70-year-old homeless man becomes the first person to live in a 3D-printed house

Tim Shea, 70, has come a long way since his homeless heroin days. In September, he moved to the outskirts of Austin, where a 180° life transformation took place and settled into a 37-square-meter house built with Icon's 3D printer.

“I never imagined that I would ever have this great place to live,” Tim recently told the press and called his new home “a miracle.” Before living in the First! In the village, a 20-hectare site with 500 homeless homes, Tim lived in a motorhome.

Icon's 3D homes printed on the Vulcan II printer include one bedroom, one bath, a fully equipped kitchen, a living room, and a large veranda and offer hope to many people who have nowhere to go. The company's CEO Jason Ballard said their mission was to "make decent housing accessible to everyone, everywhere" and with Tim being the first proud resident of a 3D home, the future looks brighter than ever.

11 PHOTOS

1. Former homeless Tim Shea, 70, changed his life when he became the first occupant of a 3D-printed house in Austin, Texas, in September.

2. Tim's 37-square-meter 3D house was built on a Vulcan II 3D printer by ICON, a company that specializes in advanced building technology.

3. Tim is believed to be the first resident of one of the 3D-printed houses.

4. The house is located at Community First! A village is known for its cutting-edge vision for housing the homeless.

5. After moving into a beautiful 3D house, Tim's life has changed dramatically.

6. So far, ICON has designed six different 3D houses with different layouts.

7. Tim says: "It's a miracle for me to live in such a beautiful house."

8. His 3D house has one bedroom, one bathroom, a fully equipped kitchen, a living room, and a veranda.

9. Tim, a drug addict survivor, opted for an open floor plan due to arthritis.

10. The ICON printer is remotely controlled by a tablet, and it takes a team of four to six people to build a house.

11. The project used a special compound of concrete that was applied to a 3D printer, which is essentially a concrete nozzle on the end of a giant robotic arm.