by experienced building materials suppliers, architects and financial institutions, has just built the country's first 3D printed house. Located in the Greater Porto district, this 80-square-metre two-bedroom house was printed in just 18 hours using COBOD's BOD2 printer. The house was designed in collaboration with renowned architects Aires Mateus, Gloria Cabral and Francis Kere.
Patrick Eichiner, CEO and co-founder of Havelar, said: "We are more than just a printing or Construction company, we also promote Construction 2.0, which allows us to deliver brand new complete homes in less than 2 months at prices well below current market rates. We can deliver houses of modern mid-market design for 1,500 euros per square metre."
According to the latest report from the Portuguese National Statistics Institute, Havelar's offer is in stark contrast to the average price of 3,104 euros per square meter in Porto. This cost benefit is mainly due to the efficiency optimization and fast project execution achieved by the innovative 3D printing construction technology.
Rodrigo Vilas-Boas, co-founder of Havelar, said: "We want to work with partners who are committed to building sustainable, accessible communities. For €150,000, it is possible for a young couple to have their dream home in an area that is easily accessible and well served."
Havelar's ambitions go far beyond the quick delivery of modern designed homes at competitive prices. Building carbon emissions have already been drastically reduced thanks to 3D building printing, but by 2030, Havelar hopes to be carbon neutral in its operations by using alternative building materials such as dirt, sludge, slag, straw and other biomaterials.
HenrikLund-Nielsen, founder and managing director of COBOD, said: "When you set very ambitious goals, there is always a risk that you will not achieve them, but if you don't set ambitious goals, you will get nowhere. We are excited to support Havelar's ambitious efforts, and our printers are open source in terms of materials and can print many different types of materials."