Individuality, lifestyle and flexibility – these are just a few keywords that can be used to describe the concept of BeCubes24. The cubes, also known as cubes, that property owners place in the garden are reminiscent of small Bauhaus-style bungalows. They can be equipped and used in different ways: from adventure worlds with wellness and sauna to home office and studio concepts to sports, play and party rooms. The customer spectrum of the company beMADE is as broad as its range of products. Single-family house owners of all ages use the idea of the extravagant “garden house” with which they can realize their personal ideas of an additional room, tailored to their individual needs.
The article is based on an expert interview with the entrepreneur Steffen Fritsche, beMADE GmbH, conducted on May 20, 2016.
Unlimited Cubes Diversity through standardization
The corporate concept is based on a high level of standardization of the cubes, for which various inner workings have been preconfigured.
These can be individually combined with each other, which means that no two cubes are the same. Three cube sizes – small (27 m²), medium (30 m²) and large (36 m²) – offer the optimal space for different needs. Like the equipment packages, the cubes can be combined with one another and can also be arranged in a U-shape, for example, to create a small inner courtyard. “Due to the various possible combinations, the standardization creates a great variety while at the same time planning and cost certainty for the customer,” says Steffen Fritsche, founder of beMADE, describing the concept of the cubes in an expert interview with Almondia. Unusual customer requests can also be discussed with the experts and implemented in the BeCubes24. Depending on leisure interests and personal passion, the cubes can be designed individually: as a workshop with seating area and bar for bikers and hobby motorbike hobbyists, as a rehearsal room and recording studio for your own punk rock band or as a creative workshop for artistically talented offspring. There are hardly any limits to the variety and the BeCubes24 team welcomes new ideas and suggestions.
Due to the various possible combinations, standardization creates a large variety while at the same time planning and cost certainty for the customer.
Steffen Fritsche
Half-timbered cube with a long life expectancy
Like many prefabricated houses, the BeCubes24 will also be built in a classic timber frame construction with a larch wood facade, which will be filled with an insulating core made of wood wool. Additional seals or foils are not necessary. In terms of construction, the cubes are comparable to half-timbered houses. With appropriate care and maintenance, e.g. B. a regular repainting of the facade, the service life of the cubes is similarly high. As with conventional single-family houses, the question arises with the cubes as to whether the initially desired equipment and furnishings still correspond to personal ideas after several years. Not only demands for uses and functions, but also tastes and styles are changing, which is why there are plans to set up a secondary market for BeCubes24 on the website, where Cube owners can sell and exchange their used cubes. Another option is to completely clear out your own cube and redesign the interior.
Environmentally friendly, energy efficient and high-tech
The cubes are available in three different variants and range in price between €38,000 and €82,000. Depending on the design, the cubes meet different ecological requirements, with all three models being completely recyclable. A particularly environmentally friendly and resource-saving option is the combination with a photovoltaic system. With the right energy storage and the installation of a bio-toilet with rainwater flushing (similar to that in a mobile home), the Cube works completely independently and without connection to the electricity and water mains – with conventional power consumption. The surplus of energy generated by solar cells can in turn be used for the single-family house. With the additional installation of a home automation system in the cubes, for example, the sauna can be preheated to the right temperature from the office.
Flexible in use, adaptable and versatile
It takes less than two weeks from ordering the cube to the first cozy evening in your own wellness area or the first game of poker with friends in the hobby room: the prefabrication of the cubes in the factory takes about ten days, between delivery and production of the ready-to-move-in state maximum one hour. Due to the high degree of prefabrication in the production facility, only a point foundation is erected on site and the water and electricity supply is established.
The cubes are usually already equipped with a previously selected world of experience, whereby the long-term flexibility of use of the cubes remains guaranteed. For example, if you already know when you buy it that you want to use the cube as a home office for the next two years and then convert it into a sauna, the relevant connections should be planned for when you set it up. If you have decided to buy a BeCubes24 but are not yet sure what interior you want to fill it with, in exceptional cases you can also order a non-functional cube with painted walls and laid floor, which you can then decorate yourself .
Living with the Cube – Living in the Cube?
In principle, the BeCubes24 are intended as an addition or extension to a single-family home. Recently, however, the trend has also been very much towards use as a holiday apartment or guest house. With regard to energy and insulation values, the cubes definitely meet the required values for single-family houses, which is why temporary living in a cube with a double room, small lounge area and wet room, kitchenette and small terrace is also possible. Recently, for example, there was a request for the use of a cube as a “retirement home” for an elderly couple whose house the younger generation and their offspring have moved into. The desire for an independent life on the one hand and physical proximity to one’s own children and grandchildren on the other hand can be fulfilled by building a habitable cube in the garden.