[Report] "Samsung Makes Houses Too?" Visiting the 'AI Modular Home' Detached House Built in Just One Week

Integrated Management of Safety, Fire, and Water Leaks Inside and Out
Modular Housing Market Expected to Grow 24% Annually Through 2034

As soon as you step into the duplex house filled with the subtle scent of wood, a large screen in the living room greets visitors. When you announce, "I'm heading out," the curtains automatically close, and the lights and air conditioner turn off simultaneously. This is a futuristic living space combining a factory-built modular house and Samsung Electronics' hyper-connected SmartThings platform. This is the first impression of the 'Samsung AI Modular Home' showroom located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province.

On June 24, Samsung Electronics, in partnership with Space Workshop, a company specializing in wooden modular houses, officially entered the single-family modular housing market. Moving beyond the traditional method of purchasing and connecting each appliance individually, they introduced a fully finished home with artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure built into the design from the ground up. The blueprint for the AI home observed on-site was far more concrete and intelligent than expected.

Exterior of the 'Samsung AI Modular Home' showroom located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jin-young Kim

Built in Just a Week at the Factory: Changing the Paradigm of Construction

Traditional concrete homes require several months for construction due to the on-site process of pouring and curing cement. In contrast, the wooden modular construction method presented by Space Workshop takes place entirely as a "dry" process. Unlike wet construction, which uses water and cement, this method uses only hardware such as nails, bolts, and clips to combine wooden components. This allows for shorter construction times and enables building in all seasons.

Jungjin Park, CEO of Space Workshop, explained, "The construction period for a wooden modular house is only about 20% of that for a reinforced concrete apartment. If you choose from pre-designed housing products instead of customizing every detail, the entire manufacturing process can be completed at the factory within a week." The cost is also evaluated as economical, at about 60-70% of that of a concrete apartment.

Factory equipment of Space Workshop, a wooden modular housing specialist located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, on the 24th. Sixty percent of the manufacturing processes, including nailing and sawing, are automated. Photo by Jin Young Kim.

Currently, the factory automation rate at Space Workshop is about 60%, with facilities capable of producing two houses per day (up to 40 units per month). The company plans to expand production capacity more than threefold by increasing the number of production lines to four.

This innovative construction method has now been infused with Samsung Electronics' AI DNA. When designing their home, users can freely select high-efficiency AI appliances and SmartThings device options that fit their lifestyle. Built-in furniture and plumbing are tailored to the appliances, eliminating the need to drill walls or worry about wiring after moving in. Once the house is delivered, logging in just once with a Samsung account activates all appliances and Internet of Things (IoT) devices instantly.

Jungjin Park, CEO of Space Studio, explains the process and facilities of the modular wooden house at the Space Studio factory located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province on the 24th. Photo by Jinyoung Kim

Solving the Pain Points of Single-Family Homes

Unlike multi-family housing (apartments), single-family homes have always faced challenges with security, fire and water leakage management, and high heating and cooling costs. The Samsung AI Modular Home neatly addresses these vulnerabilities with AI solutions.

Single-family homes are at higher risk of crime since they lack on-site security staff. The 'AI DoorCam' installed at the showroom entrance detects suspicious activity outside the door in real time and displays it on the living room TV screen. In an emergency, a single button can request immediate dispatch from security company S1. Within the home, the "ThingsOne HomeCam" and the self-patrolling robot vacuum "Bespoke AI Steam Ultra" use cameras to monitor blind spots. The top-tier security platform "Samsung Knox" is also integrated, alleviating concerns about video leaks.

The 'AI DoorCam' installed at the showroom entrance recognizes suspicious behavior outside the door and transmits it to the living room TV screen. Photo by Jin Young Kim

Fire and water leakage, the biggest weaknesses of wooden houses, are also controlled by sensor-based systems. When the kitchen smoke sensor is activated, the indoor lights immediately flicker to warn residents, and both the TV and robot vacuum issue voice alerts about the hazard, while the curtains automatically open to allow smoke to escape. The leak sensor installed under the sink precisely identifies which area is affected by a leak via the SmartThings app as soon as an issue occurs.

Single-family homes consume about 1.7 times more energy per unit area compared to new apartments. In suburban areas without city gas, the cost burden of oil boilers is also substantial. The AI Modular Home uses SmartThings' "AI Saving Mode" to proactively switch appliances to power-saving mode before reaching higher electricity rate tiers, reducing energy consumption by up to 60%. In addition, light and occupancy sensors detect strong direct sunlight and automatically close the blinds to adjust indoor temperature. According to Samsung Electronics, applying the high-efficiency "EHS heat pump boiler," which utilizes air heat, can cut heating costs by nearly half compared to conventional oil boilers.

A Samsung Electronics representative is demonstrating various scenarios using SmartThings. Samsung Electronics

Single-Family Homes Are Just a Beachhead... What Is Samsung's Real Strategy?

In the domestic single-family housing market, which sees about 20,000 new units annually, Samsung Electronics' initial revenue is expected to be in the hundreds of millions of won. Why is Samsung investing so much despite the market's limited size?

Shin Young Lee, Group Leader of the Digital Appliances (DA) Division at Samsung Electronics, emphasized, "Modular housing is the optimal beachhead for Samsung's AI Home solution, allowing us to deliver the fastest and most complete consumer experience."

Shin Young Lee, Group Leader of the New Business Team in the Digital Appliances Division at Samsung Electronics, is explaining about the "Samsung AI Modular Home." Samsung Electronics

Samsung Electronics plans to expand its AI solutions across the entire housing sector, starting with single-family homes and moving into apartments, buildings, offices, accommodations, cultural spaces, and public housing in collaboration with LH and others. In fact, in the North American market, Samsung is already supplying home appliances to major builder Clayton Home Building Group and is seeking to expand into global markets such as Europe, Australia, and Hawaii. The goal is to supply a cumulative total of 10,000 units within the next three years.

Lee added, "The Samsung AI Modular Home solution is not just about integrating AI appliances, but about actively resolving the inconveniences and concerns consumers face in their living environment using Samsung's AI technology. We will continue to deepen our understanding of various housing types and resident lifestyles, and further advance differentiated AI home solutions tailored to these needs."

AI home that recognizes customers' lifestyles and sleep patterns and optimizes the living environment. Photo by Jinyoung Kim

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.