See what it'll be like staying at a luxury 3D printed hotel in the West Texas desert

Brittany ChangSep 22, 2024, 18:54 IST

Icon has started 3D printing stand-alone hotel rooms and communal amenities like a pool and bathhouse as part of the expansion of Mafa, Texas-based hotel and campground El Cosmico.Icon<ul class="summary-list"><li>Construction-tech startup Icon is 3D printing a hotel and a collection of homes in West Texas. </li><li>The project would triple the acreage of the Marfa, Texas, hotel and campground <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/icon-el-cosmico-upcoming-3d-printed-hotel-homes-texas-photos-2023-3">El Cosmico</a>.</li></ul>In the dusty desert of Marfa, Texas, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/photos-autocamp-turning-motels-luxury-hotels-van-life-spots-2022-9">hotel and campground</a> El Cosmico serves as an eclectic respite in Far West Texas.Well, you could argue that calling El Cosmico a "hotel" is a stretch.It doesn't have a traditional hotel building filled with guest rooms, as you might expect with a Marriott or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hilton-points-autocamp-airstream-glamping-camping-rv-resorts-2024-4">Hilton</a>. Instead, most of its 40+ accommodations are "glamping" units like yurts, trailers, and tents.In 2026, a collection of stand-alone guest rooms with 3D printed walls would be added to the line-up.

Marfa, nestled between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park, is unlike most other destinations in the Lone Star State.

Marfa, Texas, is located about an hour's drive from the Mexico borderhalbergman/Getty Images

So it's only fitting El Cosmico plans to expand with distinctive 3D printed hotel rooms built by construction-tech startup Icon.

Icon's more than 2,000-square-foot House Zero in Austin.Brittany Chang/Business Insider

And in the next two years, the startup says it'll debut the 'world's first' 3D printed hotel as part of an expansion of El Cosmico.

Frequent Icon collaborator Bjarke Ingels Group designed the hotel rooms, shown in a rendering.Icon

Guests would also have communal amenities like a printed restaurant, pool, and event spaces.

The expanded El Cosmico will have new amenities like a pool, shown in a rendering.Icon

Jason Ballard, CEO of Icon, told BI in 2023 that constructing these curved structures would be 'almost impossible' without a 3D printer 'unless you wanted 10 times the budget.'

Construction 3D printers can easily produce curved walls like the ones in El Cosmico's planned bathhouse, shown in a rendering.Icon

Jason Ballard, CEO of Icon, told BI in 2023 that constructing these curved structures would be 'almost impossible' without a 3D printer 'unless you wanted 10 times the budget.'

Along with the expanded hotel, the new El Cosmico will also include 15 printed homes starting at $2.29 million.

Icon's 3D printing system is currently building 15 homes, as shown in a rendering.Icon

My sister and I went on a cruise in the Arctic Circle. With 24 hours of daylight, we had to 'create' nighttime in our rooms.

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See what it'll be like staying at a luxury 3D printed hotel in the West Texas desert

Marfa, nestled between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park, is unlike most other destinations in the Lone Star State.

So it's only fitting El Cosmico plans to expand with distinctive 3D printed hotel rooms built by construction-tech startup Icon.

And in the next two years, the startup says it'll debut the 'world's first' 3D printed hotel as part of an expansion of El Cosmico.

Guests would also have communal amenities like a printed restaurant, pool, and event spaces.

Jason Ballard, CEO of Icon, told BI in 2023 that constructing these curved structures would be 'almost impossible' without a 3D printer 'unless you wanted 10 times the budget.'

Along with the expanded hotel, the new El Cosmico will also include 15 printed homes starting at $2.29 million.