Jason Ballard Is Using 3D Printing to Take on America’s Housing Crisis

Jason Ballard, a man who has witnessed first-hand the devastation of natural disasters, is harnessing the power of 3D printing to tackle America's housing crisis. Born and raised on the Gulf Coast, he watched his town suffer repeatedly from hurricanes, eventually spending Christmases in FEMA trailers. This personal experience has driven Ballard to revolutionize the way America constructs homes.

Today, nearly 750,000 people in the U.S. are homeless, a crisis exacerbated by worker shortages and supply chain volatility in the construction industry. After working at a homeless shelter in Boulder, Colorado, Ballard became convinced that a paradigm shift was necessary in the construction sector. In 2017, he co-founded ICON, a construction company utilizing large-scale 3D printers to build structures by layering a proprietary concrete-like material.

Since its inception, ICON has 3D-printed 260 houses and other structures, with the Austin-based company boasting that its construction system can print a 2,500-square-foot home in under seven days, cutting construction waste, lowering costs, and producing structures capable of withstanding fires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters. Ballard envisions the future of construction as one where builders show up with tablets, advanced materials, and robots, rather than saws, nail guns, and tape measures.

Despite initial skepticism about whether 3D-printed homes would appreciate in value as quickly as traditional houses, Wells Fargo announced in May that it would write mortgages on ICON's 3D-printed houses and offer buyers a credit for selecting one. The lender recognizes the potential of this technology to bring down construction costs and building time. ICON has started accepting reservations for its Titan printer, which can print multistory buildings, at around $899,000, with deliveries expected in 2027.

For the first time ever, ICON has more orders than it can fulfill this year, a testament to the growing demand for this innovative approach. Ballard is optimistic about the future, with grand visions of using 3D printing to build structures on the Moon from lunar materials, inspired by NASA's collaboration with his company. He remains grounded, however, drawing strength from his own humble beginnings and the teachings of his grandfather, a poor, uneducated refinery worker who instilled in him the value of hard work and craftsmanship.