3D Printer, Home Technology, Housing

In Buena Vista, Colorado, the future of housing has quietly arrived. Two residential homes—each roughly 1,100 square feet—have been built not by hammers and saws, but by the steady rhythm of a massive 3D construction printer. The company behind the project, VeroTouch, employed the BOD2 printer from Danish manufacturer COBOD, layering high-performance concrete into full-scale homes that are as durable as they are innovative. This marks the first time residential homes in the state have been completed using large-format 3D printing technology, and the implications are enormous.

The technology isn’t just a novelty. The shell of the second home was completed in only 16 days, a fraction of the time required for traditional construction. The printer works like a giant robotic mason, following a digital blueprint and depositing concrete layer by layer with machine precision. The results are both practical and striking: one home preserves the layered look of the printing process as a design element, while the other is finished with smooth plaster, showcasing the versatility of this method.

More importantly, these homes are not temporary experiments. They are legacy-ready structures built with A1-classified concrete, a material rated non-combustible. In a state where wildfires have reshaped communities, the ability to create fire-resistant homes quickly and affordably is a game-changer. VeroTouch’s CEO, Grant Hamel, put it bluntly: “We’re creating homes that can be passed down for generations, not just thrown up for quick shelter.” The vision is clear—houses that don’t just look modern, but stand resilient for a century or more.

This is about more than engineering. It’s about the future of community design and affordability. Colorado Governor Jared Polis highlighted the project as an example of how innovation can meet urgent housing needs. Backed by a $680,000 grant through the state’s Innovative Housing Incentive Program, the project demonstrates that public-private collaboration can accelerate not only the quantity of housing but the quality. With average mountain-region homes selling for about $625,000, VeroVistas homes are priced competitively—except with a promise of fire resistance, faster build times, and longer lifespans.

What’s next is even more ambitious. VeroTouch has announced plans for a neighborhood of 32 printed homes in Salida, a project that could permanently cement 3D-printed housing into Colorado’s construction ecosystem. If successful, it won’t just reshape mountain towns—it could create a blueprint for cities everywhere struggling with housing shortages, labor constraints, and demands for greater resiliency.

The disruptive potential is hard to overstate. Imagine future subdivisions printed in weeks, not years, with houses customized at the software level before the first layer of concrete is laid. Picture neighborhoods designed with curves, textures, and features that would be prohibitively expensive to build by hand. Envision homes that are safer, stronger, and faster to construct than anything on the market today. What we are seeing in Buena Vista is the first brushstroke of a much larger canvas: a future where entire communities are printed into existence.

As with all disruptive technologies, the early projects are as symbolic as they are practical. The VeroVistas homes demonstrate that 3D printing is not just about novelty architecture or experimental labs. It is about permanence, resilience, and reimagining what it means to build. Colorado may be the proving ground, but if history is any guide, this technology won’t stay local for long. The industrial robot that just printed two homes in the Rockies may soon be shaping the skylines of cities worldwide.

The message is provocative but clear: housing no longer has to be slow, fragile, or limited by tradition. With 3D-printed construction, the future of living is scalable, adaptable, and ready to rise layer by layer.

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