Branded luxury residences are on the rise; partly because demand for private vacation villas is increasing among the affluent looking for places that offer more space, privacy and flexibility than traditional hotel suites can offer, and most probably because, barring any serious economic crisis, real estate will always be hot.
In recent years, they have become a sort of side project for major luxury brands, including auto brands like Aston Martin, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and more recently, Mercedes Benz, all of whom have completed or are constructing luxury skyscrapers and complexes in different parts of the world.
Porsche too has taken this path, but its recent project with Austrian timber construction specialist, GRIFFNER, has seen it veer off into exciting territory that may signal the start of a new era for luxury auto-branded residential projects.
The Floating House: A Studio F. A. Porsche x GRIFFNER Exclusive Project
Over the years, prefabricated homes have been praised for their ability to be energy efficient, cheaper (due to reduced labour costs) and faster to construct, among other benefits. However, for different reasons, most tend to be rather compact, making them unattractive to homeowners seeking a much larger space.
Porsche and GRIFFNER seem to have managed to overcome this challenge.
The Floating House — the name of the Porsche-designed Prefab for GRIFFNER – is a two-storey modular residential home that gets its name from the hand-applied black glass tiles that encompass the entire exterior of the ground floor, making it almost invisible and giving the impression that the first floor is floating on air. Because it is modular, endless possibilities for customisation and extension exist, thus allowing the house to break free from the space constraints that typically keep prefabs small.
Outside, glass and wood are the major materials used in the construction of the Floating House, and these continue their domination inside, from the floor-to-ceiling windows to the glass and wooden floating stairs, wooden floors and glass and wooden fixtures everywhere. The rooms measure up to 5.58 metres in height and are open-plan, making them appear even larger than they originally are.
On the ground floor are the living room, a formal dining room, an open kitchen with a breakfast bar, and a games room that comes equipped with the 247 billiard table. Upstairs are the bedrooms with large terraces for even more space.
Per Porsche, “Only authentic and sustainable materials of the highest quality, such as wood and glass, are used. The Floating House features other design highlights created by Studio F. A. Porsche from brands such as Duravit (Qatego bathroom series), LIGHT-POINT (INLAY and BLADE lighting collection), [and] HAFI (Premium Design door handles).”
How much does the Floating House cost?
Because of its modular design, you can get the Floating House in whatever size you want, including two such modules attached. The smallest version is 180 square meters (1,937 square feet) and costs €1.17 million. Any expansion to this size or further customisation would drive prices upwards, although it is not immediately clear how much this would be. Porsche says that the shell is completed in about two weeks, but the home is ready to be occupied within five to seven months, depending on the level of customisation involved.
An apartment in a branded skyscraper might not be everyone’s cup of tea, even if the brands insist that they offer the utmost luxury and privacy anyone can ever wish for. But a prefabricated home? Now, that’s entirely different, and considering that Porsche and GRIFFNER are promising endless customisation options for the Floating House that do not sacrifice luxury, branded prefabricated luxury homes might be the next hot real estate project for other luxury auto brands soon.