Last week we shared a story about how the United States’ first 3D printed homes are nearing completion in Austin, Texas. Now, Rancho Mirage in California is expected to become home to the world’s first 3D printed housing community — marking an important milestone in the transition of the construction industry towards more eco-friendly approaches to building our homes.

The project is led by Mighty Buildings, a local construction tech company that specializes in 3D printed homes, and seeks to provide technology-driven solutions that could address issues like the housing crisis and sustainability.

While the company isn’t the first to take advantage of the growing trend of 3D printing in the construction industry, the upcoming project in Rancho Mirage will be the “world’s first planned community of 3D printed homes,” according to co-founder Alexey Dubov.

“This will be the first on-the-ground actualization of our vision for the future of housing – able to be deployed rapidly, affordably, sustainably, and able to augment surrounding communities with a positive dynamic,” says Dubov.

Mighty Buildings is constructing the new 3D printed community with the help of real-estate developer Palari Group. Consisting of 15 homes across five acres, the $15 million project will use the “Mighty Kit” system, which takes a prefab approach to building homes.

As reported by Business Insider, instead of using concrete and steel, the system taps into Mighty Building’s 3D printed proprietary Light Stone Material — a building material that sets its shape upon exposure to UV light. Robotic arms are also used for functions like quality control scans.

This novel construction technique has several advantages over traditional approaches. Because it uses prefabricated panels, Mighty Building’s 3D printing process enables builders to create units much more quickly and with 40 percent fewer costs, all while reducing construction waste by 99 percent.

Image source: Dwell