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Porsche’s floating house is a $1.5 million prefab that matches the Porsche in your garage

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If a prefabricated house is good enough as a semi-permanent home for Elon Musk, one of the richest men in the world, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, and perhaps the man who will take humanity to Mars, then a prefab must be good enough for an ordinary Porsche owner.

A prefabricated home is an economical alternative to traditional homes because it is shipped in parts that typically require only some on-site assembly, shortening construction time and reducing the complicated process to just a few steps. A prefab like Elon Musk’s Casita from Boxabl doesn’t even need a foundation, so once you hook it up to the utilities, you can move right in.

Prefabs are more sustainable, also because the construction time is shorter and less complicated, which means there is less waste. Another advantage of prefabs is that they are cheaper than traditional houses, both to purchase and to use. As long as you’re willing to settle for a more compact floor plan, a prefab will likely work for you.

However, things take on a very different atmosphere when Porsche gets involved.

The Floating House is an F\.A\. The Porsche design for Griffner will be modular and customizable

Photo: FA Porsche

FA Porsche, the design agency under the Porsche brand, has just created its very first prefab and – let us surprise you! – it’s not small and it’s not cheap either. Envisioned as the perfect abode for the Porsche-loving millionaire who likes to surround herself (or herself) with only the best Porsche brand stuff, this prefab is the upgraded, luxury version of prefabs. The mother of all prefabs, if you like.

It is called The Floating House and stands out for its sleek, masculine and elegant design that combines wood and glass to achieve a maximum degree of sustainability. In any case, this core aspect of prefabricated housing remains unchanged.

FA Porsche designed the house for Griffner, a wood specialist and sustainable construction company based in Griffen, Austria. Griffner is now building the first unit at its factory, but Porsche insists this will serve as a guide to what customers can get. It’s the fanciest type of teaser.

The Floating House is an F\.A\. The Porsche design for Griffner will be modular and customizable

Photo: FA Porsche

The Floating House is not only prefabricated, but also highly modular, so the design can be scaled up and down depending on the needs and budget of the future owner.

The name of the house comes from the fact that the second level of the building appears to float. So no, it’s not a real floating house, but one that looks like it is. The ground floor is covered with black glass tiles, while the second level consists entirely of transparent glass that reflects the surroundings. The black tiles – all set by hand, by the way – ‘disappear’ into the landscape, making the second level appear to float over the ground.

The unit on display in the adjacent gallery, believed to be the one currently under construction, has a two-bedroom layout.

The Floating House is an F\.A\. The Porsche design for Griffner will be modular and customizable

Photo: FA Porsche

The floor plan is divided in two, with the living and entertaining areas on the ground floor and the sleeping areas on the upper floor, but it is made for much larger living through the use of floor-to-ceiling windows, large glazing throughout (including in the bathroom wall), exceptionally high ceilings (5.8 meters/19 feet in the living room) and open-plan rooms.

On the ground floor are the living room, a formal dining room and the open-plan kitchen with a breakfast bar, as well as a games room with the 247 billiard table, another famous FA Porsche design. As you would expect, the house is full of Porsche designs, including in the bathroom and the lamps hanging on the walls. Evidently.

The bedrooms are accessed via a floating glass staircase and connected by a walkway with glass balustrades overlooking the living room and the countryside. They also have large terraces, allowing you to expand the available space outside.

The Floating House is an F\.A\. The Porsche design for Griffner will be modular and customizable

Photo: FA Porsche

According to Porsche, that is the Floating House “an iconic masterpiece of functional home design” because of the way it combines sustainable elements, healthy living and beautiful, art-like design. We wouldn’t rush to call a home that hasn’t even been completed “iconic,” but there’s no denying its beauty or potential appeal to the right client.

If you factor in the construction time, the appeal is even stronger. Porsche says the shell will be ready in about two weeks, but the caveat is that the home will be ready to move into in five to seven months, depending on the level of customization.

The Floating House is indeed modular, meaning you can get it in any size you want, including two such modules attached to it. The smallest version is 180 square meters (1,937 square feet), but each unit is personalized. This is, as Porsche says, an ‘exclusive edition’, so forget everything else you might have previously thought applied to prefabs.

The Floating House is an F\.A\. The Porsche design for Griffner will be modular and customizable

Photo: FA Porsche

That includes prices. The smallest version starts at €1.17 million ($1.24 million at current exchange rates).

And understand this: At this price, you probably won’t even get the two-vehicle carport shown in some renders. So if you really want to match your home with your Porsche, you’ll have to dig deep into your wallet to find some sort of storage space for it.

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