El Cosmico | The World’s First 3D-Printed Hotel

In the small Chihuahuan Desert town of Marfa, Texas—a high-desert enclave known for its artistic spirit—three visionaries are reshaping the future of hospitality.

Liz Lambert, founder of Marfa’s bohemian hotel brand El Cosmico, the world-renowned architecture and design firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and ICON, known for pioneering large-scale 3D printing, have come together to reimagine the future of luxury camping and hospitality with a 3D printed community. Using ICON’s Vulcan printer technology, El Cosmico will expand from its original 21-acre site to a sprawling 60-acre property, and will feature a restaurant, bathhouse, pool, 43 3D-printed hotel units, 18 private residences, and a variety of communal spaces designed for immersive art experiences.

ICON will use its multi-story 3D printer—the same technology behind hundreds of homes in Georgetown’s 3D-printed neighborhood—ultimately marrying ancient, raw earth-based building techniques with futuristic innovation and modern design. All hotel units and private residences will be organic, curvilinear forms—domes, arches, and vaults—and use proprietary Lavacrete material. Using the sand, soils, and colors of the actual building site as their print medium, will ensure a sustainable process and make the circular forms blend seamlessly into the land they stand on.

With its outsized cultural influence, Marfa is the perfect place for this level of imaginative creativity. A small remote town in Far West Texas, Marfa has become well-known and well-loved for its minimalist art influence, secluded desert landscape and quirky personality—drawing a devoted following of artists, travelers, and creatives over the past several decades. Breaking the mold isn’t new in Marfa—it’s second nature.

The original El Cosmico, spread across 21 acres on the outskirts of Marfa, is more than just an offbeat desert retreat. With its mix of vintage trailers, yurts, safari tents, and other eclectic lodgings, it has long served as a creative outpost—part campground, part cultural experiment. The property plays host to a steady rhythm of concerts, workshops, and hands-on classes, culminating each year in the Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love, a colorful celebration of music, community, and unrestrained self-expression.

El Cosmico: Tomorrow is slated to open in 2026.