Photos courtesy of Cosmic Buildings
Initiative Launched to “Rapidly and Affordably” Construct Homes in the Aftermath of the Fire
By LILY TINOCO | Assistant Editor
In response to the Los Angeles fires, Cosmic Buildings has announced the launch of a robotic microfactory in Pacific Palisades—set to begin operations this summer.
Former Palisadian Kent Newmark, who grew up in the Huntington, works with Cosmic Buildings—a construction technology company that is “reimagining how homes are built,” especially after a disaster—and expressed his belief in the company and its mission.
“At Cosmic Buildings, our mission is to revolutionize the housing industry through developing groundbreaking technologies that enable us to deliver autonomous, fully sustainable homes 10 times faster and at half the cost of conventional methods,” according to Cosmic Buildings. “Our goal is to create homes that are good for the environment and good for us and our families—creating a cleaner and more sustainable infrastructure.”
Cosmic Buildings is deploying its first robotic microfactory to the Palisades to help “rapidly and affordably” construct homes in the aftermath of the January Palisades fire.
“[Cosmic] has always planned to deploy microfactories, but the fires really accelerated this process,” Newmark explained to the Palisadian-Post.
Cosmic’s AI-enabled mobile microfactory will use ABB robotic workstations to fabricate structural panels, “eliminating one of construction’s most labor-intensive and error-prone steps,” according to a statement. “This process is 80% cheaper and 10 times faster than traditional methods.”
Each home will be built for climate resilience with “non-combustible materials, solar and battery systems for extended off-grid living, and water independence through greywater recycling and renewable water generation,” according to Cosmic.
“We’re not just building homes; we’re rebuilding the playbook,” Cosmic Founder and CEO Sasha Jokic said in a statement. “Our mobile microfactory is fast enough for disaster recovery, efficient enough to drastically lower costs and smart enough not to compromise on quality.”
Newmark said Cosmic is currently working with 30 families in the Palisades and Altadena—all at various stages—but is hoping to break ground on these projects “as soon as possible.”
“These are custom homes, and so you work with us to design the concept … and then we submit the permits, and our team prepares and submits the permitting package,” Newmark said about the process. “Then we get our mobile robotics to your site, build the wall panels, and at the same time, build the foundation, lay the foundation, then assemble the home from there. Then we hand over the keys to you … It really is an end to end, complete process.”
Newmark explained that the microfactory will stand as a temporary structure on a residential lot in the Marquez area. Newmark said it is expected to be operational in mid-July. The lot will also feature a showroom.
Palisadians will be invited to a launch event, currently slated for mid-July, where Cosmic will be demonstrating the robot.
For more information, call 310-363-0516 or visit cosmicbuildings.com.
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