- Stilt Studio’s modular homes have an embedded carbon footprint at least 50% lower than comparable conventional buildings
- After perfecting the system and entering large-scale production, the startup has begun fulfilling international orders
- Stilt Studio reduces the cost, building time, and environmental footprint for hospitality and residential developments
Stilt Studios, a manufacturer of sustainable, modular homes headquartered in Indonesia, closed a US$10 million financing round with both debt-and-equity components.
After three years of prototyping and building up a large-scale production facility, Stilt Studios raised capital to speed up its international expansion, invest in the platform, AI and smart home capabilities, and develop its first full-scale residential project.
Expansion to Australia is underway, with a first build to begin late this year. Various other projects abroad are in advanced planning. Most of Stilt Studio’s ~1,000 ongoing inquiries come from Europe, Australia, and the US––besides the Indonesian market.
Stilt Studio’s modular home system makes it possible to configure a variety of cabins, studios, and multi-storey family homes out of standard components––it’s comparable to stacking Lego bricks.
High-quality teak and bengkirai wood is used as the main building material, resulting in a sophisticated, premium end product. The houses have an embedded carbon footprint (total carbon emissions from materials and the building process) that’s at least 50% smaller than a comparable conventional building. Due to the elevated design, ground sealing is reduced by at least 90%.
Stilt Studio’s system significantly reduces the project timeline, the cost, and the environmental footprint of the building process.
“We want to offer one solution to the huge inefficiencies in the housing market. The building process today is as if you’re building a prototype every time you build a house,” said Florian Holm, Stilt Studio’s founder and CEO.
“Homeownership has become unattainable to many. Over the past 1-2 decades this has escalated into a housing crisis in some parts of the world,” Holm continued. “Buildings are also an often overlooked carbon dioxide emitter, contributing 40% to global emissions. It’s obvious that much more innovation and resources are needed in this space.”
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German serial entrepreneur Florian Holm founded Stilt Studios in 2019. The startup first built a series of prototypes before arriving at its current modular and scalable system.
It has built more than 50 houses so far, 80% of which were completed in the past 12 months. Stilt Studio’s largest project to date is the Family Village Canggu, a residential development which will span 25 family villas. The company has been profitable since 2022.
Stilt Studio’s homes are ideal for resort developers or residential building developers, said Holm. Although other types of applications are also possible, for example commercial spaces.
“If you want to understand our business as an investor, you need to understand this modular home platform gives you the flexibility to build and the flexibility to ship your product everywhere,” said Holm.
The system reduces installation time down to 1-2 months per house, instead of a year or longer for conventional buildings. It also significantly reduces the noise disturbance. “Only the foundation is the noisy part of our building process,” said Holm.
Stilt Studio’s biggest backer to date is the family office of Christian Hymer––the former owner of Hymer, Germany’s market leader in motor homes.
“With my background in motor homes––a type of modular home––I was impressed by Florian’s thinking, his process, the scalability, and the sustainability aspect of the design which does not require a large foundation,” he said.
Starting up the business in Bali–with its world-famous hospitality sector and innovative residential properties–created an ideal incubation ground for Stilt Studios. It provided opportunities to stress-test its products––for instance at Grün, Stilt Studio’s sister company in the hospitality sector. Grün operates three luxury eco-resorts in Bali, which showcase the quality and versatility of Stilt Studio’s system.
Being situated in Indonesia comes with another advantage. The country is a leading producer of the high-quality wood that is used as Stilt Studio’s main building material. The company uses only certified teak and bengkirai wood.
A next goal post for Stilt Studios is upgrading its customer-facing platform, which includes embedding AI into the customer experience.
“AI-generated walk-throughs, which let you configure and virtually explore your dream home, or resort, are a realistic scenario in the near future. And we have the scalable platform behind it to build these designs,” said Holm.
“Bringing AI into the design process and combining it with efficient, modular production will make high-quality homes much more affordable. I truly believe that, some decades from now, we will look back at today’s building market like we do today at the car industry at the start of the 20th century.”
By the end of this year, the first home in Stilt Studio’s Family Village Canggu will be completed. The company is also planning its first commercial office building in early 2024.
Company timeline
- Founded in 2019 by Florian Holm
- Launched first prototypes in 2020 during Covid
- 2021 first investment by Christian Hymer – formerly owner of Hymer – Germany’s market leader in motor homes
- 2022 launch of the modular system, enabling great flexibility while simplifying the manufacturing and setup process
- 2023 opening of new enlarged production facility in East Java, Indonesia to ramp up volumes
- 2023 finishing the first prototypes of the residential homes series (Sep 2023) and starting the first international projects (Australia)
- Closing of the US$10 mn series A financing