Let’s talk concrete quickly, because honestly I just want to get to more dirty pics (get it?).

Concrete is the world’s second‑most‑consumed material after water. We churn out 4.2 billion tons of concrete every year, and demand is forecasted to leap 48% by 2050. This hunger for cement is responsible for about 8% of global carbon emissions, more than all aviation. (Taylor Swift doesn’t have to feel so bad about her private jet…)

The heavy carbon footprint is largely due to the clinker in cement; making clinker releases CO₂ at high temperatures and accounts for 90% of concrete’s emissions. Housing also creates enormous construction waste and requires extensive labor and time.

According to LibWork, “By eliminating cement and using earth, lime, and and natural fibers, LibWork’s custom mix slashes the load carbon load of the manufacturing itself. For a 100m² home, CO₂ output is cut by roughly 50% versus reinforced concrete construction, and even lower than timber builds.”

Japanese builder LibWork partnered with engineering firm Arup and Italian 3D‑printing specialist WASP. Together they developed a soil‑based compounding technology mixing earth, lime and natural fibers to achieve structural strength without cement.

According to LibWork, “The Lib Earth House uses wood for the main structure, and is designed with 3D printed earthen walls as structurally independent exterior materials. Both the main structure and the 3D printed exterior walls have a strength equivalent to earthquake resistance grade 3, making it a safe home to live in even in Japan.”

A robotic arm extrudes this mixture in ribbed layers, printing the walls of a 100m² house in a matter of days. Humans then install glazing, doors and a flat roof. The finished home features internet‑connected heating, lighting and even a smart bath, all powered by solar panels and Tesla Powerwall storage. When its life cycle ends, the walls can be crushed and returned to the earth, avoiding landfill.

Unfortunately, there’s no info about price yet. But, we’d guess this would be cheaper than a traditional concrete build, and closer to other pre-fabricated, or 3D-printed houses.

On paper, this strikes us as a sustainable, affordable housing breakthrough.

But the Hell Yeah is in its beauty. The earth house blends Japanese minimalism with organic curves, proving that a home made of literal dirt can look like a high‑end art installation. This flips modern home design (as well as childish insults about living in mud) on it’s head.

It shows that cutting‑edge tech doesn’t have to mean cold steel or looking like a sterile Apple store. It can mean warm clay, sunlight and Zen calm.

I mean, we can wax architectural about modern designs of houses that look like they could have existed thousands of years ago.

Or, we can wax economic on what this might mean for the global housing economy. You can imagine how future iterations of this technology could eventually reshape cities. Or enable us to build structures on Mars. (Yes, the company is thinking about a Mars Building Project, no word yet whether the the Martian HOA will demand red exteriors).

But, this is a hell yeah simply because we’re envy-scrolling pics of dirt houses as if it were our nightly Zillow perusal of houses in our neighborhood. The idea that you can print luxury from the soil beneath your feet feels like modern alchemy, and that’s why we’re cheering.

Unless you live in Japan you’ll have to wait to buy an earth house. But for now, you can buy some inspired swag from us (not affiliated with LibWork). We’re gathering interest in orders for these tshirts, which cost ~$25 and can be found in our shop here.

LibWork Instagram

Lib Earth House model B press release

ClimateWorks: “Three emerging technologies for low-carbon concrete” (for context on concrete’s 8% emissions)

New Atlas

Popular Science

Tom’s Hardware