Build This Pop-Up House in Four Days with Only a Screwdriver

What is cheap, passively heated, and boasts "four days and a wireless screwdriver" as its only building requirements? Why, that would be the Pop-Up House, by Multipod Studio, the latest prefab housing model that aims to make homebuilding as easy as a post-Ikea-trip assembly session. The firm's first residential showroom just "bloomed in the pine valleys of the South of France," according to a project description, just outside the city of Aix-en-Provence. Starting with this one, its creators hope to upend "the paradigm of typical home construction" one hassle-free modular shelter at a time.

Determined to do away with heating costs, the Pop-Up House team "patented a unique approach to passive construction that delivers outstanding thermal insulation at an affordable cost." To that end, it's made from insulating blocks and wooden panels mounted on thin steel bars, using "lightweight, recyclable materials" to create a "thermal envelope." Specific prices haven't been released by model, but at around €200 ($278) per square meter, the 150-square-meter home pictured above should be somewhere in the neighborhood of $42K.

Not bad for such a simple, handsome living space. Head to Multipod's Vimeo page for a close-up on the construction process.

· Pop-Up House [Architizer]
· All prefab housing coverage [Curbed National]