Eco:Cube – A Modular Living Concept

We need to rethink how housing is designed and developed in response to today’s challenges. Eco:Cube is a modular living concept which provides an alternative housing model to address issues of density, supply, housing quality, low carbon transitioning and future proofing.

Our concept is based on a simple matrix and a fixed grid that utilises a singular, repetitive 3-D volumetric timber module to generate a variety of 1, 2, 3 and 4-bedroom homes through a process of stacking and rotation. The interlocking volumes create a solid and void interlace providing in between pockets of outdoor rooms in the form of courtyards and upper roof gardens. The system can produce at scale and to more sustainable densities.

By employing the principles of design for manufacturing and assembly (DFMA), high performance, precision engineered timber modular homes can come straight from the factory and deliver at speed and scale while meeting Net Zero Energy Living. The simplicity in the production and assembly sequence allows for fully finished modules to be craned into position and connected to a pre-installed home energy pod for an instant ‘Plug-and-Play’ setup. The system has the added ability to allow for expansion and contraction whereby additional modules can be added over time in response to a family’s changing spatial needs. For example, an initial 1-bedroom home comprising of two modules allows for a very affordable first step, but with the flexibility of the homeowner scaling up over time to suit their financial circumstances.

ESTIMATED POTENTIAL NEW UNITS

Using our matrix of this compact Low Rise – Medium Density housing model, if eighty-seven identical factory-built timber modules were produced they could potentially generate a courtyard block at a density of 50 dwellings per hectare, while a typical back-to-back model could achieve in excess of 70 dwellings per hectare.