A 470-Square-Foot Apartment Fits Kitchen, Bath and Bedroom With a Bed in the Ceiling
A folding wall opens to an enclosed balcony that adds living space.
Modular Building Institute · Harvard MBA Graduate & Former SpaceX Engineer Believes Affordable Housing Lies in the 'Cloud'Cloud Apartments, a modular startup founded by Curtis Wong, who earned a business degree at Harvard and previously worked as an engineer at SpaceX, built a prototype apartment measuring roughly 470 square feet. Inside are a kitchen, bathroom, closet, and a single space used as both living room and bedroom.
The sleeping space hides overhead. When not needed for sleep, the Ori Living Cloud Bed lifts into the ceiling, leaving the floor below open for daytime living.
A folding wall opens onto a private, fully enclosed balcony. Opening the wall lets the main space flow into the balcony.
Wong's goal is that such units arrive from the factory, are set by crane, and are connected and sealed in hours with water and power ready. As it stands today, that process takes six months or more for a standard apartment building.
Questions people ask
How does a bed fit into the ceiling?
It lowers for sleeping and rises flush to the ceiling during the day. That frees the floor underneath for a couch, desk, or open living space.
What is a fully enclosed balcony?
It is wrapped in glass and framing and fully enclosed rather than left open to the air. When the folding wall is opened, it feels like part of the living room, and when closed, it still serves as usable indoor space.
Is 470 square feet small for an apartment?
It is compact but not extreme in an expensive city. Many studios and one bedroom apartments in the United States run 400 to 600 square feet, and 470 square feet is roughly the size of a two car garage.