Polyhaus Develops Innovative Mass Timber Tiny Home

Polyhaus, a new metal-clad CLT system, could be a game changer for building low-cost Californian houses out of mass timber, according to a feature by Wood Central (1-5-25).

Daniel López-Perez, a professor at the University of San Diego (USC), and his wife, Celine Vargas, co-founded a start-up aiming to go beyond traditional box-shaped accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Their goal is to create high-quality housing with minimal environmental and physical footprints.

López-Pérez, program director for the USC architecture program, designed the Polyhaus system by starting with a simple cube and progressively truncating its edges to optimize the structure for maximum volume and minimal footprint. The 440-square-foot ground floor features a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and a nook for a desk and washer/dryer, while the 100-square-foot mezzanine houses the bedroom.

The house’s structure and envelope are made from 64 custom-cut Douglas fir CLT panels manufactured by Vaagen Timbers in Colville, Washington. Structural engineer Fast + Epp, a prominent advocate for wood-based construction, estimated that the nonlinear design of the CLT panels offers significant redundancy compared to a conventional stud-framed house. The floor panels are five-ply and 7.5 inches thick, while the remaining panels are three-ply and 4.5 inches thick.