ICON, the 3D-printing home company that I wrote about a few months ago, has just launched a new global architecture competition called Initiative 99. As the name starts to suggest, the goal is to generate new ideas for "accessible, beautiful, and dignified 3D-printed homes that can be built for under US$99,000."

The competition is open to all: architects, designers, builders, students, and/or people who are just interested in finding new ways to deliver affordable housing. However, the current website does ask for a zip code. So maybe you need to live in the US.

In any event, if you're selected, you might get money and you might get to see your design built. The total prize fund for the competition is US$1 million and ICON has also committed to building a selection of the winning designs. Registration begins May 23, 2023, but if you'd like to enter your zip code now and "stay informed," you can do that here.

I'm not sure how I missed this before, but ground has just been broken on what is being called "the world's largest 3D-printed community." Co-designed by ICON and Bjarke Ingels Group and "implemented" by Lennar, the community, which is located north of Austin, Texas, will consist of 100 homes ranging from 1,500 to 2,100 square feet. There are 8 different floor plans and 24 different elevations to choose from. Each home will also come with rooftop solar panels.

Here's a short description on how the overall construction process is working:

To automate the manufacturing of homes ICON is using its Vulcan robotic construction system, a large, transportable printer that can be used in tandem with Magma, a cement mixing machine. The homes are being constructed out of Lavacrete, a durable-concrete polymer added in layers to form the structure’s facade and foundation by Vulcan. Their design blends Texas ranch vernacular with sustainable technology, providing a model for the future of large-scale 3D construction. The residences will adhere to a common design, featuring metal roofs, concrete floors, and distinct curvilinear and rib-textured concrete walls, which are the product of 3D printing.

It is quite a different looking construction site:

Now, there is certainly a conversation to be had about what these machines are building as a housing typology: This is still suburban sprawl, regardless of how the homes are being made and if there are solar panels on the roof. But if you ignore all of this for a minute, there is obviously something pretty incredible about 3D printing being able to now deliver stuff at the scale of a suburban housing project. It represents a fundamental change in how we build, in an industry that has a long history of changing very little.

The minutes from One Delisle's Design Review Panel meeting were just published. They are public and available on the City of Toronto's website, here. The project was on the December 13, 2018 agenda.

No project is ever perfect, but here are two paragraphs from the minutes that I think do it justice:

The Panel thought the proposal had an "iconographic landmark quality to it". Numerous members pointed out that it's (sic) siting at a transitional "hinge point" on Yonge St would also lend itself to iconic placemaking as well as a striking addition to the view down the Yonge corridor.

The Panel was excited to have this type of sophisticated design come to Toronto. Many members felt that the massing and design solution would be a powerful and beautiful addition to the skyline. Several members commented that the proposal could become "a building with a name" similar to landmark towers in London, England. One member suggested that Toronto could use more buildings with personality.

Lots of buildings, of course, have names. What is really being discussed is a building with an identity that resonates with people in a meaningful way and that becomes associated with a particular place.

But let's not forget that being "iconic" is only one part of this equation. The goal here is ambitious architecture with genuine civic value. And if you're at all familiar with the project and broader ideas for the block, I would hope that mission is clear.