The urban studio of architecture firm WATG and 3D-fabrication company Branch Technology have completed structural testing for what they say will be the world’s first “freeform” printed house.

Gutenberg’s introduction of movable type six centuries ago was a true revolution. The development forever altered the way information was received and disseminated, democratizing knowledge. Printing’s recent move beyond two dimensions could be similarly transformative.

After ISIS militants seized control of Palmyra—the ancient Syrian city called the “Venice of the Sands”— last May, they immediately set out to destroy it.