First 3D-Printed Hotel to Open in 2024

El Cosmico in Marfa, Rendering © ICON

Until recently, the Texan town of Marfa was known principally for Westerns (Giant) and minimalists (Donald Judd). Oh, and the Prada Store by Elmgreen & Dragset. A hotel from the house of BIG will soon be added.

Round printed buildings will surround an infinity pool. Rendering © ICON

Round printed buildings

The architects from Icon are currently striving not only to build inexpensive (under 100 000 dollars) homes and the first 3D-printed houses on the moon; using plans prepared by BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, the building pioneers are also going to erect the world’s first 3D-printed hotel in Marfa, Texas. Hotelier Liz Lambert is expanding her legendary El Cosmico camping hotel, whose round, printed buildings are set to become the ultimate tourist destination. A dozen of these structures will surround an infinity pool. Inside, the houses take up organic growth processes. The starting point is a round pedestal with a double bed set beneath a circular skylight from which the curved space develops.

Liz Lambert is expanding her legendary El Cosmico camping hotel. Rendering © ICON

A natural aesthetic

Domed buildings and round houses are not part of the local traditions. Nonetheless, in their sand-coloured materiality, they appear to have grown directly from the desert. A performance pavilion in Austin, Texas, offers a preview of this natural aesthetic. With its block stripes that range from ochre to beige, the printed structure seems to be an eroded cliff in the middle of the city – and is an ideal stage for art.

A performance pavilion in Austin, Texas, © ICON

The desert lives

Marfa has it all: in 1882, the railway reached the watering stop by the Chinati Mountains. The place was called Marfa after Marfa Strogoff, a character in Jules Verne's novel Michael Strogoff. The tank town, which then featured a dining tent and gamblers’ shack, grew as the ranchers came, leading to hardware shops, a bank and a hotel. Hollywood appeared in 1955. On Evans Ranch, James Dean, Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor made the film Giant, a parable of Texas’ legendary rise to what bestselling author Edna Ferber called “the most American of the United States”. The story will continue in 2024.

Architecture: BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group
Location: Marfa, Texas (US)

3D-print: ICON

Gallery

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