Columnist Tim Costello compares recent advancements to the printing presses of old

I attended the Domus Ex Machina session at SXSW earlier this month, presented by ICON. CEO Jason Ballard hosted the event with his passionate, high energy, and challenging style in full display. I will admit that I have been a Ballard fan since we first introduced him to the production housing industry at DCX in 2018. However, I have been openly skeptical of the economics and wide adoption of 3D printing in home construction.

We can complain about builders and our process all day, but we must give credit to the industry for keeping margins and the cost of our supply chain under control. Because the industry does such a good job managing the costs and margins within the supply chain, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for innovations to thrive.