BOXABL is a Las Vegas-based company founded in 2017 with the goal of ending the housing crisis. The company’s CEO, Paolo Tiramani, promises that “in mass production, you do not have to sacrifice on quality.” The ethos is that building housing should be quick, cheap, and affordable, but also sturdy and beautiful.
Their prefabricated houses can be set up and ready for move-in in a matter of hours. They also claim to be relatively affordable and solidly built while maintaining some aesthetic appeal.
The mission of BOXABL piqued my interest, as I am quite attuned to both the student housing crisis and higher education budget issues, but I am also annoyed by so many universities seemingly forgetting about the importance of aesthetics for our buildings and campuses. I have a full video review above, as well as a write-up on my take below.
Campus and the Casita
I visited the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) campus, where BOXABL has one of its units on display for the school community and general public to tour. I was able to walk through it, around it, and poke through its nooks and crannies for this review.
UNLV President Keith Whitfield hopes that the display helps create a discussion on the solution to the student housing crisis. The university has reportedly been in discussions to set up a small Casita student village on UNLV-owned land in North Las Vegas.
It was sort of a strange sight seeing it in the middle of campus, but this was only a temporary installation. Students were buzzing around to class while I was there looking at this prefab dorm. I would like to see a real use case—where someone actually lives—in the future, rather than just the model home.
Layout of BOXABL’s Casita
Despite the small space, I think the layout works well for a dorm. The design is deliberately laid out with individual living areas, “bifurcated into basically four spaces, cut in half and then cut in half again,” says Tiramani. They took some principles from the tiny home movement and incorporated them into American dorm living.
These units contain basically everything that students may need for dorm life. I even think that there might be too much stuff for a 20-year-old undergrad. There is an in-unit laundry, toilet/shower with bath, full oven range, and a lot of cabinet space.
They are customizable, so potentially there could be a redesign to focus on whichever student population may need them. For older, graduate students, the layout that I toured might be fine, sans the small closet space.
The materials used to build the Casita seemed okay, certainly not as solid as the old concrete dorms. I would be somewhat nervous that undergrads may tear the place apart. Given that I lived in a trailer and fraternity housing during college, I have witnessed firsthand how destructive undergrads can be to the places they live.
Size of Tiny Dorm
I did not have any problems with the size of the unit, which was around 361 square feet of indoor space. The doors were a full 8 feet in length, and there were several regular-sized windows letting in plenty of sunlight.
In a local news interview, some UNLV students mentioned that their dorm rooms are even smaller than the Casita. There does seem to be a preference from students today who would rather have their own smaller private spaces rather than a bit bigger rooms with one or more other students.
I constantly get into arguments with people about this size issue, though. So my guess is that many viewers will recoil at the size. Remember: this is a dorm! It’s more space than what most of us lived in at 19. It’s fine and not a human rights violation.
Costs and Build
The price tag for the Casita that I toured at UNLV was $60,000. This apparently comes with “building, appliances, HVAC, solar panels, and a fully equipped bathroom,” according to a local news report. There may also be additional installation costs.
I do feel that the price is a bit too much for one Casita, at least for a university. It seems that the range is comparable to trailers, yet the trailers are much larger. The Casita may also look prettier than a double-wide, but it is not awe-inspiring aesthetically either.
Another aspect is that the Casita I saw was only a single story. I think for a college campus, something stackable would be ideal. Put several of these things on top of each other and now we are talking. Apparently, BOXABL says that their products are stackable, coming in both townhome and apartment designs.
Overall Evaluation as a Dorm
First off, I do not think BOXABL is going to be a solution to the student housing crisis. Universities often have limited space, and one or two-story dorms just usually aren’t going to cut it for the needs of most campuses.
In the long run, building a multi-story dorm that will last decades is likely a better option for colleges. Given the scale, it would be cheaper at a per-unit average than what BOXABL could offer currently. Perhaps if the costs come way down, then it would open up a few more opportunities.
The CEO admits that there is room for improvement. “The first house we built took us a couple of months; to make the first one, not very impressive,” he said at the 2024 Regional Affordable Housing Forum. “Today we make a house every 4 hours. And the reach goal for the company is to make a house every 60 seconds.”
That being said, despite some of my concerns, I do think every campus around the country could use a few Casitas for emergencies or other temporary needs. Since they are modular and can be assembled so easily, they would be ideal for the start of the academic year when dorm beds get tight.
More importantly, BOXABL units could be deployed in cases of emergencies or disasters on or near campus. For instance, Southern California universities could likely use some of these after the recent Palisades Fires, an emergency BOXABL has already targeted.
Beyond Campus and Dorms
While dorms were the marketing focus of the installation that I toured at UNLV, I could actually see the potential of BOXABL well beyond campuses. Actually, I think they make more sense targeting homeowners to thicken up neighborhoods, whether that’s in a college town or just your typical suburb.
These units really are Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) at heart. And so plopping them down in backyards across the country is something that is more natural than putting them in the middle of campus. The company is well aware of their utility as ADUs, and markets them as such to the general public.
In the end, I think a Casita may make for a better granny flat than a college student dorm. Their size and customization seem perfect for American backyards. BOXABL has a 400,000-square-foot factory right in Las Vegas, which apparently has free tours. I hope to take this tour one day to get a deeper insight into their process and broader utility.
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