Prefabricated modular design and construction have made notable inroads into such sectors as industrial, residential, hospitality and, more recently, office and healthcare. But Dafna Kaplan thinks that what’s held back the modular building industry from even greater market penetration has been suppliers’ insistence that they do everything: design, manufacture, logistics, land prep, assembly, even onsite construction. “That’s been their Achilles’ Heel.”
Kaplan is CEO and Founder of Cassette, a Los Angeles-based startup that designs and sells stackable apartment-living pods with move-in-ready 80-sf kitchens, 60-sf bathrooms, 130-sf bedrooms with double wardrobe, and 162-sf living rooms. Last October, Cassette unveiled its 600-sf, one-bedroom model unit designed by Craig Hodgetts and Ming Fung of HplusF Design Lab in Culver City, Calif., at a popup showroom open for tours.
Cassette started in 2019, but was stalled for a while by Covid-19 restrictions. During that lull, Kaplan—who previously worked in an advisory capacity with ConXTech and MATT Construction—did a lot of consulting. The Covid period also saw some high-profile modular manufacturers stumble and fall, which gave Kaplan insight into what did and didn’t work. During the year before Cassette introduced its product, Kaplan also benefited from conversations with industry leaders like RAD Urban’s Co-founder Randy Miller and FullStack Modular’s CEO Roger Krulak.
Her main takeaway from all this: “We learned not to do too much.”
Savings from modular construction come from process improvements
Proponents have long touted modular as an answer to helping lessen America’s chronic housing shortage and rising construction costs, and Kaplan is no different. Cassette’s “mission” is to reduce the cost of multifamily housing construction by 30% in three years, and double the speed of housing production. By focusing half of the building design toward a fixed product/fixed price model, Cassette would bring more predictability to construction.
“The trick to reducing construction costs is to get the entire system to function in unison,” Kaplan tells BD+C. The cost savings will come, over time, from process improvements “and getting better with every iteration.”
![The 600-sf pod is sized to be transported easily, and requires only a modicum of site construction, for which Cassette Systems will use several contractors.](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Multifamily%20construction%20startup%20Cassette%20Systems%20takes%20a%20different%20approach%20to%20modular%20building%203.jpg)
Hodgetts of HPlusF Design Lab, who holds two modular patents, adds that great design “doesn’t have to be expensive,” and asserts that Cassette’s formula of developing a product through a lens of manufacturing and prefab will “make modular construction a practical reality.” (The designers and Nick Butcher, Cassette's COO, knew each other previously and had worked together before. “It was a mind meld of mutual respect,” says Kaplan.)
Modular building units in production in 2023
Kaplan says that what separates Cassette from its competitors starts with price transparency. Modular suppliers are often circumspect about comparing their prices with conventional design and construction. Cassette states its pricing upfront, and while it doesn’t require minimum orders, discounts are available when customers buy more, ranging from $170,000 per unit for orders under 15 units, to $140,000 with orders of 101 to 300 units, with incremental price reductions in between.
Pricing covers predevelopment design team coordination, interior design, floor-to-ceiling window/sliding door systems, 100% preinstalled waterproofing, major appliances, tankless water heater, all fixtures and finishes, a split HVAC system evaporator coil, and onsite delivery, installation, and structural hookup.
When interviewed in November, Kaplan said her company was “in discussions” with a half-dozen general contractors. Cassette also has manufacturing contracts with factories in Malaysia and South Korea, and was in discussions with a factory in Mexico. (Kaplan notes that the supply chain, and not the logistics, is the most critical part of the modular business.) From order to delivery will take about six months, she estimates.
The 14.5x43-foot product is sized so that “you don’t need a police car on the road to transport it,” says Kaplan. The pods are stackable up to six stories and include bracket support for attaching balconies and corridors. (Sitework includes elevators and stairs, and there are extra costs for roof slope and membrane, foundations, public circulation areas, and additional exterior façade.)
Late last year, Cassette was taking orders, and Kaplan fully expects to be building projects in 2023. She didn’t reveal much, except to say that one project in Los Angeles County will be 30 units, and another 200. Cassette eventually plans to expand its assortment to include studio and two-bedroom pods. Kaplan is also keeping an eye on renter demographics to gauge future demand for different apartment sizes and features. “It’s all about good architecture and design,” she says.
Related Stories
MFPRO+ News | Aug 14, 2024
Report outlines how Atlanta can collaborate with private sector to spur more housing construction
A report by an Urban Land Institute’s Advisory Services panel, commissioned by the city’s housing authority, Atlanta Housing (AH), offered ways the city could collaborate with developers to spur more housing construction.
MFPRO+ Research | Aug 9, 2024
Apartment completions to surpass 500,000 for first time ever
While the U.S. continues to maintain a steady pace of delivering new apartments, this year will be one for the record books.
MFPRO+ Research | Aug 6, 2024
Matrix multifamily report for July shows ‘hopeful signs’
The multifamily market is showing strength in many ways, according to the July 2024 Matrix Multifamily National Report by Yardi Matrix.
MFPRO+ News | Aug 1, 2024
Canada tries massive incentive program to spur new multifamily housing construction
Canada has taken the unprecedented step of offering billions in infrastructure funds to communities in return for eliminating single-family housing zoning.
Student Housing | Jul 31, 2024
The University of Michigan addresses a decades-long student housing shortage with a new housing-dining facility
The University of Michigan has faced a decades-long shortage of on-campus student housing. In a couple of years, the situation should significantly improve with the addition of a new residential community on Central Campus in Ann Arbor, Mich. The University of Michigan has engaged American Campus Communities in a public-private partnership to lead the development of the environmentally sustainable living-learning student community.
MFPRO+ New Projects | Jul 31, 2024
Shipping containers converted into attractive, affordable multifamily housing in L.A.
In the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles, a new affordable multifamily housing project using shipping containers resulted in 24 micro-units for formerly unhoused residents. The containers were acquired from a nearby port and converted into housing units at a factory.
Smart Buildings | Jul 25, 2024
A Swiss startup devises an intelligent photovoltaic façade that tracks and moves with the sun
Zurich Soft Robotics says Solskin can reduce building energy consumption by up to 80% while producing up to 40% more electricity than comparable façade systems.
Great Solutions | Jul 23, 2024
41 Great Solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
AI ChatBots, ambient computing, floating MRIs, low-carbon cement, sunshine on demand, next-generation top-down construction. These and 35 other innovations make up our 2024 Great Solutions Report, which highlights fresh ideas and innovations from leading architecture, engineering, and construction firms.
MFPRO+ News | Jul 22, 2024
Miami luxury condominium tower will have more than 50,000 sf of amenities
Continuum Club & Residences, a new 32-story luxury condominium tower in the coveted North Bay Village of Miami will feature more than 50,000 sf of indoor and outdoor amenities. The program includes a waterfront restaurant, dining terraces with resident privileges, and a private dining room outdoor pavilion.
MFPRO+ News | Jul 22, 2024
6 multifamily WAFX 2024 Prize winners
Over 30 projects tackling global challenges such as climate change, public health, and social inequality have been named winners of the World Architecture Festival’s WAFX Awards.