Community-Driven Design of Flood-Resilient Recovery Housing via 3D Concrete Printing (2026-04)¶

Flooding events increasingly threaten rural Appalachian communities, where traditional housing solutions fail due to high costs, long construction timelines, and poor disaster resilience. This work introduces a multifunctional approach to transitional housing using 3D-printed concrete technology to deliver affordable, rapidly deployable, and flood-resistant homes for individuals recovering from homelessness in Charleston, West Virginia. The design emphasizes communitycentric principles, informed by workshops conducted with local partners to ensure cultural appropriateness, accessibility, and integration of social support systems. This work conducted computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis under severe flood conditions to compare three configurations: flat slab, raised slab with flood vents, and elevated stilted designs. Results show the stilted configuration achieved the highest resilience, reducing hydrodynamic forces. Raised slab designs provided moderate protection, while flat slab models failed to meet flood-resistance criteria. This study demonstrates the potential of additive manufacturing combined with community-driven design to address housing insecurity.