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The social houses completed in La Unión, in the Colombian department of Antioquia, place South America before a civil construction milestone by showing that 3D printing can now reach remote areas, reduce waste, accelerate schedules, and pave the way for new social housing projects
The social houses completed in La Unión, Colombia, and announced on April 23, 2026, marked the delivery of what was described as the first 3D-printed social housing project in South America. The initiative was executed by Cementos Argos with the Cobod Bod2 printer, on behalf of the non-profit organization Fundación Berta Martínez, in a mountainous region of western Antioquia.
The social houses had their walls printed on-site in 16 hours spread over three days, in a difficult-to-access environment, with a mountain road and intense rain. According to project data, the method was 30% faster than traditional construction, generated between 15% and 30% less waste, and reduced material costs by 20%, reinforcing the potential of 3D printing for housing projects in remote areas.
How the social houses were built in a remote area
The project was implemented in a region that helps explain why the experience garnered so much attention. La Unión is located in a mountainous area of Colombia, which made logistics an important part of the operation. The printer had to be transported in five small trucks, facing difficult terrain and heavy rains.
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This detail adds weight to the result because it shows that the social houses were not erected on a simple urban construction site, but in a location where traditional construction usually encounters more obstacles in terms of transport, assembly, and work pace. Bringing 3D printing to this environment helps prove that the technology can work outside of more controlled scenarios.
The numbers that explain the project’s impact
Two single-story houses were delivered, each with 63 square meters of area, with walls 2.2 meters high and a wooden roof. The walls were printed in 16 hours over three days, within a process that Cobod classified as 30% faster than conventional construction methods.
Furthermore, the project recorded 15% to 30% less waste and 20% savings in materials. In a model aimed at social housing, these three indicators—time, waste, and cost—have a direct impact on the possibility of replicating the solution on a larger scale.
What each of the dwellings offers
The social houses were designed to function as complete and practical dwellings. Each unit has two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, a laundry area, and a balcony, which shows that the proposal was not merely experimental in its construction process, but focused on real-world use.
The design was also conceived with flexibility. According to those responsible for the project, the internal configuration allows for space adaptation and also offers the possibility of future lateral expansion, which is relevant in social housing, where families’ needs can grow over time.
The material was adjusted to the region’s reality
The mortar mix used in printing was developed by Cementos Argos with 99% locally sourced raw materials. This reduces reliance on imported inputs or more complex transportation and reinforces the technology’s adaptation to the Colombian context.
The compressive strength of the walls exceeds 35 MPa, which helps show that the social houses were not treated as a mere showcase of innovation. The project aimed for structural performance compatible with real housing requirements, and not just speed of execution.
How the structure was prepared to resist better
According to Daniel Duque, research and development director at Cementos Argos, the dry mix used in the project includes fibers and chemical additives that help resist plastic shrinkage stresses and prevent cracks caused by wind, humidity, and temperature variations.
Tests were conducted over several months to evaluate mechanical properties, interlayer adhesion, curing process, and structural behavior of the walls. This is important because it shows that printing speed did not eliminate the technical validation step, which is essential when dealing with social housing in a region subject to specific structural requirements.
The project also considered thermal comfort
The walls were made with a double printed layer and an intermediate air chamber, a solution that generates thermal insulation and improves internal comfort. In a mountainous region, this gains importance because the internal environment of the house responds better to climatic variations.
This point enhances the project’s value. The social houses were designed not only to be faster to build but also to offer better performance in use, combining site productivity and the quality of the delivered housing.
What 3D printing solves and what remains in traditional construction
Those responsible for the project make it clear that 3D printing does not replace the entire construction. Generally, it primarily acts on the wall system, internal and external, and in some cases can reach foundations. Stages such as roofing, electrical and hydraulic installations, and finishes continue with other methods and teams.
This helps understand where the real gain lies. 3D printing precisely accelerates one of the heaviest and most repetitive parts of construction, which is already enough to reduce deadlines, cut waste, and improve productivity without requiring the entire project to change its logic simultaneously.
Why this project can be decisive for social housing
The Colombian case draws attention because it brings together several elements difficult to find together. It is a social housing project, implemented in a remote area, with mostly local material, tested structural performance, and a concrete reduction in time and cost.
When 3D printing reaches social housing, the discussion ceases to be merely technological and begins to touch on scale, access, budget, and delivery capacity. This is what makes La Unión gain weight as a relevant experience for South America.
The next step is already being prepared
After these two units, the project partners state that they are already structuring a new initiative with 20 grouped social housing units. The objective will be to expand the technology’s scale, optimize the structural and architectural design, and make the process more economically competitive.
In this new model, the proposal will be to print the walls off-site and then transport them for assembly at the construction site. According to those responsible, this alternative reduces printer installation costs, although it requires improvements in the movement and handling of the parts.
What this advance can mean for the future of construction
Cobod states that several clients are already working on social and affordable housing projects in different regions, while Cementos Argos is evaluating new applications for rural housing in Colombia with this technology. Furthermore, the company also says it is studying automating other tasks on site, such as spray painting and insulation application.
This suggests that 3D printed social homes may be just the beginning of a broader transformation in construction. If the technology continues to scale, it could move from an engineering curiosity to a concrete tool for housing production in contexts where time, cost, and logistics weigh heavily.
If social homes have already managed to emerge from a 3D printer in the mountains of Colombia with less waste, lower cost, and greater speed, is this technology close to gaining real scale in South America, or will it still face a long road until it becomes routine?
Source: Global Construction Review, report by Joe Quirke, published on April 23, 2026.
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