Thursday, September 17, 2026

Printing Finished on 3D-Printed Concrete Home for Altadena Eaton Fire Survivor

3D Concrete Printing [photo credit: PCI Bulders]

PCI Builders says the Spanish-style house for Cindy Lopez is moving through inspections after RIC Robotics printed its concrete walls

A robotic printer has finished the concrete walls of an Altadena house being rebuilt for Cindy Lopez, whose home burned in the Eaton Fire, according to a release from the project team.

The team, led by PCI Builders, calls it Los Angeles County’s first approved 3D-printed home, according to the release. The team says it had to work out a construction approach acceptable to county permitting and inspection. In an April release, fire-technology company Sonic Fire Tech said the county issued PCI Builders a permit in late February for a 3D-printed concrete home in the Eaton Fire rebuild zone, which it called the county’s first.

Plumbing and electrical work are moving through inspection, and roof trusses are on site, the release said.

The house is Spanish-style, with arched windows, sills and headers. The release said RIC Robotics printed the design as drawn rather than asking the team to simplify the plans. “When Cindy lost her home, our goal was not simply to replace what had been there, but to help her rebuild with greater confidence in the future,” said Allison Allain, founder and CEO of PCI Builders.

Altadena is unincorporated, and its building permits come from Los Angeles County. In 2024, a 3D-printed accessory dwelling unit was built in the city of Walnut in collaboration with that city and the county Fire Department, KTLA reported. Its builders called it the first structure of its kind in California.

Lopez began working with PCI Builders in fall 2024, before the fire, according to the release. After the fire, Allain researched more fire-resilient approaches to rebuilding and introduced Lopez to 3D-concrete printing. “Losing my home in the Eaton Fire was devastating, but I knew I wanted to rebuild in a way that felt safer and more forward-looking,” Lopez said.

Monrovia-based PCI Builders led the project, RIC Robotics printed the walls, and Stone River Dynamics provided field support, the companies said. The finished house is to include a sound-based fire-suppression system from Sonic Fire Tech, which that company said was a voluntary addition to a required sprinkler system.