If this pandemic has led you into the arms of that special someone you could truly spend an entire lockdown with, then Casa Covida could be for you. The 3D-printed adobe hut was created by the studio Emerging Objects as a cozy dwelling for two that merges modern design and ancient technology.

Composed of sand, silt, clay and water, the walls were printed from a three-axis SCARA (Selective Compliance Articulated Robot Arm) using the studio’s specially-designed software called Potterware. Snug enough for two, life in this atypical home is designed to revolve around three connected cylinders. The central one is fitted with earthen benches and an open fireplace for cooking and heat; off to one side is the sleeping area in a raised platform, and on the other, a sunken bathtub surrounded by tumbled river stones, its water source coming from an aquifer below the mountain desert landscape. 

While the bedroom is covered overhead by a closed roof and the bath features an oculus that frames the night sky, the central cylinder has an inflatable roof that can be erected depending on the weather… and it’s a bright pink one, a pop of color topping off the the ridged structure “like a blooming cactus,” the studio says. 

3D printed door handles, cookware, benches and other furnishings are also proudly displayed and used throughout Casa Covida, as well as some homeware collaborations between the studio and local weaver Joshua Tafoya.  Read more about the project on Emerging Objects’ website.

Photography © Elliot Ross / Emerging Objects