Women-owned modular housing product company Cassette revealed its one-bedroom apartment pod to construction, real estate, and development insiders. Designed by modernist designers Craig Hodgetts and Ming Fung, the model unit is set to be displayed throughout Q2 Fall 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
In 2019, Cassette founders started an investigative journey to uncover the obstacles preventing true construction innovation. Extensive research led to Cassette’s integrated product and the company’s approach to design of the apartment pods today.
Cassette's team consists of best-in-class professionals who come from architecture, product design, industrial engineering, manufacturing, construction, and supply chain sectors, and together have developed its products and systems. Cassette’s business model is based on experience, and their team is dedicated to making sure they create products that perform and drive down the cost of housing for everyone.
The new apartment pods are a part of Cassette’s mission to address the housing crisis by reducing the cost of multifamily housing construction by 30% in three years and doubling the speed of housing production. Cassette’s goal is to productize the construction industry, and they want to do this by paralleling home production in a factory, while site preparation is underway.
FEATURES OF CASSETTE'S MODULAR APARTMENT
Cassette’s approach to home production was inspired by powerful consumer brands like Southwest Airlines and In-N-Out. Cassette believes that what separates brands like this from others is because of their ability to “do one thing exceptionally well.” This approach not only addresses the housing crisis, but does so in a very efficient manner.
"Cassette's entire apartment units are manufactured in a factory then stacked quickly like LEGOs," said founder and CEO Dafna Kaplan. "We are standardizing the multifamily building process and making sure it works for every developer, every time, and that it is easy for any architect or contractor to use."
Cassette’s apartment pods are just under 600 square feet, and include a bathroom, bedroom, laundry cabinet, double wardrobe, and chef’s kitchen. In the bedroom, a large clerestory window draws in natural light and a sliding wall panel system enlarges the space further.
The apartment walls contain a supporting steel structural system that allows them to stack up to six stories high without any external bracing, and the connection is neatly post-tensioned at the roof of the building. Also, all electrical and plumbing is linked through corridors via panels on each unit.
Cassette's structural system was based on connection methodologies used around the world, including collaborators in South Korea and Singapore. For U.S. customers, Cassette designed its apartment pods to meet strict seismic zone demands and building codes.
Productizing the construction industry is a business model that has started to transform the modular industry, and Cassette’s stackable apartment pod is one of the first steps in achieving this.
About Cassette
In 2019, Cassette founders embarked upon an investigative journey to uncover the obstacles preventing true construction innovation from widespread adoption. Extensive research and development led to Cassette’s integrated product and service model and to the company’s innovative delivery approach. In 2022, Cassette introduced a beautifully designed one-bedroom apartment pod that can stack up to six stories high into a multifamily development.
The company’s commitment is simple and straightforward: Deliver one manufactured product exceptionally well, improve that product’s performance and features over time, and with that discipline and repetition—reverse the cost escalation in housing construction. It takes a village and vision to create meaningful change. If you have the drive and professional chops to drive that change—we want to hear from you! careers@cassettesystems.com
