3D printed homes in Houston are redefining affordable housing

What’s happening in Houston is a good example of what’s plaguing the country.

Climate change is compounding an affordability crisis by increasing flood and heat risks on under-insured and low-income neighborhoods.

And now, the city’s affordability gap has widened to nearly $176,000, according to the Kinder Institute’s 2025 State of Housing report.

But on a 13-acre stretch of land near Hobby Airport, a new development is offering a glimpse at an affordable, scalable, and resilient solution. 

Zuri Gardens, led by local builders Cole Klein and 3D-construction startup HiveASMBLD, will be the city’s first large-scale affordable housing community built using 3D printing.

Each home is printed using a proprietary concrete blend — faster, stronger, and more efficient than traditional construction — and will sell in the mid to high $200Ks, with down payment assistance of up to $125,000 from the City of Houston.

“Homebuyers and potential buyers are ready for something they can afford, that’s also built well,” says Robert Spiegel, chief development officer of HiveASMBLD. “And that’s what we’re delivering.”

With 80 energy-efficient homes, built to withstand flooding, mold, and extreme heat, Zuri Gardens could be the blueprint for solving one of the most urgent challenges in housing today: how to build smarter, faster, and stronger in the places that desperately need it.

Giving affordable housing the same quality as luxury homes

In most markets, affordability comes at a cost—and it’s usually structural. Lower-income buyers are often left with homes made from cheaper materials, thinner walls, and lower-quality finishes that can deteriorate faster than middle- and high-end construction.

But at Zuri Gardens, the team behind the project is taking a different approach.

“A $4 million home and an entry-level home get the same walls,” says Spiegel. “We don’t cut corners just because it’s affordable housing.”

What makes this novel approach possible is the technology itself. Every home that HiveASMBLD builds is printed using the same proprietary mortar, machines, and reinforced concrete system.

There’s no downgraded version for homes with a lower budget.

That uniformity of materials and process means every customer gets the same level of resilience, energy efficiency, and long-term durability.

“At first people thought they’d be cartoon houses,” says Spiegel. But he says once his team walked clients through finished homes, their reactions were, “‘These are actually really cool.’”

And he says that while other affordable housing communities have visibly deteriorated within just a few years—worn down by weather, poor construction, and a lack of long-term investment — Zuri Gardens is designed to offer the opposite. It’s a neighborhood where quality is baked into every layer, and built to withstand floods, mold, and extreme heat.

“A year later, you shouldn’t be ashamed to drive home,” he says. These homes “last the test of time.”

When completed, the community will include 80 energy-efficient homes, each approximately 1,360 square feet, with two bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a flexible bonus space, and a covered patio for year-round outdoor use. 

How printing a home instead of building it works

At the heart of Zuri Gardens is a construction process that looks more like science fiction than suburban development. HiveASMBLD’s proprietary 3D-printing technology uses large robotic printers mounted on tank-like tracks to lay down custom mortar, layer by layer, forming the structural walls of each home. 

“It’s like a printer, but with concrete instead of ink,” says Spiegel.

Once the walls are printed, the team installs the home’s mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems as they would in a traditional build.

Then the walls are backfilled with concrete foam, creating a solid, insulated structure known as a “mass wall.”

This results in a home that’s quieter, more energy-efficient, and significantly more resilient than conventional wood-frame construction.

It’s yet another critical innovation.

Houston ranks as one of the markets with the highest insurance burdens, according to the latest Realtor.com® Climate Report.

Homeowners here spend an average of 1.5% of their home’s value on insurance premiums every year, pushing the premium-to-market-value ratio dangerously close to the 2% threshold of unaffordability.

But the increased climate resilience makes it easier for homeowners to get home insurance at better rates.

“[Insurance carriers] love them,” says Spiegel. “These are low-risk structures for them.”

Why it’s better: strength, speed, and serious savings

Lumber and labor are the most expensive parts of traditional construction, but 3D-printed homes cut those costs significantly—savings which are then passed on to the buyer. 

“We’re eliminating most of the labor and almost all of the lumber,” Spiegel explains. “We replace weeks of labor with days.”

That means fewer weather delays, less waste, and not as many subcontractors. “

And the structure is better,” he adds.

The “mass wall effect” also naturally regulates indoor temperatures and reduces the need for heating and cooling.

That means lower HVAC requirements, lower energy bills, and greater year-round comfort, especially important in Houston’s hot summers.

Durability is another major advantage.

These homes don’t warp, rot, or rely on fragile sheetrock.

“If your kid crashes a skateboard into the wall, it’s not sheetrock, he’s not going through it,” Spiegel jokes. 

And thanks to robotic precision, the builds are consistent and replicable at scale.

Is this the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for?

Thanks to automation and robotics, the 3D-printing process becomes even more efficient at scale. Multihome projects like Zuri Gardens allow teams to batch materials, deploy multiple printers, and streamline workflows, driving down both time and cost with every additional unit.

“The buyers are coming. And the communities will follow,” says Spiegel, offering a glimpse at what the future of 3D-printed homes could look like.

If the model succeeds, proponents like Spiegel hope it could help cities nationwide rethink how to address housing shortages — not with cheaper materials or reduced standards, but with smarter technology and better homes for everyone.

And while the headlines might focus on the community’s innovative technology, Spiegel’s focus on dignity is what sets this project apart.

Spiegel points to the large swath of potential homebuyers and hardworking families who don’t qualify to own a home in Houston.

“That’s kind of gross,” he says. “So hopefully, we make a dent and can solve some of that problem … and help hardworking families own their own home.”