An In-Depth Review of the History of the MIT HAUS Team

Abstract

Shelter insecurity is a problem that affects people globally, with the United Nations estimating that 1.6 billion people lack access to adequate shelter. The MIT HAUS research group was founded with the goal to create sustainable and affordable housing out of recycled plastics. This will be done using large-scale additive manufacturing and microfactories for distribution of homes. HAUS has been running for 3 years, since the beginning of 2019. The project has been worked on by many people and research has been done on a variety of areas.

This thesis presents a cohesive review of the progress HAUS has made over the past three years, discussing any gaps in the existing research, and suggestions on the research to prioritize in the immediate future. The work is split into three main categories: design, materials, and manufacturing.

There are two main gaps in the current work done by HAUS. The material properties of rPET are not yet known with enough certainty to determine if it is safe to use in housing. Additionally, there is not enough knowledge on how the anisotropic nature of 3D printing may affect the structural integrity of the home. These two areas should be prioritized for future work.