STATUS
IN DESIGN
CODEX
2024
CLIENT
ICON
TYPOLOGY
Residential
SHARE
CODEX is a digital catalog of ready-to-print homes by construction technology company ICON that was unveiled at the South by Southwest Festival in 2024. The catalog features five 3D-printed home collections each based on a different program, with more than 60 designs across a range of price points.
Within CODEX, BIG designed the weather-resistant Storm and Fire homes, with design elements that mitigate damage and loss due to storms and wildfires; the TexNext collection, which reinterprets four beloved Texan housing typologies; and House One, a 3-bedroom home that celebrates indoor and outdoor living within the Exploration collection.
Every home in CODEX is designed to be 3D printed with ICON’s newest advanced material, CarbonX. When paired with ICON’s wall system and robotic construction methods, the CarbonX formula is the lowest carbon residential building system ready to be used at scale. New collections will continue to be added to CODEX, which aims to be the most extensive digital catalog of buildable home designs in the world.
The Storm collection is ICON’s response to the growing need for hurricane and storm-resilient homes. This series includes aerodynamic 3D-printed forms, elevated sites and impact-resistant windows.
The form finding for Storm included extensive testing and simulation to find the best fluid forms to withstand wind forces. The collection includes two approaches – one design features fully 3D-printed domes while the other includes traditional, non-3D-printed roofs. The Storm Cell homes are conceived as fully 3D-printed envelopes with windows and skylights carved out. Designed to minimize wind pressure and lift forces, the Capsule homes, meanwhile, demonstrate aerodynamic design features to create a circular living experience while ensuring privacy for the bedrooms.
Four-and-a-half million U.S. homes are at high or extreme risk from wildfires. The Fire collection takes advantage of ICON’s 3D-printed wall system’s inherent fire resiliency and adds in additional protective strategies to mitigate the damage and loss due to wildfires. These homes are designed to comply with wildfire prevention practices and feature passive prevention with landscaping plus active protection though noncombustible envelopes and shutters.
CODEX’s TexNext collection honors Texas heritage and its traditional architectural vernacular while reimagining and renewing it for the future. TexNext aims to provide the highest design quality at the lowest price. Each of TexNext’s eight typologies feature design elements typically unavailable for entry-level homes – all made possible through 3D-printing.
A “shotgun house” is a narrow, rectangular residence with rooms arranged one behind the other and doors to the exterior at each end of the home. Known for its affordability and efficient use of space, CODEX’s Shotgun typology is modernized for a unique design made possible only through 3D printing.
The Arc Ranch model elevates indoor/outdoor living to create a seamless and transparent connection from the front to the back of the house. A vaulted ceiling in the central living space adds a sense of openness and grandeur. Dogtrot, a style of home originating in the 19th-century Southern United States, features a central breezeway dividing the house into two living spaces, offering natural ventilation and relief from heat – much like its historic namesake. The Porch house features a spacious, covered porch that wraps around the home’s exterior, providing additional living space and opportunities for outdoor enjoyment.
House One is one of two models within the CODEX Exploration collection demonstrating new, divergent design languages and architectural vernaculars based on the opportunities created by innovative construction-scale 3D-printing.
A three-bedroom luxury home, House One celebrates indoor/outdoor living forming a radially organized floor plan. The design integrates sustainability strategies and utilizes 3D printing in the construction of the foundation, the wall system and roof – providing a fully 3D-printed home. This home also offers a one-bedroom guest house.
CODEX comes on the heels of a longstanding relationship between ICON and BIG, having also worked on projects including the forthcoming El Cosmico in Marfa, Texas and the 3D-printed Wolf Ranch residential development outside of Austin.
Bjarke Ingels Bjarke Ingels Bjarke Ingels Bjarke Ingels Beat Schenk Beat Schenk Beat Schenk Beat Schenk Martin Voelkle Martin Voelkle Martin Voelkle Martin Voelkle Blake Smith Blake Smith Jan Leenknegt Jan Leenknegt Jan Leenknegt Jenna Dezinski Jenna Dezinski Jenna Dezinski Julian Ocampo Salazar Julian Ocampo Salazar Julian Ocampo Salazar Margaret Tyrpa Margaret Tyrpa Margaret Tyrpa Margaret Tyrpa Veronica Acosta Veronica Acosta Veronica Acosta Veronica Acosta Mateo Fernandez Mateo Fernandez Michelle Stromsta Michelle Stromsta Michelle Stromsta Michelle Stromsta Nojan Adami Nojan Adami Oliver Thomas Peter Sepassi Peter Sepassi Peter Sepassi Ricardo Palma Prieto Siqi Zhang Siqi Zhang Siqi Zhang Thomas McMurtrie Thomas McMurtrie Thomas McMurtrie Won Ryu Cheng Zhong Cheng Zhong Cheng Zhong Chia-Yu Liu Isela Liu Jialin Yuan Jialin Yuan Alexander Jacobson Alexander Jacobson Andrea Hektor Andrea Hektor Andrea Hektor Ema Hristova Bakalova Jonathan Russell Mengzhu Jiang Mengzhu Jiang Mengzhu Jiang Zuzanna Eugenia Montwill Juan Diego Perez Diez Juan Diego Perez Diez Karim Daw Alan Maedo Alan Maedo Jaeho Park Jaeho Park Jaeho Park Jeremy Jackson Jeremy Jackson Ahmad Tabbakh Ahmad Tabbakh Ahmad Tabbakh Ahmad Tabbakh Cynthia Wang Cynthia Wang Cynthia Wang Cynthia Wang Hudson Parris Vi Madrazo San Yoon Ashley O'Neill Ashley O'Neill Ashley O'Neill Matthew Lau Ana Gabriela Loayza Ana Gabriela Loayza Ana Gabriela Loayza Daniela Morin Daniela Morin Paul Heberle Mana Ikebe Nai Wong Artem Chouliak Artem Chouliak Artem Chouliak
COLLABORATORS
Storm Collaborators:
STG Design
WGI Engineering
FORT Structures
ICON
Fire Collaborators:
ICON
TexNext Collaborators:
FORT Structures
ICON
House One Collaborators:
Logan Architecture
FORT Structures
ICON
