LSU 3D Prints a Housing Revolution
December 01, 2025
Construction 3D printing has shown great potential to revolutionize affordable housing and emergency construction, LSU researchers say.
LSU Assistant Professor Ali Kazemian and members of the 3D printing construction research team examine printed concrete.
“This technology can improve our quality of life by providing more resilient and affordable housing solutions, while benefiting our society and the economy,” said Ali Kazemian, LSU assistant professor of construction management.
The technology offers a number of advantage, such as reduced labor requirements and the possibility of rapidly building temporary or permanent shelters for those affected by natural disasters or experiencing homelessness.
However, despite its immense potential, the adoption of this technology has been somewhat limited to date. With support from the National Science Foundation and Louisiana Board of Regents, Kazemian’s research team at LSU is working with the LaHouse Research & Education Center, NASA, and several other partner agencies and companies to address the technical and regulatory challenges that hinder the widespread adoption of this technology.
Recent achievements at LSU include the design and validation of novel automated inspection systems to enhance the reliability of concrete 3D printing robots on the jobsite, as well as the development of a computational framework for designing low-cost, low-cement, high-performance printing materials. In addition, Kazemian’s team recently designed and successfully tested a high-temperature, waterless construction 3D printing technology, which was later transferred to a NASA center for future joint studies.
“I believe that over the next 10 years, we will see the development of more reliable and intelligent robotic 3D printers, along with complementary robotic capabilities to automate a broader range of construction tasks,” he said.
With reliable and versatile construction robots, homes can be built faster and at lower cost, Kazemian said. Shelters can be 3D printed for less than through traditional construction methods, helping to provide housing for the more than 700,000 people experiencing homelessness in the United States.
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