World’s first 3D-printed hotel takes shape in Texas

It looks like any other 3D printer – except it’s the size of a crane and is, layer by layer, building a hotel in the Texan desert.

El Cosmico, an existing hotel and campground on the outskirts of the city of Marfa, is expanding. It is building 43 new hotel units and 18 residential homes over 40 acres (16 hectares) – all with a 3D printer.

It is the world’s first 3D-printed hotel, says El Cosmico owner Liz Lambert and the partners behind the project – Austin, Texas-based 3D printing company ICON and architects Bjarke Ingels Group.

Lambert said the technology allows for unprecedented creativity.

“Most hotels are contained within four walls and a lot of times you are building the same unit over and over and over again,” Lambert said. “I’ve never been able to build with such little constraint and such fluidity … just the curves, and the domes, and the parabolas. It’s a crazy way to build.”

The units can include architectural features that would normally be too expensive to replicate on a large scale with traditional construction, according to Lambert.

The single-story, 12-foot (3.7-meter) high walls of the first two units under construction are a three-bedroom residential space and single-room hotel unit. The curvy, beige-colored walls are being piped out by ICON’s Vulcan, a 46.5-feet (14.2 m) wide 3D printer standing 15.5 feet (4.7 m) and weighing 4.75 tons.

A print technician monitors Vulcan as its robotic arm and nozzle glide through the work site on a gantry.

The “ink” of this 3D printer is a special cement-based material called Lavacrete, a proprietary mixture designed for strength, affordable scale, and printability. ICON CEO and founder Jason Ballard said workers adjust and blend the ingredients based on weather conditions.