Materials research company WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Co said it can produce basic box homes for as little as $5,000, using cheap materials and reduced labour.

The firm has developed four 10m x 6.6m printers to spray a mixture of cement, construction waste and glass fibres to build the walls, layer by layer.

The homes produced were a very rudimentary design and were built from separate printed panel elements, lifted into position and assembled on site in the Qingpu district in Shanghai.

“We can print buildings to any digital design our customers bring us. It’s fast and cheap,” said WinSun chief executive Ma Yihe.

He also hopes his printers can be used to build skyscrapers in the future, although Chinese construction regulations do not allow multi-storey, 3D-printed houses.

Ma has been researching 3D printing for 10 years and built his manufacturing plant using the technique.