These Meteorite-Shaped Office Pods Look Ready for the Space Age—But Live in Your Backyard
Welcome to Prefab Profiles, an ongoing series of interviews with people transforming how we build houses. From prefab tiny houses and modular cabin kits to entire homes ready to ship, their projects represent some of the best ideas in the industry. Do you know a prefab brand that should be on our radar? Get in touch!
Hello Wood was founded in 2010 by András Huszár and Dávid Ráday as a summer camp for students interested in architecture and design. While its educational outreach would grow and evolve—it now sponsors an art festival that draws people from more than 30 countries—Hello Wood became a design studio in its own right in 2013. The firm spent the next six years making cabins and public installations before landing on the idea for a detached prefab workstation in early 2020, just before the pandemic lockdowns. "Although there had been a need for more separate meeting rooms before the pandemic," says Ráday, "there is now a rapidly growing demand for isolated work possibilities." Here, Hello Wood tells us about how the originally timber-clad workstation—now aptly dubbed the Pebble—has changed in the past few years and where they're headed next with the design.
Hello Wood customized their original wood-paneled Pebble capsules to create a futuristic look for a fiber optic company’s three auxiliary meeting rooms.
What’s the most exciting project you’ve realized to date?
With the latest Pebble pod, our client envisioned a set of three for his company in his front yard. His idea was to create a futuristic environment, making people feel as if they just landed on the Mars. We ran with the idea, giving the Pebble pod aluminum composite panels and more of the latest and greatest technologies to create a jaw-dropping moment. Our client is in the optical fiber cable business, with their clients being the biggest telecommunication companies in the region. So making the pods look very innovative and amusing to the partners was an important aspect of the project.
The three rooms can be utilized as creative spaces, office rooms, or meeting rooms. Their favorite aspect of the project is its futuristic feel and look, which inspires them throughout their workday.
The Pebble pods are paneled in Alucobond, a sheet material made of a fire-retardant mineral core sandwiched between two aluminum panels. Other cladding options include pine wood and Cor-Ten steel.
The air-conditioned interiors have high-tech features, including motorized mounts for monitors, digital boards, and LED lighting.
What does your base model cost and what does that pricing include?
The Pebble pods, which are around 86 square feet, have a starting price point of roughly $47,7000, which covers the cabin itself and the basic furnishing. This doesn’t include shipping and installation costs, as those can vary on a wide scale depending on the location and other aspects of the plot.
What qualities make your prefab stand apart from the rest?
We created a small house that looks like a design object but functions properly as a structure. There are no regular angles, joints, or pieces in it. Everything is uniquely cut and designed to cater towards the pod’s look. Despite its odd shape, the pod can be shipped in one piece throughout Europe on a truck bed.
The original Pebble was designed to be flexible. Its uses are "limited by your imagination," says Hello Wood.
A glazed entryway, two windows, and a skylight perforate the shell to keep the interior from feeling cramped. Buyers can customize the amount of glass.
Pods are insulated for climate control and to buffer noise, and can be ordered with an air-conditioning unit hidden within the built-in bench.
Where do you ship/where is the prefab currently available?
We ship worldwide. Our retail stores/offices are in Hungary and the Netherlands.
Is your design currently pre-permitted in any U.S. municipalities?
As we haven’t had any signed contracts from U.S. owners, we haven’t done any permitting work for the Pebble pod.
The shapes of the panels are optimized to reduce as much waste as possible from cutting the base material. They are then arranged and lined up precisely to prevent water from leaking through the seams of the envelope.
Each unit is fully assembled off-site and craned into place. Ground screws attached to the units’ stilts anchor the pods.
How long can a client expect the process to take after they put down a deposit?
It usually takes two to three months once we receive the deposit. However, this time frame can vary a bit based on the distance of delivery and the required site check.
The Pebble pods stand about 12 feet tall, with an interior ceiling height of more than 8 feet. With roughly 86 square feet of interior space, the Pebble pod is designed to host six people comfortably.
What aspects of an install do you manage?
We handle everything from shipping through site preparation, installation, and paperwork needed for the project. We don’t usually manage the hookups, but it can be discussed.
What aspects of the design can a client customize?
The exterior cladding, color, and number of windows. The air conditioning, TV mount, digital foils for the windows, and interior furnishing are optional.
Hello Wood is currently working on a larger iteration of their prefab, the Big Pebble, which will have a bedroom and bathroom.
More Prefab Profiles:
You Can Vanish Into the Woods With These $125K Mirrored Prefabs
Self-Care Can Start in Your Backyard With These $5K Prefab Saunas
Published
Stay up to Date on the Latest in Prefab Homes
From cozy cottages to large family houses, see how prefab continues to redefine the future of construction, building, and design.