AI SpaceFactory, a self-described “multi-planetary architectural and technology design agency,” received funding from NASA to develop a prototype residence for life on Mars. Now they’ve set their sights closer to home. Relying on the same technology and concern for sustainability that led to their proposed Martian creation, they’ll actually produce a house on Earth — one located in the Hudson Valley.

Like its Mars counterpart, the structure here, called TERA, will be built via 3-D technology using materials that come from the planet and are compostable and renewable yet twice as durable as steel and concrete.

The many-windowed home, which resembles an upside-down wasp nest, will feature a downstairs living-dining area and quarters for sleeping and relaxing up a flight of curving wooden stairs. The team’s goal is to have robots “print” the building on-site, causing as little disturbance to the land as possible. Once the house is completed at an as-yet-undisclosed site in the valley, it will be available for rent for a short time before it is disassembled and the land can return to its former, pristine state.   

AI SpaceFactory hopes lessons learned from building and having people actually live in the house will lead to bigger things. “While we were designing for sustainable life on a new planet, we realized our materials and technology had the potential to be leaps and bounds more sustainable than traditional construction,” they say. “It could transform the way we build on Earth — maybe even save our planet.”