Flatpack

A camper alternative that digs a nook between ground tent, pop-up trailer and tiny home, the Caboose & Co Maverick camper cube is an intriguing shelter for on- or off-grid living. It packs flat for easy transport, setting up in under five minutes.

​​Homes that come in easy-to-assemble flat-packed components are gaining in popularity, and a new SysHaus to pop up in São Paulo, Brazil is undoubtedly one of the more impressive we’ve seen. It was designed with sustainability in mind, right down to its tasteful, low-maintenance garden surrounds.

​There’s little doubt that the neatly packaged nature of a certain Swedish furniture-maker’s products are a big reason for its success, and lately we’re seeing how flatpack kits have a certain allure for those looking for alternative housing solutions. Here are five of our favorites.

​When it first rolled onto the scene as a prototype in 2013, the OX pointed to a future where high-payload trucks could be shipped to developing nations, put together within a day and then used to cart people and cargo over rough terrain. We’ve just gotten a little closer to this reality.

Italian architect Renato Vidal has created a prefabricated foldable house that takes less than a day to install once on site. The M.A.Di home is an economic flat-packed housing solution that is not only sustainable but designed to last over the years and withstand earthquakes.

Backcountry Hut Company (BHC), the Canadian firm that offers flatpack cabins that assemble "like Ikea furniture," has unveiled a new model called the Surf Shack. The attractive little dwelling comes in multiple configurations and sizes, and can operate on or off-the-grid.

UK Passivhaus specialist Mike Jacob has joined with award-winning architect Adrian James to create a flatpack home that takes less than a week to install. Offering two, three and four bedroom versions, the Kiss House is built using cross-laminated timber.

Even if dried macaroni pasta were to be packed in a box "perfectly," it would still be 67 percent air by volume. With that in mind, a team of MIT scientists has developed flat pasta that transforms into a variety of 3D configurations … but only once it's immersed in water.​

Disaster relief shelters need to be cost-effective, easy to transport and quick to construct, which explains why many use a flat-pack design. Showing just what's possible in this format, the Duffy Shelter can be constructed in less than an hour and up to 35 of them can be transported in one van.

If you've ever assembled flat-pack furniture, you'll know it can be more time consuming and difficult than, frankly, it should be. Not so with FoldSmart's flat-packs though. The British firm says assembly is tool-free and the task can be completed in under five minutes.

Flat-pack furniture can be a pain to build and is not always very durable. Greycork wants to change this by delivering furniture to your door that can be assembled quickly with a sturdy end-product. Its living room set includes a sofa, chaise, coffee table, side table and bookshelf.

A collaboration between MIT’s Self-Assembly Lab and Milan-based firm Wood-Skin has unveiled the Programmable Table: a small table that can be easily moved from flatpack state to furniture, and back again, with a quick tug.