The Lone Star State will soon be the site of the world’s first 3D-printed hotel, El Cosmico, which has just begun construction in the desert north of Marfa.
The site shows a massive 46.5-foot-wide and 15.5-foot-tall 3D printer laying layer upon layer of sand-colored material onto the foundations, creating curvy sand-colored walls. This behemoth of a machine, called the Vulcan, was created by Texas-based 3D printing and robotics company ICON.
The project is a collaboration between Lambert, ICON and architects at Bjarke Ingels Group. Lambert seeks to expand the existing El Cosmico hotel, adding 43 new units and 18 residential homes on a new 40-acre property. According to a statement from ICON, 3D printing will allow for domes, arches, vaults and new versatility in architectural approaches.
Mockup images of the hotel’s interior show cream curvilinear walls and rounded wooden surfaces full of colors that reflect the surrounding desert. In addition to the hotel, El Cosmico will include several 3D-printed homes, which are currently priced for upwards of $2.29 million.
The structures’ walls are made of a concrete called “lavacrete,” a proprietary low-carbon material created by ICON, which has a compressive strength of 2,000 to 3,500 pounds per square inch. The mixture also uses local Texas materials pigmented to “blend with the landscape of Marfa,” as Lambert tells the Big Bend Sentinel.
In the future, the expansion of El Cosmico may include affordable housing for hotel staff. Lambert tells the Big Bend Sentinel that these plans are “in the background” but still moving forward.
