With housing shortages and loosening ADU laws effecting cities nationwide, new prefab house start-up Samara is poised to make waves—with Airbnb's co-founder Joe Gebbia at the helm no less. Initially created by Airbnb's internal innovation studio dedicated to developing "new futures" for the company by exploring topics like housing development in rural areas, the company is now independent and as of this week, officially live. It's debut product, a net-zero tiny house called Backyard, is a natural progression of this work–although for now, the intended customer is urban-dwelling Californians.
The Backyard is marketed specifically as an Accessory Dwelling Unit, intended to fulfill growing housing needs in California either as an in-law suite, rental, or at-home getaway. Two models, the 430-square-foot Studio and the 550-square-foot One Bedroom cost $289,000 and $329,000 respectively, including installation costs, and can be customized via an admittedly fun 3D model portal on the company's website.