3D Printed Tiny Homes as a solution to housing

I'm posting this because it may be an idea for affordable housing. The house in the article is 400 sq ft. That may just be big enough for my wife and I, our two cats, and books!

From: Formerly Homeless Man Moves Into the First 3D-Printed Tiny Home

Quote: ICON’s 3D-printed homes are printed in less than 48 hours of print time, using ICON's 3D printer, the Vulcan II. As Jason Ballard, ICON’s co-founder and CEO, explained to Green Matters in 2019, the homes are made of ICON’s proprietary Portland Cement-based form of concrete called Lavacrete. The Vulcan II 3D-prints the full wall system of the home using Lavacrete — and the process is weirdly satisfying to watch. While concrete is not typically known as an eco-friendly material, Ballard believes concrete’s resiliency makes it the perfect material for these homes. Concrete “is going to last a lot, lot longer than most conventional building materials," Ballard told Green Matters. "So we think that on the full, zoom-out, wide analysis, that the slightly higher embodied energy of using a material like concrete is outweighed in the long run by transitioning to a way of building that's much, much more resistant." These concrete tiny houses should be able to withstand any natural disaster that might hit the Austin, Texas area.

...Each 3D-printed tiny house costs an estimated 20 to 30 percent less than a tiny house made with traditional construction, ICON tells Green Matters.

So I notice this house still has a conventional looking roof on it. That's actually where the largest cost is (roofing) from what I've looked up. I feel there are better, more affordable options than this might be, when considering WOFATIs, cob, wattle and daub, cordwood housing, etc. All of the ones I just listed are also more environmentally friendly, as far as I'm aware, and don't need a giant 3D printer.

Sorry to be such a downer!

I just wish you could load the printers with cob instead of concrete and that would be really awesome.

I was thinking he could print a very kool rocket stove in no time with that setup  with cob...

That machine could probably handle the clay part of cob fairly easily. Not so much the fibrous parts.

I suppose if the plant materials were ground fine enough it could work, but I think you'd lose some of the integrity that long fibers give.