HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Could 3D concrete printing be the answer to making housing affordable on Guam? That is a question stakeholders will seek to answer during the Additive Construction Round Table event to be held Friday at the University of Guam.
Affordable housing on Guam over the last few years has become a major issue, as the cost of a home has skyrocketed and supply has dwindled. For many, the dream of owning a home remains just that, a dream, but Ann Dela Cruz, a real estate investor and co-founder of Starsand Technologies, believes 3D printing could make the dream more attainable.
“One of the concepts (Adrian Sinclair, Starsand Technologies co-founder) introduced to me is 3D printing. And so, first thing I said was, ‘Oh, that sounds great.’ … And he said, ‘We can print houses now.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, but you know Guam is different. Guam uses concrete.’ He said, ‘No, no, no, we can print homes with concrete,’” Dela Cruz told The Guam Daily Post.
Dela Cruz, who is also an Army Reservist, met Sinclair while stationed at Yokota Air Base in Japan, where Sinclair is a Department of Defense civilian contractor and has helped the Air Force enhance operational capabilities. Together, the two founded Starsand Technologies, which aims to deliver sustainable, long-lasting and economical housing and infrastructure solutions to Guam through 3D concrete printing.
The two will be speaking at UOG’s Additive Construction Round Table event, where they hope to learn if 3D printing is a viable option for building homes on Guam.
“If it’s our objective is to build a home with a 3D concrete printer, who are all the people, the key stakeholders that we need to have in the room who can tell us what their requirements are to make this possible?” Dela Cruz said.
Getting all the stakeholders in the same room is important, Dela Cruz said. “For us, we can bring the printer here, but if you don’t have enough supply here on island to do the projects, then we are not going to be able to go very far,” she said.
The event will bring Ernesto Guades, UOG assistant professor of civil and structural engineering, to the table to discuss his research on sustainable concrete on Guam.
“He’s trying to find a way to utilize Guam natural resources, … what can we do to reduce our dependency on imports, and to us, that’s concrete. We can use limestone, sea salt or fiber from bamboo. Let’s see what we can do,” Dela Cruz said.
Starsand Technologies also will be speaking about its role in the effort.
“Our desire is to basically design and build using these printers and, for us, it’s all about designing concrete,” Dela Cruz said.
Alexander De Vore, the chief executive officer of 3D Printing Corp. in Japan, will also share his expertise in the realm of 3D printing and digital supply chain solutions.
“We also have a company out of Japan, they are a 3D printing corporation, so they are already in the additive manufacturing phase. They don’t use a concrete printer. They use mainly plastics,” Dela Cruz said.
While 3D printing homes is in its infancy on Guam, Dela Cruz is hopeful the conversation will open the doors to affordable homeownership on island.
The Additive Construction Round Table is set for 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 17.
The University of Guam sign is seen on the Mangilao campus on Wednesday, July 12, 2023.
