Itaca: the self-sufficient and eco-sustainable 3D printed house

Italian 3D printing company WASP introduces Itaca, a self-sufficient and environmentally sustainable 3D printed housing model. The project is based on the thesis that on Earth, a space of 33 meters in diameter can provide sufficient living environment for up to four people, if specific knowledge and technology are applied. The endeavor aims to make a core of four people (two adults and two children) independent and enable them to live off-grid, without electricity, water, gas, and sewer connections. The inventors hope that Itaca will also lead to innovations in the colonization of the Moon.

‘Getting a place as harsh as the moon to be inhabited is hard to imagine, but science says it can be done. Why don’t we apply the same technologies here on Earth, to get even the most extreme environments to be hospitable?’, says
Massimo Moretti, CEO of WASP.

Itaca is a self-sufficient and environmentally sustainable 3D printed housing model | all images courtesy of WASP

food, water, energy, and economic self-sufficiency

The Itaca model is 3D printed by Crane WASP using natural zero-kilometer materials. The concept is to apply the knowledge and digital fabrication necessary to create a space that improves the quality of life in areas where water, food and industrial facilities are scarce. The applied technological solutions lead to an optimized circular microeconomy that allows independent, off-grid living while maintaining ecological balance. The team at WASP has already acquired a plot of land near Bologna where the first Itaca will be built over the next year. Itaca is an educational project, an open-source laboratory in which anyone can participate.

‘For us at WASP, Itaca represents a path towards food, water, energy, and economic self-sufficiency. A proposal for a solution to the social, energy, climate, and mass migration crisis. For us, digitization and 3D printing are a response to the needs of humanity.’ Massimo Moretti mentions.

Itaca proves that a 33-meters diameter space can provide a sufficient living environment for up to four people

the Itaca model is made of natural zero-kilometer materials

the applied technological solutions lead to a circular microeconomy maintaining the ecological balance

the Itaca model will be 3D printed by Crane WASP

project info: 

name: Itaca
designers: WASP

myrto katsikopoulou I designboom

nov 17, 2022