Austin church to use 3D printing for new campus

AUSTIN, Texas — The housing market has cooled, with J.P. Morgan predicting house prices in the U.S. will stall. Despite the stagnate home price analysis, one Texas-based tech company is developing an unconventional way to build. An Austin church is tapping into ICON’s 3D printing technology to rebuild its church campus.

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church has been on its 8-acre property since the late 1950s.

“We’ve long been in this kind of predicament here as a congregation that we have these really deep-level structural problems with our buildings, and we’ve really never been able to imagine being able to pay for it,” said Father Zac Koons, the leader of the church.

He said costly quotas to repair aging infrastructure is one big reason they partnered with ICON to develop a whole new church campus.

“It’s not only a less expensive or a more affordable way to build, it’s also a more environmentally friendly way to build,” Koons said.

ICON’s “Titan” construction system will be used for this project, bringing the world’s first 3D-printed church to Austin.

“I think this will be a famous building,” said Jason Ballard, the CEO and co-founder of ICON. “I think it will stand for hundreds of years, and I think they’re just so pleased with what they’re able to get on their budget out of this building.”

The company says its concrete mixture can save future homeowners and businesses roughly 40% compared to conventional wood and metal frameworks. 

“For the past two years, we have been working on a second generation of printer technology that is multi-story, easier to set up, easier to operate, even lower cost, even faster,” Ballard said.

Had it not been for the partnership with ICON, Koons said his church would not have been able to afford such a large-scale project. 

“We wouldn’t have been able to do something as ambitious as we’re talking about doing without ICON, for sure,” Koons said.

He said they’ll break ground in about a year, with hopes to finish the first building by the summer of 2028.