Habitat for Humanity of Greater Centre County broke ground Wednesday on what will become Pennsylvania’s first 3D-printed home in Boalsburg.
The single-family home will be built in partnership with State College–based X-Hab 3D and the Centre County Housing and Land Trust.
Chad Feather, the president of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Centre County's board of directors, welcomed everyone to the event.
“Our mission is simple, to bring together people to build homes, communities, and hope," Feather said. "But the challenges of affordable housing in our county are anything but simple.”
Feather said partnering with X-Hab 3D allows Habitat for Humanity to explore scalable solutions that will hopefully make construction faster, more cost effective and more sustainable.
The Boalsburg home will be three bedrooms and one-and-a-half baths, with 3D printing used to construct the concrete exterior walls. The home designers say the roof and interior framing will be completed the traditional way.
“While technology is building the walls, community is what will fill them with life.” said Stephanie Foster, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Centre County's executive director.
Foster said the 3D printing system is mobile and designed to print directly on a foundation footprint, which differs from larger gantry-based systems. She said it’s the company’s first residential build following projects with the Department of Defense and in Nome, Alaska.
The organization expects the build to take about nine to ten months, with completion projected for June 2026.
Future homeowner Bridget, who didn't want to use her last name because of personal safety concerns, also spoke during the event, calling the day “a dream come true.”
“You’re helping us build more than a house,” she said. “You’re giving us a fresh start filled with love, happiness, and new beginnings.”
Sven Bilén, founder and lead for systems engineering at X-Hab 3D, said the project demonstrates the potential of emerging technology.
“It is not the technology that’s going to solve all those things,” Bilén said. “But it is a technology which is really going to contribute to essentially being able to provide housing for so many families and people around the world.”