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Texas start-up to start shipping low-cost, high-tech smart houses

Texas modular housing start-up Kasita has begun producing 33 square metre units costing $139,000 each.

The units, described as the "iPhone for housing" are delivered with a "queen-size bed, kitchen, bathroom, fridge-freezer, cooker and microwave". 

The houses also contain "smart home" technology, such as personalised light and temperature settings, built-in speakers, a video-enabled doorbell and glass windows with adjustable opacity – all of which can be activated by voice control.

The house’s systems can be programmed to be in "moods". For example, the "wake up mood" turns on the radio and the lights in the morning.

The house will be 3.8m tall, with the living room ceiling reaching over 3m. 

Named after "casita", Spanish for "little house", the units could be used as extensions to an existing dwelling, or be stacked to create an apartment block.

The firm say that "every last cubic inch is designed to maximise the home dweller’s experience" and that it "contains everything you need and nothing you don’t".

Kasita’s customers will still have to take care of local building regulations and additional taxes and permits.

The unit comes with a one-year limited warranty, a two-year warranty for M&E, plumbing, and waterproofing and a 10-year warranty for structural components.

Kasita co-founder Jeff Wilson started the company after living in a converted dumpster while working as the dean of Huston-Tillotson University in Texas.

Wilson said: "While the experiment was extreme, the experience I gained by living small and simple made a big impression’

"At the end of the year, I left the dumpster with the concept for a new category of housing, a beautiful, small-footprint home designed as a solution for the growing housing crisis.

"Our goal is to build a global network and communities of people who are fed up with traditional options and want innovative housing."

You can book a place in the manufacturing line for a refundable reservation fee of $1,000 here.

The first orders are due to ship in June 2017, with stackable units estimated to be delivered in December. 

Images courtesy of Kasita

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