GBG Case Study

Google allows social enterprise TriDom to tackle houselessness in Brazil and other developing countries

About TriDom

• TriDom.co • São Paulo, Brazil • TriDom creates and deploys technology for the construction world to create low-cost housing and eradicate houselessness • 2 employees • Launched in July 2014

TriDom is formed from ‘Tri’, which refers to 3D technology and ‘Dom’, the Russian word for home. The founders of the social enterprise TriDom wanted to create a word that sounded like ‘freedom’ because having a house gives people autonomy, and enables them to invest in education and move on with their lives. “Houselessness” is not to be confused with “homelessness”—although the two areas overlap—and refers to a lack of access to adequate shelter, as defined by the UN Habitat programme. TriDom’s mission is to eradicate houselessness, particularly in developing countries, within the next 15 years. This problem is close to home for the founders: according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, over 10 million people in Brazil still live in favelas (slums). Today, the enterprise combines green technology, design and 3D printing to build transformational low-cost housing. Working with concrete, TriDom aims to slash the cost of building houses by almost 75 percent. The Internet enabled Anielle Guedes, TriDom founder and CEO, to set up a working partnership in only two months. And Google technology has played an integral role in TriDom’s rapid development. Anielle’s business partner Yaron, an Israeli entrepreneur, had never seen a favela before. So, using Google Street View, Anielle took Yaron on a tour of the São Paulo favela where she currently lives. This helped him understand the favela’s social and architectural structures. Google Hangouts has allowed Anielle to connect with companies that specialize in 3D printing, which are mainly based in Europe and on the East Coast of the US.

“I’ve seen plenty of social inequality as well as abundance and possibilities—the only thing missing was technology to make the bridge.” — Anielle Guedes, founder and CEO, TriDom Right now, TriDom’s technology is in development with a corporate partner in the US and it is expected to be ready in four years. But TriDom has already established that it could reduce average construction costs by an impressive 40 percent using this technology. So TriDom is set to begin its ambitious mission to eradicate houselessness and change lives in developing countries within the next 15 years. As Anielle notes, “I’ve seen plenty of social inequality as well as abundance and possibilities—the only thing missing was technology to make the bridge.”

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