Over the last decade, how we live and work has changed drastically thanks to rising home prices, low inventory, and the pandemic, which drove many people out of the office. Some have resorted to moving out of the cities they love to more affordable locations, while others have downsized in hopes of cutting costs. Enter Paris-based architecture studio Cutwork, who’ve gone back to the drawing board to redesign spaces that reflect how we live and work now and in the future. French developer Bouygues Immobilier launched a new co-living company in 2021 with the desire to reinvent, and simplify, the way “we rent, use, and share living spaces.” To make that happen, they enlisted Cutwork to create the full interior concept “to make it easier for working people, between 25 to 40 years old, to access high-quality, affordable living and a socially connected life, addressing the widespread epidemic of loneliness within this generation.” The 26m2 PolyRoom prototype prefab unit is on display in Paris through February 2022 before launching across France next year.
The prefab modules are designed to stack like LEGO bricks to form a residential building in less time than one built using conventional construction methods. Bouygues Immobilier has plans to open 15 sites by 2025 which will provide 2,500 PolyRoom bedrooms.

One of the main goals that had to be addressed was the need to do more things in less space. Lifestyles have changed which means our homes need...