Sustainable and modular construction

Meet Bao Living, a circular furniture system that combines a kitchen, bathroom, heating, ventilation, water, electricity, and storage. With Bao Living, all your appliances and contact points are integrated into a perfectly prefabricated piece of furniture named SAM.

This leads to a significant reduction in the installation time for various utilities, more living space, and eliminates the hassle and dirt from cutting and grinding. Whether you're creating a studio, apartment, modular home, or office project, SAM will perfectly fit your needs.

Type of work
Interior & Spatial Design
Product Design
Type of client
Startups & Emerging Businesses

Highlights

  • Henry van de Velde Award 2019
  • From startup to successful company
  • Modular system with integration of all utilities

Key challenge

Redefining the product

When Bao Living first approached us, they were focused on developing a concept centered around modular buildings. Through collaborative efforts, we successfully guided them towards modular interiors instead. This pivot was not made lightly. Our expert business and strategic guidance played a pivotal role in facilitating this transition.

01

A technical puzzle

It was quite the challenge to organize and conceal all the heating pipes, ventilation ducts, plumbing, and drainage systems for the bathrooms. Of course, we had to make sure it was easy to install as well.

02

Design freedom: our configurator

Not only did we handle the technical design and create CAD drawings for each module, but we also developed a user-friendly configurator that allows our customers to create variations on the design.

03

Live larger

We designed the layout to be as compact as possible to maximize living space for the user. In some cases, this can result in up to a 20% increase in living area.

04

Designed for disassembly

Because it's no longer necessary to embed our pipes under the floor, it's much easier to remove them when they're no longer needed. This design for disassembly approach makes recycling so much easier.

05

Offsite rules

Due to its unique structure where most parts are assembled offsite, work can be done much faster. Additionally, the number of onsite issues is greatly reduced, and reliability is significantly increased.

06

Full scale prototyping

To promote their story, Bao Living invested in no fewer than 3 full-size SAM prototypes. Numerous valuable insights were gained, presenting the perfect opportunity to optimize the design for installation.

"As more people are living in cities and housing units inevitably become smaller, there is a need for solutions to build faster, more affordably, and sustainably."- Pieter Lesage

07

Architectural creativity unlocked

SAM offers a flexible layout that adapts to the available space. It features 18 diverse cabinets, providing architects with creative freedom to slide and arrange them into the perfect configuration.

Awards

Henry van de Velde Bronze Winner

At Studio Dott, witnessing the Bao Living project evolve from a student idea into a successful business was a unique experience. Assistance was provided in creating the business plan, finding technical partners, and developing the first prototype. Every module was carefully designed, and the complete CAD model was transformed into a user-friendly configurator. Collaboration continues to this day.
With a presence on their board of directors, strategic and financial advice is offered.