Arlington, MA – In partnership with the Housing Corporation of Arlington (HCA), Reframe Systems, a technology company that is catalyzing the production of climate-friendly housing, recently celebrated its first completed Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) in Arlington.
HCA and Reframe welcomed Arlington town officials and community members to a ribbon-cutting ceremony for The Cottage House, a two-bedroom, 1.5 bath, all electric net-zero Passive House unit built using robotic technology at Reframe’s Andover-based modular microfactory, and then assembled in Arlington. The celebration took place on the heels of legislation at both the House and the Senate that will allow ADUs to be built “as-of-right” in single-family zoning districts statewide. This followed the 2021 approval by Arlington Town Meeting of an Accessory Dwelling Unit policy in its zoning bylaws, allowing attached or detached units of up to 900sf.
The Cottage House
Reframe Systems, founded by Amazon Robotics veterans, has developed a microfactory that combines software-orchestration, vision-guided robotics and augmented workcells to enable both skilled trades and apprentices to quickly and efficiently build high-performance homes offsite. The homes can then be purchased at prices that are affordable to those homebuyers who are rapidly being priced out of the market in Massachusetts and other high-cost regions. Reframe’s ADU building process will also be applied to single family and multifamily construction, with integrated renewable energy systems that deliver Passive House performance and net-zero energy use.
The Cottage House employs all-electric heat pumps, rooftop solar PV panels (with battery storage), and low embodied carbon materials. Reframe Systems used a helical pile foundation to eliminate concrete from the foundation, traditionally one of the highest contributors to carbon emissions in a new construction project. Additional decisions that favored low embodied carbon include selecting dimensional lumber for the framing, deploying wood fiber rigid insulation and recycled cellulose insulation, using recycled gypsum drywall, and applying cork flooring.
“This ADU marks the beginning of a larger movement to transform our built environment with low-carbon, high performance homes. We want to thank the community and especially the HCA for their commitment to this project,” said Vikas Enti, CEO and co-founder of Reframe Systems.
The project was made possible in part by funding that HCA secured from the Arlington Affordable Housing Trust Fund. HCA will conduct tenant selection for the unit via lottery, with applications to become available by Aug. 1.
