4 Unit Multifamily Residential Condominium
5,250 SF

This building is the first project for ipHaus, a startup developing a prefabricated multifamily housing system to address the environmental, economic, and social challenges of urban infill construction. The site is a narrow 18’-9” wide by 100’ deep lot in Brooklyn and is being developed with four residential units.

Designed as a modular, flat pack, panelized building system, ipHaus prioritizes speed, adaptability, and low disruption, enabling high performance residential buildings to be delivered on constrained sites with minimal neighborhood impact. The system is conceived as a repeatable yet flexible architectural platform, capable of responding to a wide range of lot sizes and zoning conditions while maintaining a consistent level of design and environmental performance.

Central to the ipHaus approach is an integrated design for manufacturing strategy. Standardized wall, floor, roof, window, and door panels are fabricated off site and assembled by hand using lightweight equipment, significantly reducing construction time, noise, and reliance on heavy machinery. A typical core building can be assembled in approximately two months, with total project completion in under six months, nearly three times faster than conventional construction, while improving job site safety and predictability.

Environmental performance is embedded at every scale of the system. High performance panelized envelopes minimize thermal bridging and achieve low U values, while airtight compartmentalization, heat-pump HVAC systems with heat recovery, and demand controlled ventilation support passive house aligned comfort and efficiency targets. On site photovoltaic panels, paired with lithium ion phosphate battery storage, provide renewable power for daily operation and backup resilience, enabling buildings to remain habitable during grid outages and reducing long term operational energy costs. The units are configured as duplex and one triplex unit and each have access to outdoor spaces and cross ventilation allowing for natural ventilation.

To limit excavation and disruptions to adjacent buildings, the project does not include a basement and is built on concrete piers and a slab on grade foundation. The project was developed as an ultra low energy building that exceeds the energy code performance by more than 15 percent, qualifying for a 5 percent zoning floor area bonus.

Project design in collaboration with ipHaus.