Modular flats have been a common feature in Japan for some time, with cupboards, beds and even entire rooms able to move around to create flexible and multi-purpose spaces.

Indeed, movable walls is something that Swedish retailer Ikea have been trying out in a test apartment in Malmo. It’s believed that a major motivation for the retailer to offer such services is that they believe a key target market are suffering from a distinct lack of space in their homes.

The average size of a two bed apartment in Sweden for instance is around the 580 square feet mark, which is almost 100 square feet less than similar properties built a decade or so ago.

Similar drops in size have been seen in most western countries, so there is a clear need to do more with less.

Flexibility in office space

Could a similar level of flexibility also be a hit in the office space market? A New York based company believe it could be, and they’ve upped the innovation ante even further by making their modular offices powered by tiny robots.

The company, called Asmbld, have a team of miniature robots that live underneath the floor. They’re capable of moving and reconfiguring the entire room in a matter of minutes.

The system is compatible with older buildings as the system is built on top of the existing floor, with the robots then operating in the space between the old and new.

The facilities managers then design their desired layout on their mobile device, which then talks directly to the robots to carry out the instructions required to build the design.

Potential applications

The company believe the system could be invaluable for large conference rooms or in co-working spaces, but they believe it could also find an application in homes and offices too.

“Think about a business space where the large conference rooms that are used once a day are the biggest spaces in the building,” they say. “Instead of wasting resources for spaces that aren’t useful 100 percent of the time, we can make the space more efficient and save a lot of money in the long term.”

The system costs around $12,000 for a 500 square foot room, but the owners believe this becomes more affordable when the system is used multiple times as the labor savings are considerable.

I’d love to know your thoughts on this. Would it work in your industry?