( CNN ) Almost every day for the past month , a crowd of curious onlookers has gathered in northern Amsterdam to gawp at three mysterious structures . Measuring 2.5 meters tall high and 1.7 meters wide , the large plastic blocks look like little more than oversized liquorice candy or a confusing attempt at surrealist art . Appearances can be deceiving . According to DUS Architects , the Dutch company behind the project , these innocuous black objects are stage one of what will eventually be the world 's first 3D printed house . It is made using a `` KamerMaker '' machine , a giant , custom-made version of a desktop 3D printer that produces a material 10 times thicker than normal . The finished structure will take the shape of a 13-room canal house made from scores of separate but interlocking components ( like the three currently on show ) . `` These rooms will be structural entities on their own . We will then place them on top of each other to make a house , '' explained DUS Architects co-founder and director , Martine de Wit . `` Originally , we had the small printers in our office and we were printing scale models with them . Then we thought why not print it ( the full house ) right away , '' she added . How does it work ? The interior and exterior walls of the house are printed at the same time with spaces left in between for electric wiring and pipes . These spaces are then filled in with concrete for insulation and reinforcement . As it stands , the primary material being used is a bio-plastic made from 80 % plant oil but other substances are being tested for their suitability . Between six and ten blocks are required to make one room and the entire process of printing and assembling the house is estimated to take three years . According to de Wit , the Amsterdam project is an experiment to test out the feasibility , challenges and cost implications of fashioning a house in this way . `` If you print in plastic you can recycle the materials , '' de Wit explained . `` We also see the possibility to design something , send it digitally and then print it exactly in the place that you need it rather than transporting everything to the location . '' On top of this , houses can be custom designed to suit individual owners tastes , moved piece by piece to a new location if required before being put together again and only the precise amount of material required would need to be used , reducing waste in the process . De Wit even sees the possibility of building furniture , arts and crafts into the blocks that make up a 3D printed home . The canal house will feature a printed block containing a staircase . But while the potential benefits of building a house in this manner may be appealing , there remain many challenges before the technology is proven effective from a structural , living and economic sense . A note of caution . De Wit is clear that the final costs of the project are still unknown and admits that 3D printing is unlikely to replace existing house building techniques any time soon . Others , however , doubt whether the concept has any long term value at all . According to Dr Phil Reeves , managing director of UK-based 3D printing consultancy and research firm , Econolyst , printing a house takes longer and runs counter to existing building techniques which are already relatively efficient . `` A lot of housing projects are using very modular systems of building where things are built in a factory off site , bought and then assembled very quickly , '' Reeves said . `` This is counter to that . It 's about much longer times on the building site . '' Reeves also points out the difficulty of altering wiring between walls or correcting faults as they arise after they have been insulated with concrete . Yet despite these potential drawbacks , de Wit and her colleagues remain hopeful the idea can provide benefits to the architecture and construction industries if the initial Amsterdam project is successful . `` I do n't think we 'll print all homes through 3D printing in future but I think it can be an additional , valuable tool to what we already use , '' de Wit said . See also : London 's insane luxury basements . See also : Who invests the most in global property ? See also : Micro-homes offer big solutions .
Dutch architects are building what they claim is world 's first 3D printed house . The 13 room canal house will take three years to construct . Some experts question whether this is an efficient way to build new homes .