Kodasema, an Estonian design firm, develops tiny homes that move with their owners and can be assembled and taken apart in one day, allowing them to easily be transported.
This is useful for more than just wandering freelancers — faced with rising sea levels or a hurricane, residents ostensibly could move their home to a safer location.
The firm's latest model, a 278-square-foot structure that sits on a floating pontoon, can be built on both water and land. Take a look at its sleek, minimalist design.
Kodasema hopes to capitalize on what it sees as a growing trend of people downsizing to smaller, accessible spaces.
Riku Kylä/Koda
The firm's designer, Ülar Mark, said that while people in Spain, France, and the UK have traded mansions for traditional homes and apartments, the 2,000-square-foot apartment awaits the same destiny, soon to be swapped for even tinier spaces.
The public might be ready for tiny living, but the construction industry has lagged behind.
Riku Kylä/Koda
The concept of a floating tiny home is a bit ahead of its time, said Birgit Linnamäe, the firm's CEO.
"The whole construction and housing industry has become too rigid," she told Business Insider. "The legislative settings for floating homes in different European countries are not quite in place."
The company wants to take matters into its own hands by producing homes designed for the masses.
Riku Kylä/Koda
Mark said he envisioned the homes being manufactured in bulk, like cars. The design, he said, is a blank canvas on which people can project their taste.
The company has built an entire village of tiny homes in Estonia and is putting the finishing touches on Koda Park, a mixed-use community with its own solar technology and wastewater-treatment system.
Linnamäe said the development, which can be built on vacant lots, doesn't require heavy permitting.
Kodasema's floating model starts at $55,000, but the price varies depending on the materials, hardware, and location.
Getter Kuusmaa/Koda
The company's original model, Koda, was made of heavy concrete that weighed about 30 tons. The price of that home, including installation and delivery, was about $150,000.
Kodasema has since introduced lighter materials like timber and plywood that can be recycled and last 50 years. Linnamäe said the company was on its way to building homes that start at $20,000.
The company said the floating home feels like a "Mediterranean villa."
Getter Kuusmaa/Koda
In less than 280 square feet, residents have a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, and a bathroom.
Since the model can be built on land, it could also function as a café, a hotel, or a small business, like an artist's studio.
Getter Kuusmaa/Koda
Mark said most people see it as a living unit.
The company has garnered interest from around the world in places like the Gulf, New Zealand, Africa, and North and South America and has delivered models in Norway, Germany, and the UK.
Mark said the home's minimalist aesthetic catered to a growing trend of prioritizing experiences over material goods.
Getter Kuusmaa/Koda
"The design task was to take off everything that's not needed," Mark told Business Insider. The company thinks the idea will resonate with people looking to explore a new way of living.
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Aria Bendix was formerly a senior reporter at Insider, covering science and health.She wrote predominantly about the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, she broke the news that the CDC had unnecessarily delayed coronavirus testing for more than two weeks by failing to communicate with state labs. Then in May 2020, she broke the news that some COVID-19 patients were developing long-lasting symptoms (now known as long COVID).In addition to COVID-19, Aria reported on environmental toxins and diseases such as autism and Alzheimer's. Her feature stories revealed harmful levels of lead in drinking water in Newark, New Jersey, and cancer and chronic coughs among residents of a former nuclear training site in San Francisco. She often appeared on radio shows, podcasts, and television to discuss her work.Aria was previously an Assistant Editor at The Atlantic and an in-house journalist at New York University. She holds a bachelor's degree from Harvard and a Master of Fine Arts from The New School.
