The Desperado社区丨美国丨Firmah Architecture

Construction company ICON and design studio Firmah Architecture have released designs for a 450-acre community in Texas, USA that will include 88 3D-printed houses surrounding two artificial surf lagoons.

The Desperado community will be an extension of the water park Waco Surf located in Waco, where "residents will be able to drop into a wave whenever the mood strikes".

ICON and Firmah Architecture have released designs for a 3D-printed surf development in Texas

The community was designed by Austin-based Firmah Architecture and will be built by ICON. The 3D-printed houses will be "anchored" by Waco Surf's water park amenities, including one pre-existing surf lagoon and a standing wave pool.

The buildings will fan outward around a second kidney-shaped wave pool that is being built for the project.

The development will be part of local water park Waco Surf

Renderings show gently curved concrete structures with wooden ceilings, and roofs that splay outwards to form shaded pavilions.

The housing will encompass 44 standalone homes and 44 duplex townhomes, while the main lodge buildings are also pictured around the water features.

Houses will be 3D-printed out of concrete

The interiors are largely open, with wood-framed windows and sliding doors.

Firmah Architecture and Waco Surf designed the houses around the idea of "flow".

Firmah Architecture founder Ashley Heeren, who previously led the design of ICON's House Zero in Austin, brought the same "walls with gentle curves and rounded corners" to Despardo, according to the team.

Wide wooden roofs cover the structures

"We designed The Desperado around this idea of living in flow," said co-president of Waco Surf Luke Schock. "The architecture, the land, the surf, the trails through the old-growth forest – it all fits together to give you a life where you can move between these completely different experiences in the same day."

"High energy, quiet and restorative, everything in between. That's not something you find anywhere else. There is no community like this in Texas or the world, and we built it to stay that way."

The neighbourhood is designed for active outdoor living

The entire 450-acre property is designed to mix the usually distinct elements of "Texas ranch life" and "high-level surf" with a dash of "intentional living", according to promotional materials.

An old-growth forest is located at the centre, while the remaining acreage is prairie land.

The neighbourhood will be car-free internally. Residents will navigate using golf carts, bikes or foot paths.

Other amenities throughout the surf park include "the world's longest" lazy river, pickleball courts, a 13-hole golf course, fishing lakes, camping sites and restaurants.

It builds upon pre-existing wave pools and other outdoor activities at Waco Surf

"The Desperado is the natural next step. We wanted to create a place where families can actually live inside that feeling, not just visit it," said said Waco Surf co-president David Taylor.

"A community where your kids grow up around the water, around the outdoors, around people who share that same love for life. That's what we're building."

As of now, construction will begin in summer 2026, with move-ins expected in summer 2027.

ICON is a Texas-based 3D printing construction company. It is involved in a number of 3D-printed neighbourhoods throughout the state, including Wimberly Springs and Wolf Ranch. It has also worked extensively with the architecture studio BIG

Waco Surf attracts casual visitors and professional athletes. Last year, design and skate group Zenga Bros built a network of skate ramps informed by the vernacular architecture of the area for a friendly skate competition.

The images are courtesy of Firmah Architecture.