Printed houses have other advantages, proponents with and without cosmic ambitions believe. The speed with which the buildings are constructed makes them useful for emergency housing or to shelter the homeless. An efficient use of materials and the automated labor should drive down the cost of home construction. The potential for economy looks promising but because the technology is under development, the savings still lie in the (possibly near) future.

And when designed with concrete — which offers strength and fire protection but is also implicated in climate change because of the amount of carbon dioxide that is released in its production — the material is used efficiently and sparingly compared with conventional slabs. The need to keep the concrete mixture supple but allow it to dry quickly has led to a number of mostly proprietary formulas.

While acknowledging that the automated technology would supplant some human jobs, supporters point out that 3D printing promises to reduce worker casualties. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, one in five worker deaths in 2017 was on a construction site.

ICON, a construction technology start-up in Austin, Texas, is among the socially motivated players in 3D-printed architecture and a leader in pushing it into the realm of practicality. Many of the intended beneficiaries are impoverished or homeless. “They are usually the last people on earth to have access to cutting-edge technology,” said Jason Ballard, the company’s co-founder and chief executive, who is also enrolled in a master’s degree program in space resources at the Colorado School of Mines.