Housing

How Prefab Honeycomb Homes Could Help the Affordable Housing Problem

These customizable hexagons from U.K.-based Hivehaus offer the promise of fast, cheap density.
Hivehaus creates small homes or outbuildings with highly customizable hexagon units.Barry Jackson

Every county in the U.S. needs more affordable housing, and that calls for fast and cheap construction of living space. A new company promises just that, with help from the architectural principles of Bauhaus and the instincts of bees.

England-based Hivehaus sells hexagonal building units that customers can assemble in highly customizable fashion. They’re cheap (the largest cluster advertised sells for £39,643, about $61,500 as of today) and fast (with manufacturing in three months and installation in a matter of days). If they catch on, the houses could change the game in cost-effective urban and suburban densification through installation in backyards or on rooftops.