It may look like an ordinary 3D printer, but this machine, the size of a crane, is slowly building a hotel in the Texan desert, layer by layer.
El Cosmico, an existing hotel and campground located just outside Marfa, is undergoing a significant expansion. Over 40 acres (16 hectares), it will add 43 new hotel units and 18 residential homes—all constructed using a 3D printer.
El Cosmico is set to become the world’s first 3D-printed hotel, according to its owner, Liz Lambert, and project partners, Austin-based 3D printing company ICON and architects Bjarke Ingels Group.
Lambert says the technology enables a new level of design freedom.
“Most hotels are limited by four walls, and often, you end up repeating the same unit design again and again,” Lambert explained. “With 3D printing, I’ve never been able to build with such fluidity—curves, domes, parabolas—it’s a wild way to construct.”
The innovative approach allows for architectural details that would normally be too costly to reproduce on a large scale with traditional methods, Lambert added.
The first two units under construction—a three-bedroom residential space and a single-room hotel unit—feature 12-foot (3.7-meter) high, curving beige walls. These are created by ICON’s Vulcan, a 46.5-foot (14.2-meter) wide 3D printer standing 15.5 feet (4.7 meters) tall and weighing 4.75 tons. A technician oversees Vulcan as its robotic arm and nozzle move smoothly across the site.
The “ink” for this massive printer is a cement-based material called Lavacrete, a proprietary mix designed for strength, affordability, and ease of use. ICON CEO Jason Ballard said the mixture is adjusted depending on weather conditions.
“The magic is in the additives that allow us to keep printing,” Ballard explained, noting that factors like humidity, temperature, and sunlight can affect the material’s properties and even its color.
In addition to this project, ICON is developing a 3D-printed neighborhood near Austin.
However, the rise of 3D-printed construction may present challenges, particularly for labor markets. Milad Bazli, a science and technology lecturer at Charles Darwin University, pointed out that this new method could reduce demand for skilled labor, especially in remote areas.
“From a social and economic perspective, especially in terms of local jobs, this is a challenge that needs to be addressed as 3D printing gains traction,” Bazli noted.
The expansion of El Cosmico is expected to be completed by 2026, with hotel rates ranging from $200 to $450 per night.
I am an experienced writer, analyst, and author. My exposure in English journalism spans more than 28 years. In the past, I have been working with daily The Muslim (Lahore Bureau), daily Business Recorder (Lahore/Islamabad Bureaus), Daily Times, Islamabad, daily The Nation (Lahore and Karachi). With daily The Nation, I have served as Resident Editor, Karachi. Since 2009, I have been working as a Freelance Writer/Editor for American organizations.
