Menu
Cubhouse is an affordable, prefabricated, modular, passive home just large enough to meet the needs of its inhabitants. It has been designed with an emphasis on moderation, efficiency and interconnectivity. An economy of space has allowed us to focus on quality, making it safe, strong and future proof. Building materials are chosen for their strength, ease of installation and maintenance, as well as their sustainability and environmental soundness. But Cubhouse doesn’t exist on its own. It’s just one part of Cubstead, an ecological homestead on a small, urban scale.
In nature, a functioning ecosystem feeds and shelters its inhabitants, renews and enriches the soil, stores and purifies water and cleans the air, all without any human input. It is resilient, diverse, highly productive and sustainable.
Cubstead is consciously designed to be a complete ecosystem, benefiting humans as well as the environment. Design is based on the principles of permaculture, which, among other things, is a set of tools for creating landscapes according to nature’s rules. Once established, all elements work together, limiting the need for further human input.
Cubstead’s integrated landscaping (or buildingscaping) provides food to both humans and wildlife as well as shade and heat insulation in the hotter months. Outside, nature does most of the work, with plants, animals and hummus providing all the minerals and nutrients the soil requires without the need for additives. A diversity of species creates natural protection from pests and disease. A water reclamation and rainwater harvesting system stores and purifies water, and solar energy provides all electricity needs.
We believe people of all income levels have a right to healthy, comfortable and affordable housing. We believe people should be able to live within reasonable distance of the neighborhood in which they are employed. We believe that home-ownership should be accessible to everyone. We believe that in times of crisis, no one should be forced from their home due to an inability to pay rent or a mortgage. Housing is a basic human right, and by making Cubstead and Flatstead affordable to everyone, we hope to create a better kind of life.
Cubstead’s superior indoor air quality helps mitigate asthma and allergies. Building and insulation components, with no glue additives or other hazardous substances, are practically emission free. The airtight, passive house construction is complemented by an air exchange system that filters out toxins from outside such as pollen, dust and other particulates for a constant source of fresh air. Stable air temperature and high quality ventilation prevent moisture buildup on windows, leaving no opportunity for mold growth.
The landscaping is a integral part of Cubstead. It provides a continuous supply of fresh, organic fruits and vegetables at no extra cost, making it easier to maintain a healthy diet. Produce grown in naturally nutrient-rich soil without chemicals or additives and eaten immediately after harvest are far healthier (and tastier) than what you’ll find in a supermarket.
A growing number of studies are showing that exposure to nature has a significant positive impact on mental health and is fundamentally important to our well being. It has a calming influence, increasing concentration and helping to reduce depression, anxiety, hypertension, respiratory tract and cardiovascular illnesses.
Nature is built into Cubstead and is just as important as the building itself. Windows are completely surrounded by trees and vegetation that provide shade, attract birds, butterflies, bees and other creatures, and afford views far more beautiful than one often finds in the city, such as an alleyway or another building.
Noise pollution can also affect mental health. Because passive houses are air tight, they are quiet. When doors and windows are shut, nearly no noise can be heard from outside. Furthermore, Cubhouse’s well-insulated internal and party walls keep out noise from both neighbors and housemates.
From upfront building costs, to everyday living expenses, to long-term maintenance requirements, Cubstead is easy on your wallet.
High efficiency, slender constructions with maximum stability and finishing boards that double as structural elements reduce material use and limit cost.
Any extra expense for high-performance windows, insulation and solar panels is mitigated by the elimination of conventional heating and cooling systems. Climate rebates from the government and utility companies for environmentally friendly appliances and components further reduce costs.
Prefabrication reduces weather delays, leading to faster build times and reduced labor costs.
Furniture is built-in and included in the cost of the house.
Ample interior storage space makes bulk buying possible. Not only is buying in bulk less expensive, the reduced packaging means less waste and lower refuge collection costs.
Superior insulation, solar electricity generation, water harvesting and reclamation, and composting of food wastes lead to less reliance on city services and greatly reduce utility bills.
Landscaping based on permaculture principles, once established, requires far less input of both labor and resources, limiting associated costs. Growing one’s own food reduces money spent on groceries.
High quality materials last longer and reduce maintenance costs.
Smaller spaces are always easier to clean than large ones, but Cubstead makes it even faster.
The large amount of built-in storage limits clutter. All surfaces are flat, with no molding or flourishes to create places for dirt to hide. Cubhouse’s air filtration system filters out dust and other particles.
Building materials are chosen not only for their strength, quality and environmental soundness, but for their ease of regular maintenance. Countertops and bathroom surfaces are tiled with slabs of porcelain, a hygienic, easily cleaned and maintenance-free material, in formats large enough to cover entire walls, reducing the number of seams and joints in which dirt can collect. Rubber flooring is not only wonderfully soft and easy on the feet, but is tough, long-lasting and cleans easily with a damp cloth.
Outside, the landscape’s carefully designed interconnection limits the need for human input. Once landscaping is established, tilling the soil, starting seeds, adding amendments and other standard gardening chores become be unnecessary.
The same features that make Cubstead better for us, make it better for the environment. Interaction with nature is not only good for our mental health, it increases our understanding of the interconnectivity of our world and makes us want to protect it.
Growing some of our own food reduces ecological damage done elsewhere by resource-intensive industrialized agriculture. The permaculture method of gardening uses no pesticides or amendments and requires minimal watering. It can create habitats for beneficial insects and other wildlife, and for native and rare species. In urban areas, permaculture can create corridors in which individual landscapes tie together wild areas.
Cubhouse is made from environmentally friendly, non-toxic, recyclable material. Prefabrication ensures less material waste, because any unused materials can be stored and used for future projects. Off-site construction means less noise, disruption, pollution and waste in the neighborhood. Screw pile foundations have minimal environmental impact.
Solar generated electricity is clean and renewable.
Living where one works cuts down on commute times and traffic congestion. Cubstead and Flatstead use all available extra space for landscaping, so no garage or covered parking is available, discouraging car ownership.
Securing our future will increasingly depend upon moderation, conservation and self-sufficiency. Cubstead encourages moderation by allowing us to live only with the space needed for individual comfort and by limiting our environmental footprint through the use of fewer natural resources. Solar power generation reduces dependence on fossil fuels, and water harvesting and reuse conserves what will become an ever more valuable resource.
Self-sufficiency can help mitigate the disruption caused by climate change and natural disasters. Interruptions to the food supply, like we’ve seen with COVID-19, can be countered by growing at least some of our own food. Electrical outages like those California has experienced in fire-prone areas over the past few years will not affect residences where there is solar power.
Cubstead offers protection for the future. It’s high building standards will provide protection against increasingly severe weather, such as severe winds and floods. And perhaps most importantly of all, in times of financial hardship, rent and mortgage payment forgiveness will protect against displacement and homelessness, increasing families’ security, reducing reliance on public social services and conserving taxpayer’s money.
A passive house is an ultra-low engery building that combines high living standards and superior levels of comfort with minimal energy consumption and carbon emissions.
Passive Houses require very little energy to achieve a comfortable temperature year round, making conventional heating and air conditioning systems obsolete.
Primary energy demand may not exceed 120kWh annually for all domestic applications (heating, cooling, hot water and domestic electricity) per square meter of usable living space.
This is achieved by the use of highly efficient appliances along with rigerous building design standards.
Building components include high-performance windows that, together with insulation that wraps the entire building envelope, eliminate thermal bridging and prevent the infiltration of outside air and loss of inner, conditioned air.
All building components are made exlusively from renewable and recyclable natural materials with no hazardess substances, and go through stringent tests and quality checks. A foundation of helical piles is simply screwed into the ground, causing minimal ground disturbance and limiting environmental impact.
As a passive house, Cubhouse requires only a fraction of the energy used by standard houses, and this is provided by solar or wind harvesting. Rainwater and wastewater collection as well as water-saving fixtures and appliances conserve what will increasingly become a precious resource.
Cubstead is precision engineered to the highest possible standards and manufactured in a controlled factory environment before. It is then transported to its final site, where it’s assembled.
Rigid quality control and close attention to detail and efficiency lead not only to greater durability, but to savings of both time and materials. With no on-site delays caused by weather or other factors, and by knowing exactly how much material is required for the job beforehand, prefabricated homes can be constructed in less time, with less material waste, and thus at less cost, than traditional homes.
A slender, timber-frame construction system of dimensionally stable, laminated veneered lumber and i-joists produce an exceptionally strong structure with high earthquake and wind resistance.
Gypsum finishing boards, manufactured to have a high load-bearing capacity, double as structural elements. Both the timbers and finishing boards have a high strength to weight ratio, thus requiring less material than traditional timbers or laminated lumbers and typical drywall sheets.
Together with the production repetition and controlled assembly environment of prefabricated construction, these materials result in strong and highly accurate structures using less material and with less waste.
