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BIG and ICON break ground on Liz Lambert's 3D printed El Cosmico resort in Marfa

2024-09-12T13:17:00-04:00

What could be the world’s first 3D printed hotel development has just broken ground near art and design-rich Marfa, Texas. The vision of a Texas native, the noted Austin area hotelier Liz Lambert, will come together with design and logistical support from BIG and ICON. Both entities announced the project in March of 2023, at the time promising a concept defined by a high desert vernacular that equally purports a "primordial architectural language."

All images courtesy ICON and Bjarke Ingels Group

Their design for the expanded El Cosmico resort calls for multiple structures comprised of different organic forms to be 3D printed on a plot totaling more than 60 acres. Private residences and affordable housing units connect to a hotel with a new amphitheater for the Austin-based Long Center for the Performing Arts included.

All images courtesy ICON and Bjarke Ingels Group

Individually, the homes are to be realized at between 2,000 and 2,500 square feet. The project expands the process and ...

Donald Judd's restored Architecture Office to reopen in September 2025 after devastating fire

2024-07-11T17:37:00-04:00

The Judd Foundation has announced progress on restoring Donald Judd's fire-damaged Architecture Office project in Marfa, Texas: The restoration will now make the building ready for public use by September 20, 2025. It continues the pre-fire work that began in 2019. The final construction phase will go on through the end of this year, followed by a reinstallation of the building’s art collection next summer.

Troy Schaum, the principal of SCHAUM/SHIEH (who is leading the restoration project team), shared: “Restoration of the Architecture Office simultaneously embraces challenges of sustainability in the desert climate, the history of Marfa, and Donald Judd’s work. Through the phases of the work, the building was meticulously restored brick by brick, but also reexamined holistically to incorporate Judd’s interventions for the building with practices embedded in Marfa’s historic urban fabric.”

Image: Matthew Millman, courtesy Judd Foundation

Image: Matthew Millman, courtesy Judd Foundati...

BIG and ICON reveal new 3D printed collaboration with hotelier Liz Lambert in Texas

2023-03-08T15:05:00-05:00

BIG and prominent lawyer-turned-hotelier Liz Lambert have announced they will be teaming up with ICON on a new high-end hospitality project in Marfa, Texas.

The project will reshape Lambert’s 21-acre El Cosmico resort from a collection of disparate yurts, tents, and other small structures into a new, 65-acre development featuring dome-like parabolic dwellings made using ICON’s patented 3D printing technology.

El Cosmico. Image courtesy ICON

Austin’s Long Center for the Performing Arts will also benefit from the collaboration in the form of a new 3D printed performance pavilion that “reflects architectural design themes — cosmic organizations, perfect geometries, and organic forms” of El Cosmico. The new resort itself will be a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom homes between 1,200 and 2,200 square feet each, defined by organic curves and large arches. BIG says this is a ”primordial architectural language that can only be achieved by 3D printing.”

El Cosmico. Image courtesy ICON

El ...

Fire severely damages Donald Judd's Architecture Office in Marfa

2021-06-07T18:01:00-04:00

Over the weekend a fire broke out at 102 North Highland Avenue in Marfa, Texas, the two-story brick building best known as the Architecture Office of Donald Judd. According to an Instagram post by the Judd Foundation, the interior of the building, which was undergoing an extensive three-year restoration, was severely damaged. No one was injured during the incident. As of now, the cause of the fire is unknown.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Judd Foundation (@juddfoundation)

Originally built in 1907, Donald Judd purchased the building, known as the Glascock Building, in 1990, and renovated its street-level storefront into an office for his architectural practice. The space was home to numerous furnishings and objects designed by the artist, along with a number of plans and models of Judd’s architectural projects. In 2018, the building was closed for renovations led by Houston and New York-based architecture firm Schaum/Shieh as part of the Judd Founda...

Learn about desert-living design in Design Marfa's 2015 Symposium and Home Tour, Sept. 18 + 19

2015-08-31T15:39:00-04:00

Design Marfa is ready to share fresh insight into desert-living design in their 2015 Symposium and Home Tour, happening on September 18 and 19 at the Crowley Theatre in the Texan town of Marfa.

Hosted by Design Marfa — the non-profit who created the Marfa Multi-Family Housing Competition — the two-day Symposium will feature relevant discussions led by an international array of architects and designers.

Events on Friday, September 18 include the earthen building-materials presentation, "Does This Structure Make Me Look Hot?" with Tucson architect Cade Hayes; DUST principal Brad Lancaster's session on harvesting rainwater; multidisciplinary designer Gina Coffman's presentation on how to increase walkability and bikesharing in our local communities; Los Angeles-based architect Linda Taalman on precision building systems in her "IT House" discussion, and more.

Then on September 19, Marfa Multi-Family Housing Competition winner Paul Vincent presents his proposal while juror Sharon Odum delv...

Design Marfa sheds light on desert-living design in 2015 Symposium this September

2015-06-25T15:53:00-04:00

Design Marfa — the non-profit that hosted the Marfa Multi-Family Housing Competition this past fall — announced the details to their 2015 Symposium and Home Tour taking place September 18-19 at the Crowley Theater in the Texan desert town of Marfa. Although the topics focus on desert environments, they could still offer some handy tips for different locations and climates.

Friday, September 18 will include presentations from an international array of architects and designers such as, "Does This Structure Make Me Look Hot?" by Tucson architect Cade Hayes in regards to earthen building-materials like lava rock or adobe; DUST principal Brad Lancaster's session on harvesting rainwater; a presentation by multidsciplinary designer Gina Coffman on how to design community spaces that help increase walkability in our local neighborhoods, and more.

Then on September 19, Marfa Multi-Family Housing Competition winner Paul Vincent presents his design "7+7", while juror Sharon Odum delves into the ...

Prada Marfa saved

2014-09-16T17:46:00-04:00

The conceptual storefront Prada Marfa, 2005, by Elmgreen & Dragset, has a new lease on life. The Texas Department of Transportation reached an agreement last week with the foundation Ballroom Marfa to preserve the sculpture after nearly one year of negotiations. The government threatened to shut down the work because it could be considered an illegal roadside advertisement under state law. [...] the foundation plans to lease the land underneath Prada Marfa and register it as an art museum.

Previously: Prada Marfa declared an illegal outdoor advertisement, faces possible removal

MODU’s “Weather (Un)Control” exhibition explores the post-Sandy indoor air environment

2013-12-12T18:20:00-05:00

As America's East Coast continues to recover from Hurricane Sandy, MODU's recently completed "Weather (Un)control" exhibition of the Marfa Dialogues/NY highlights an overlooked issue of the storm's aftermath that still remains: the invisible contaminants in indoor air.

The installation features drawings made from artificial dust and static electricity to address the current shortsighted methods for indoor air quality inspection and a "right" to better indoor air.

Photos by Brett Beyer.

More info at Bustler.

Prada Marfa declared an illegal outdoor advertisement, faces possible removal

2013-09-17T15:32:00-04:00

Nearly eight years after opening, Prada Marfa has been classified by the Texas Department of Transportation as an “illegal outdoor advertising sign” because it displays the Prada logo on land where that is prohibited. This could lead to forced removal of the installation, although the department has not yet decided what action it will take.

UPDATE: Prada Marfa saved