S. Vishnu Sharma
IIT Madras turned centre of attraction when Union Finance Minister inaugurated the first 3D house on its premises recently.
The 3D printed house on IIT Madras campus was constructed by Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, a deep tech startup founded by alumni of IIT Madras.
The 3D printed house at IIT Madras is spread over 600 square feet and is single storey and has a functional space comprising of a single bedroom, hall and kitchen.
The entire ensemble of the house was designed, developed and realised with help of Tvasta’s indigenous concrete 3D printing technology.
House at IIT Madras was developed in collaboration with Habitat of Humanity’s Terwilliger Center of Innovation in Shelter.
The concrete 3D printing technology is a ‘Ready-to-Implement Methodology’ with no lead time on manufacturing, which significantly reduces the construction time.
This ‘Made In India’ technology has the potential to change the term ‘building’ to ‘printing’ in the near future.
The video about the 3D printed house on IIT Madras premises can be found on the link ‘https://youtu.be/3EHAEo0bm10’
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India definitely needs such solutions which do not require much time.
IIT Madras gets first great 3D printed house, FM inaugurates
This technology enables building a 3D printed house in five days.
With the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s goal of ‘Housing for All by 2022,’ we have a huge challenge before us, she said.
‘A huge challenge of meeting that deadline and making sure that people who need houses get it at an affordable price. The Government incentives for that are available.
Nirmala Sitharaman said the presentation made earlier by Tvasta tells me everything is Atma Nirbhar.
From the idea till the furnished house, even the design is all from India.
India needs more of this… Conventional housing requires timing, material, logistics, transporting of material, and so on.
But if this technology can produce houses in different locales at five days per house, it would not be a big challenge to build 100 million houses by 2022, said Union Finance Minister.
Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated IIT Madras for encouraging innovation and bringing new concepts and ideas to life.
I think the technology sub-mission, which is working under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) also has a project called ‘Light House Project,’ wherein in Indore, Chennai and a few other places are building 1,000 houses in each location through innovative technologies in 12 months, said Nirmala Sitharaman.
‘If the Policymaker are aware of these developments that you have shown now, India is set for a bright future in terms of meeting the target for affordable houses.’
IIT Madras director Professor Bhaskar Ramamurthi said this technology is the first to be beneficiary-led in the construction industry.
The machine for constructing this house can be rented, like borewells rented by farmers.
It provides for large-scale, high quality and also, price assurance for the customers said IIT Madras director.
Anoop Nambiar, Country director (India) of Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter, Habitat for Humanity spoke about technology during the function to inaugurate the 3D house.
‘A widespread adoption and deployment of this technology could contribute significantly in reducing the housing gap in India and around the world,’ he said.
N. Venkataraman, Additional Solicitor General of India, said ‘I am thankful that a startup like Tvasta is part of fulfilling this national dream of ‘Housing for All.’
Construction is a ten trillion industry globally and this Tvasta’s technology can save 30 per cent, he said.
‘If this technology takes off, it will save three trillion every year, which is not a small sum.’
Designs can be made for both performance and function, without having extra cost implications.
This makes individual customizations and personalization possible, event at scale, for all strata of society, said Mr. Venkatraman.
Adithya V.S., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions, said this technology can enable deep personalization of construction for the ultimate target segment – the individual.
3D Printing can ensure that affordable, good quality housing is available to all Indians with a technology that is built in India and symbolizes Atmanribhar Bharat, he said.
Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions is part of the new incubator of the Ministry of Housing and Urban affairs established at IIT Madras called ‘ASHA Incubator.’
Tvasta was co-founded by three IIT Madras alums of the 2016 Batch – Mr. Adithya VS (Department of Mechanical Engineering), Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Vidyashankar C. (Department of Electrical Engineering), Chief Operating Officer and Mr. Parivarthan Reddy (Department of Mechanical Engineering), Chief Technology Officer.