In other words the first house may cost $20,000, but the more houses that are built, the cheaper they become.

Despite the pandemic, construction on the first hut is expected to begin in the summer on the university campus of Ecole de Management et d'Innovation Technologique in the city of Fianarantsoa, home to about 200,000 people on the south end of the island.

The 3D-printer itself, at 6.5 feet, is being provided by Thinking Huts' partner Hyperion Robotics, a Finnish 3D-printing company that builds a hodgepodge of different elements, such as building columns, patio furniture, and even artificial coral reefs.