SuperLA Disrupts the American Housing Model

SuperLA, he says, disrupts the existing housing model via a three-part “operating system” called “SuperOS,” a clear nod to the language of the tech industry. First, it tackles design, construction, and development together to streamline operations. Second, instead of starting over each time, it creates standardized housing “products” to achieve efficient templates. Third, it employs prefabrication and panelization to minimize time, cost, and construction waste.

The small company—there are four full time employees, including Van Schaik and an architect, project manager, and creative director—produced the first of its housing products, called “SuperBungalows,” last spring. Bungalows on Marathon, located on a hilly street in L.A.’s Silverlake neighborhood, rented all nine of its units (six one bedroom, three two-bedroom) in less than a month.

The key to this kind of success, says Van Schaik, is the project’s design, which exposes occupants to as much light, air, and natural materials as possible. The first multifamily CLT building in Southern California, its hybrid structure, set on a concrete base, combines horizontal mass timber members, traditional stud framed horizontal ones, and exterior timber cladding. There’s also cork flooring, built-in wood cabinets and shelving, large, operable windows that facilitate cross-breezes; open-air walkways, stairways, and atria; extensive (and quite varied) landscaping and communal gardens; and private terraces. Each unit feels separate (there are no shared walls) while being connected to the whole. Basically, it’s a stacked reinvention of the California Bungalow court, says van Schaik.

“It feels open whether you’re inside or out,” nots Aldo Crusher, who moved into a third floor unit here with his partner Corey Kozarski last May. Crusher points to their unit’s large windows, long balconies, expansive views, and light coming in from all directions.

SuperLA partners directly with manufacturers, not their distributors, saving as much as 50 percent on top-of-the-line products and furnishings that would otherwise be out of reach. These include Fisher & Paykel appliances, RBW LED lighting, Capri cork flooring, integrated Roseburg plywood cabinetry, warm and subtly textured Mosa tile, and oversized Pella windows. “Even if you don’t know the brands, it’s a subconscious feeling of quality,” explains Van Schaik. “It’s a key piece of the puzzle.”

“You could tell it was a passion project for them,” notes Kozarski. “I knew they weren’t just building it for the aesthetic. It meant more than that. There was a lot more thought put into making sure the tenants were comfortable.” Crusher adds: “We are both designers, and all the attention to detail caught our eye. The choices. The colors. Everything made sense. We work from home, and we were looking to get more inspiration; this was the right place.”


Another focus is sustainability. The bungalows employ 100 percent rainwater capture and 100 percent electric power, which comes largely from its solar panels. Landscaping is primarily native, irrigated by the harvested rainwater, and all units receive filtered air and water. The rainwater tanks, which Van Schaik calls “front yard rain barrels,” are present near stairways and on rooftops, constantly reminding you of their function. On the roof, with its views of the neighborhood, and Downtown L.A. beyond, photovoltaics mingle with gardens and seating areas.

Bungalows on Marathon’s units are not cheap—one bedrooms start at $4,250 a month. But learning from this template, says Schaik, will help future SuperLA projects become less pricey, both to build and to live in. He estimates that an upcoming project a few blocks away, Bungalows on Hyperion, will take about half the time to construct as Marathon, and 70 percent less than typical construction. As the company scales up operations, he adds, these metrics will improve even more. 

SuperLA is launching a second product, NiceOut, which employs a similar approach into a denser building form, with slightly smaller units, shared walls, and retail or co-working on the base. The first NiceOut site, in L.A.’s Larchmont neighborhood, should open in 2027. He hopes the series will rent for 25 percent less than the SuperBungalows. The company’s next product, says Van Schaik, will most likely be a single-family product.

The key, he adds, will be to stick to each template, not falling into the common trap of customization. “It’s really important that our homes are fixed products that we can repeat… Every other industry does it. For some reason with housing, the biggest asset class in the world, that’s not how we approach it.”

In the end, it’s about common sense. Van Schaik adds, “There’s no reason to be doing it the way our industry is doing it now…We’re resetting consumer expectations of what homes can be.”

For Kosarski: “Buildings like this show there is a more pleasurable and sustainable way to live. Other people will take inspiration from it. It’s paying dividends into the future of housing.”

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• Frances Anderton, Sam Lubell
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