PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — A Palm Beach Gardens woman is making history with a house built not by a crew of dozens, but by a robot.
The walls of the home were printed layer by layer by a robotic arm that follows a digital blueprint loaded on an iPad — a construction method that its builders say could reshape how much families pay for a home.
WATCH BELOW: Inside Palm Beach Gardens' first 3D-printed home
Bettina Kretz is the homeowner behind the project, which is believed to be the first 3D-printed house in Palm Beach Gardens.
"I'm the guinea pig. Now they're fine-tuning everything," Kretz said.
The process was not without hurdles. Florida is one of the few states in the country that allows concrete printing as a recognized building method, but local officials were unfamiliar with the technology.
"The county, not really knowing anything about 3D printing, so I had to get special engineers and architects," Kretz said.
The home was built using Sika, a concrete mix that cures harder than most traditional building materials. Enrique Garcia, owner of Marcos Designs, said the finished structure is built to withstand South Florida's most severe weather.
"Florida has the strictest building codes in the United States, and this house was built like a fortress against hurricanes," Garcia said.
Kretz said she noticed a significant cost difference compared to traditional construction methods after reaching out to block companies for estimates.
"I called a lot of block companies, sent them our plans, and that was probably double (the cost) of the 3D-print material, and what they did," Kretz said.
She said the technology represents a meaningful leap forward.
"It's definitely a step ahead and above other framed and block homes," Kretz said.
While a traditional construction site might require dozens of workers, this entire structure was built by a team of three people operating one robot. Garcia said the labor savings point to a broader opportunity.
"This is definitely the future. It's just a way to go with the labor shortage, even skilled labor," Garcia said.
Project Manager Adam Garcia said the team's larger goal is making the technology accessible to more people, though there is still work to be done on the cost side.
"Affordability is the goal, but like we're in the process of getting there," Adam Garcia said. "We're not 100% as affordable as we could be."
The question now is whether this kind of construction can move from a one-of-a-kind project to a real solution for families who feel homeownership is out of reach.
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