Inspired by proposals for homes on Mars and the moon, the accommodations are designed to reflect the aesthetics of spacecraft.
As part of its ongoing effort to live in the future, El Cosmico, a popular 21-acre glamping destination in Marfa, Texas, wants to help its guests live in the present.
Hence, next year, it will begin work on the world’s first 3D-printed hotel, called Sunday Homes, that was partly inspired by concepts for homes in outer space and described as the first of its kind in the world.
On March 9, hotelier Liz Lambert announced the ambitious new project at SXSW. During her presentation, she shared her team’s partnership with the 3D-printing construction company Icon, which currently holds a contract with NASA for the first interplanetary homes on the moon and Mars, along with the Danish architecture company Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG).
I have had a vision for the evolution of El Cosmico for many years that includes several spaces that add to the experience both for guests and locals — a pool, a hammam, and more space for art and skills-building workshops,” said Lambert in a statement obtained by Rich Report.
“In collaborating with the revolutionary thinkers at BIG and Icon, not only do I get to fulfill this dream, but we get to do it using this incredible 3D printing technology that marries the oldest principles of raw earth-based building with a futuristic technology that works more quickly, sustainably, and efficiently than modern construction.”
The Lambert, Icon, and BIG presentations at SXSW were a preview of what’s to come in the near future. During a ceremony at Austin’s Long Center for the Performing Arts, the team was able to unveil a permanent outdoor concert pavilion that they gifted to the community.
In Lambert’s estimation, the construction process (including both printing and building) took just 14 days from start to finish.
A set of curved, hut-style accommodations is also scheduled to be built at El Cosmico, and Lambert shared renderings of the proposed accommodations. In order to reflect the landscapes of both outer space and Marfa, which are surprisingly similar, each painting is created in neutral tones that are meant to reflect the local landscapes of the two places.
We’d spent some time doing research on what construction on Mars and the moon would look like, and it was quite clear that additive manufacturing like 3D printing was probably the only viable option,” BIG founder Bjarke Ingels recalled.
“We also already sort of created some visuals where you could see the tectonics of 3D printing combined, in the case of Mars, with the red tones of Martain regoliths, you ended up with something that felt like a kind of vernacular architecture.”
It is Lambert’s intention to re-locate El Cosmico to a 60-acre property, located just north of Marfa, that will be able to accommodate both El Cosmico’s current glamping-style accommodations, as well as its new 3D-printed structures.
As well as the circular infinity pool she promised, the open-air bathhouse and communal areas will also be part of this project. In the plans, there are two-, three-, and four-bedroom residences ranging in size from 1,200 square feet to 2,200 square feet. The surrounding Davis Mountains can be seen from each unit.
In an Instagram post, Lambert noted that the project can “assess the opportunity to 3D-print affordable housing in Marfa,” suitable for the city’s growing population. A disproportionate number of properties in this West Texas town serve as short-term vacation rentals catering to tourists, causing a long-term housing shortage in the town.
“Our collaboration with El Cosmico and Icon has allowed us to pursue the formal and material possibilities of cutting-edge 3D-printed construction untethered by the traditional limitations of a conventional site or client,” Ingels added in a statement.
The project is scheduled to begin construction in 2024. Bookings will be accepted starting this summer at Sunday Homes.
