Cover, a technology startup in Los Angeles, is bringing the design, engineering, and manufacturing of prefabs into the 21st century.
When Alexis Rivas was working for a high-end residential architecture firm in Toronto, he marveled at what big budgets–think between $40 and $100 million per project–could accomplish: beautiful finishes, custom millwork, door handles that had a subtle glow so you wouldn’t have any trouble finding them in the dark. But he was troubled by how inaccessible thoughtful design elements were for the typical home buyer.
“It was a shame that these details would be built once for one client,” Rivas says. So he decided to launch a prefab company and reinvent the design, engineering, and manufacturing process to offer a similar level of service as luxury architects but for far less.
Enter Cover, a Los Angeles-based prefab company that uses algorithmic software to design accessory dwelling units (essentially cottages, which range in size from one-room studios to two-bedroom houses) for just $250–about half the price of a refurbished iPhone 6s–and tens of thousands less than typical architects’ fees. (Construction, permitting, and site work is extra.)