A CEGEP teacher in Rouyn-Noranda is pursuing a somewhat crazy project: 3D printing houses adapted to the climate of Quebec.
This professor is called David Laliberté. He teaches industrial maintenance at Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue. But, in another life, he was a factory manager. His passion is the simplification of work processes with, as a result, a better quality product.
His interest in 3D printing homes began in 2018, almost trivial, following major renovations to his new home, he says. Simple water infiltration, caused by an error during the installation of a window, had the merit of piqued his curiosity for residential construction.
Why does building a house require so many stages of sealing, then drilling for ventilation, plumbing and electrical outlets, which still need to be sealed? wondered this trained engineer.
PHOTO FRED FROESE, GETTY IMAGES
The 3D printing of a house is done using a concrete pump.
“In terms of industrial engineering, all these gestures are equivalent to as many risks of error,” he explains. It was from this moment that I became interested in the automated printing of buildings. It made me want to know more and do research on the subject. »
Basically, the 3D printing of a house is carried out thanks to a concrete pump whose nozzle moves with precision horizontally and vertically. It builds the structure of the building, without the need for formwork, by placing layers of materials, often concrete, on top of each other.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CÉGEP DE L’ABITIBI-TÉMISCAMINGUE
David Laliberté (in the center), teacher at the Cégep de l’Abitibi-Témiscamingue, has launched a research project on 3D printing of houses adapted to the Quebec climate. He obtained the support of his general manager, Sylvain Blais (on the left). His team includes in its ranks the researcher Abdelmajid Rakib (on the right), specialized in the use of industrial waste for the improvement of concrete.
Enthusiastic, David Laliberté gathered around him a team of researchers in architecture, optics, composite materials, 3D printing, passive houses and concrete structures, all active in various CEGEPs and universities in the province.
The innovative nature of the project caught the attention of Quebec City, which jumped on the bandwagon with the allocation of a research fund of nearly $1 million. “All because of a leaky window,” he slips, tongue-in-cheek.
The goal is simple, but defies the imagination: completely print a modular home by March 31, 2026, with the lowest possible carbon footprint, and then donate it to Habitat for Humanity Quebec.
“A real building, built in a sustainable way, in which real people will really live,” summarizes Mr. Laliberté.
PHOTO MICHAL ROJEK, GETTY IMAGES
Experiments in 3D printing of houses have been tried for a few years all over the world, like here, in Poland.
Revolution in sight
The idea of printing houses is not new. Experiments of this kind have been attempted for several years, all over the world, underlines Professor Ammar Yahia, from the University of Sherbrooke, who did not hesitate to join David Laliberté’s team.
“We’ve been interested in 3D printing for seven or eight years,” he says in his vast laboratory, equipped with a concrete jet printer.
This project will allow us to keep pace [mondiale]but also to use Quebec know-how to meet a need for sustainable and resilient housing at an affordable cost.
Ammar Yahia, from the University of Sherbrooke
According to this fluid concrete specialist, this emerging technology promises a small revolution in the field of construction, currently struggling with a labor shortage. A higher quality house could thus be built more quickly, for less, with a minimum of workers, in a safe environment and, as a bonus, a limited production of waste, he believes.
That’s not all, he continues. “3D printing opens the door to an almost infinite possibility of complex geometric shapes, hitherto hardly conceivable,” he explains.
PHOTO ROSCHETZKYI, GETTY IMAGES
3D-printed homes under construction in North Austin, Texas
In Canada, buildings were printed directly on sites in Ontario last year. But David Laliberté’s approach is diametrically different: instead of lugging the necessary machinery from site to site, he intends to concentrate on printing modules in the factory to assemble the house on the construction site.
“In Quebec, you can’t print outside all year round,” he points out first. There are also relatively long lead times to set up the printer before construction and then remove it from the job site afterwards. It is believed that factory printing can reduce these delays. »
PHOTO MICHAL ROJEK, GETTY IMAGES
Printing houses in 3D? This is David Laliberté’s dream.
The concrete question
David Laliberté and his team will try to create a house with great ecological virtues. In this regard, concrete printing weighs heavily in the environmental balance.
“It’s not the greenest material. Its production releases a lot of carbon,” admits the researcher, pointing out that it is possible to use “less polluting” concrete developed at the University of Sherbrooke. But other materials currently under study could become good replacement options.
The University of Maine would have obtained interesting results with a mixture of polymers and wood resin, says David Laliberté.
The researchers also want to create a high-caliber resilient envelope, with flawless sealing and insulation. In particular, they want to develop an optical device to bring more natural heat inside the building, and thus reduce heating costs.
“Now we have to roll up our sleeves. But we have the means to match our ambitions! “, believes David Laliberté.