Jason Ballard Is Using 3D Printing to Take on America’s Housing Crisis

In 2017, he co-founded ICON, a construction company that uses large-scale 3D printers to erect buildings by layering a proprietary concrete-like material. As of this year, the Austin-based company has 3D-printed 260 houses and other structures. It says its construction system can print a 2,500-square-foot home in under seven days, while cutting construction waste, lowering building costs, and producing walls that can withstand fires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. “Construction has always been about showing up with saws and nail guns and tape measures,” Ballard says. “In the future, builders will show up with tablets and advanced materials and robots.”Ballard has been waiting for lenders to catch on, but there were concerns that 3D-printed homes would not appreciate in value as quickly as traditional houses. Then, in May, Wells Fargo announced that it would write mortgages on ICON's 3D-printed houses and give buyers a credit for choosing one. The lender believes the technology has the potential to bring down construction costs and building time.ICON recently started taking reservations for its Titan printer—which, unlike earlier models, can print multistory buildings—at about $899,000, with deliveries expected in 2027. For the first time ever, the company had more orders than it could fulfill this year. “For eight years we fought so hard for every project, so it felt strange to have to pass on some,” he says. “But the demand convinces me this approach is going to become part of humanity’s toolkit.”Ballard is starry-eyed for sure, with big visions for the future. He can barely contain his excitement when describing ICON’s work with NASA to develop concepts using 3D printing to build structures on the Moon from lunar materials. “The story of exploration is you have to learn to live off the land,” he says. “I don’t think the Moon is going to be the exception.”He’s also deeply down-to-earth. Speaking with a slight Southern drawl and the fervor of a preacher, he explains how his grandfather, "Papaw," a poor, uneducated refinery worker, taught him the romance and dignity of working with your hands. “I ride horses and build robots,” Ballard says. “I don’t think of myself as a cowboy or a tech guy, but as someone who follows his heart.”