The Mueller neighborhood in its current form is a smattering of cute cottage homes, sprawling green spaces, a bustling retail section, as well as a colorful collection of affordable housing. Starting later this year, Mueller will add one more thing to this list: 3D printed homes.

Icon, a local company known for building homes using robotic technology, will break ground on the first of these homes sometime this year, and Austinites can pre-purchase them starting March 4.

These innovative one- to three-bedroom homes will be built by Icon's recently-unveiled robotic printer that enables multi-story construction, and designed by renowned firm Michael Hsu Office of Architecture.

Homes will range anywhere from 650-foot one bedrooms (some of which will be available within the Mueller Affordable Homes Program at a later date) to larger 2,400 square foot homes. They'll be dotted along a section of Mueller with views of the greenbelt and within walking distance to shops, restaurants, and more.

This is far from the first Austin-area neighborhood that Icon has worked on, but it may be the highest-profile.

Mueller's new 3D printed homes will range from one to three-bedrooms.Rendering courtesy of ICON

“Although there is more commercial construction to be completed over the next few years, we’re nearing the end of newly constructed homes in Mueller, and we wanted to celebrate Mueller’s two decades of residential innovation with yet another advancement,” said principal and senior vice president of Arterra Development Sergio Negrete in a press release.

Arterra Development is managing Mueller’s redevelopment on behalf of Catellus Development Corp. in partnership with the City of Austin.

“After all, Mueller is the place where impassioned professionals, City leaders and neighborhood advocates developed the unique affordable homes program, Mueller Houses, shop homes, cottage homes, courtyard homes, zero-lot-line homes and more," Negrete added. "These 3D-printed homes also help reflect the overall goals of the community, including affordability, diversity and sustainability.”

These 3D printed homes may be hard to imagine, but essentially, Icon uses robot technology to "print out" the home's base using a proprietary cementitious material, CarbonX.

This process is not only much faster than a traditional home build, but according to the press release, the material is excellent at insulating the home, keeping energy bills low. It's designed to resist water, mold, termites, and fire. Once the base is printed, conventional construction methods are used for the second story, roof, windows, doors, and elevated finishes.

A rendering of what these 3D-printed homes could look like inside.Rendering courtesy of ICON

The Mueller Austinites know today is still very new in the scheme of things. It's where the original Austin airport was located, and the residential area was built in the few years after the airport's closure in 1999, with the first residents moving in in 2007. It's an interesting mix of incomes, residences, and businesses, and this neighborhood is still definitely a work in progress with new construction projects popping up like Whac-A-Mole.

When all is said and done, this 700-acre neighborhood will feature at least 6,900 single-family and multifamily homes — including more than 1,725 designated affordable homes — about 4.8 million square feet of commercial space, and 144 acres of park and open space, plus the excellent Dell Children's Medical Center, The Thinkery, and more.

“Mueller is an incredible Austin community to bring our resilient, energy efficient ICON homes to,” said VP of real estate development and sales at Icon Jared Kuhn. “As some of the last newly constructed homes in the highly sought-after community, the to-be-built homes will be located along the Southwest Greenway and offer unobstructed and protected views of the golf course and walking trails. We’ve been looking to collaborate with Michael Hsu for years and are excited to bring to life the elevated designs and offer one-, two- and three-bedroom homes at various price points.”