In 2016, the Estonian design company Kodasema unveiled KODA: an innovative, compact prefabricated house. A lot like the architectural equivalent of ready-to-assemble furniture, this freestanding self-build home can be erected and disassembled repeatedly at its owner’s convenience. This June, it was announced that a KODA would be placed in the BRE Innovation Park in Watford, England as part of a collaboration between BRE and the Estonian embassy. The park is known for housing prototypes and demonstration buildings that display innovation in the fields of material engineering, design, and technology and address the developmental challenges faced by cities around the globe.

KODA is a 25-square meter block that boasts an open-plan living area and a mezzanine bedroom. The home’s facade has been glazed to allow plenty of natural light in and to provide its residents with an uninterrupted view of the world outside. The KODA has also been built with sustainability in mind, featuring a set of rooftop-mounted solar panels that generate even more energy than the prefab requires. Inside, the home has been equipped with smart LED lighting, alarms, and climate control. Vacuum-insulated concrete walls help retain heat in the winter, cool things down in the summer, and keep out noise all year long. For around £150,000, or $195,000, you can have a KODA of your own delivered to you. By 2018, the company hopes to release a stackable version of the prefab, meaning we might start ...