The company, Grandio, was founded 77 years ago in Argentina. It’s currently run by two architects and two engineers/university teachers. By observing their students, they noticed a desire to travel, explore, be unlimited by debt and social structures, live where they want, and align with what they believe.
To accommodate that mentality, Architect Jose Martin and his team came up with Hüga–a precast concrete house on an ambitious mission: “to provide a cozy, comfortable, and indestructible home that is affordable for everyone in the world.” Their vision is to appeal to the tiny-home crowd.
The name “Huga” comes from a Danish concept known as “Hygge”, which is a philosophy of life based on living with alignment with yourself and nature and enjoying the company of loved ones.
Hüga technology is a modern construction method that takes the concept of a precast building and applies to multiple predetermined configurations ranging from 19,000 to 143,000 lbs. (or 9.5 to 71.5 tons)–without the need for a traditional foundation. Martin explains that his company’s design allows for the structure to be installed on a gravel or concrete pad, a foundation with footers, or on screw piles for additional height.
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The basic home opens at 12.8 ft. wide, 12.8 ft. tall and runs 39.4 ft. long—with the most common style using a 3,000-psi precast concrete. However, the structures can also be modularly constructed. “Hüga was conceived to accommodate the owners in all stages of their life. Initially, an owner can start by buying an original…with one bedroom, relax zone (mezzanine with space for a two-seater mattress), zoned bathroom, kitchen, and living-dining room. At a later stage in life, he can buy an additional Hüga-unit with two bedrooms or expand the living room and lounge area. There is a lot of space for flexibility and the ability to accommodate different budgets," says Martin.
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- Designed for the tourism industry, the Hüga Suite meets the international regulations to be classified as a 4 or 5-star suite. The intent here is for multiple stand-alone suites to be positioned on a resort property.
- The Hüga School was created to meet the durability and stringent safety requirements to be a temporary classroom.
- Hüga Office/Business is a configuration to meet the demand for a small commercial space such as a home office, bar, ice cream parlors, gift shops, etc.
- With its smaller surface area, the Hüga Plus (ADU) is meant to be a multifunctional version designed to accommodate space for an ATM, border checkpoints, health posts, etc. One or more Hüga Plus units can also be added to the Suite to increase space.
According to Martin, “Grandio is currently developing sales and manufacturing partnerships with companies in every region of the continent.” The company’s partners are provided with equipment for manufacturing; training; technical documentation; ongoing engineering; technical and design support; marketing tools and so on. Each partner will be able to customize Hüga to fit in its local market. Martin and his team took advantage of the time he had available during the coronavirus pandemic by developing partnerships with precast concrete producers throughout North America.
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Built from precast concrete, the Hüga design seems to be taking advantage of all the capabilities that a concrete home brings to the table: mold-resistant; constructed to not shrink, twist or crack; require limited exterior maintenance; and capable of withstanding the snows from Ontario to the humid hurricanes of southern Florida. Martin says that they can even be buried, for those so inclined.
“The Hüga was designed to withstand harsh weather conditions such as extreme snowfall, tornados, hurricanes as well as natural disasters such as fire and earthquakes—regardless of the environment.,” says Martin.
Using world-class manufacturing best practices and modern construction methods, the production of Huga are the same standards and efficiencies one would find within nearly every manufacturing facility. During the design and manufacturing, the company utilizes:
- BIM 7D (dimensions: spatial, time, costs, sustainability, maintenance, safety, industrialization);
- RFem (structural design and calculation);
- Augmented reality
- Mixed reality;
- Hubspot (CRM, communication, loyalty and sales); and
- Fluig (BPM Business Process Model and Notation)
Hüga are available for preorder in North America.
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