RAD Lab Designs
RAD Lab Designs is a San Diego architecture and development firm specializing in modular shipping-container design for custom homes, ADUs, boutique hotels, restaurants, and urban placemaking, serving both enterprise clients and residential customers across the U.S.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersSan Diego, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What RAD Lab Designs does
RAD Lab Designs is a privately held architectural and development firm headquartered in San Diego, California, founded in 2013 by three honors graduates of NewSchool of Architecture + Design: Philip Auchettl (CEO), Jason Grauten (CCO), and David Loewenstein (COO). The firm specializes in modular and shipping-container architecture, designing custom high-end residential homes, Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), boutique hotels, restaurants, breweries, commercial container spaces, and urban placemaking projects. Its core technology centers on adaptive reuse of shipping containers combined with modular/prefabricated construction methods, fire-resistant design (non-combustible materials, ember-resistant vents, defensible space), and sustainable building practices including solar, cisterns, and adaptive reuse to minimize construction waste.
RAD Lab monetizes through three primary streams: full-service custom architectural design and design-build services for residential, commercial, and hospitality clients; saleable pre-designed ADU construction-document packages through its e-commerce storefront (the RAD Package, with the Milo 320 sq ft unit priced at $4,000); and integrated design-build project delivery, particularly for modular container projects. The firm targets both enterprise clients (Taco Bell, Tesla, SpaceX, Walmart, Dunkin Donuts, Sonic, Fieldwork Brewing, Equator Coffee, House of Air, Holland Partner Group) and a long tail of residential/SMB customers, plus municipal partners via public-private partnerships such as Quartyard in San Diego. The Container Living Unit product family (Models 1-4, Milo, Micro Unit) ranges from 320 to 1,200 sq ft and represents a productized revenue line. With 1-10 employees and 40+ completed projects across 10+ U.S. states plus international locations (Virgin Islands, Brazil), the firm operates as a boutique studio leveraging modular construction to deliver nationwide from its San Diego base.
RAD Lab Designs firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- RAD Lab Designs
- Legal name
- RAD LAB Designs, Inc.
- Website
- https://radlabsd.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- RAD Lab Designs is a San Diego architecture and development firm specializing in modular shipping-container design for custom homes, ADUs, boutique hotels, restaurants, and urban placemaking, serving both enterprise clients and residential customers across the U.S.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
RAD Lab Designs industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architectural Design Services
- NAICS
- Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Industrial Design Services (541420)
- SIC
- Mobile Homes (2451)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services (BPAHAKAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- ADU Modular/Prefab ADU Procurement & Installation (HSAPAMAL)
Keywords
Where RAD Lab Designs is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Diego
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
RAD Lab Designs business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Custom Architecture & Design Services: Full-service architectural design for custom residential, commercial, and hospitality projects. The firm designs and manages projects from concept through construction for clients including hotels, restaurants, housing developments, and community spaces.
- ADU Construction Document Packages: Sale of pre-designed Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) construction plans through the online shop. The Milo package is sold for $4,000 as a downloadable 7-page PDF drawing set. Additional customization services available for an additional fee.
- Design-Build Services: Integrated design and construction services where RAD Lab manages both the design and build phases, particularly for modular container projects.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Milo ADU Plan Package - 320 sq ft Accessory Dwelling Unit |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
RAD Lab Designs product offering
Product offeringCore offering
RAD Lab Designs provides full-service architectural design, modular construction documentation, and design-build services with a specialization in repurposed shipping container architecture and adaptive reuse. The firm sells standardized Container Living Unit plan packages (Milo, Models 1-4, Micro Unit) as downloadable construction documents and delivers fully custom architecture for residential, commercial, hospitality, and urban-infill projects. Projects range from ADUs and container homes to boutique hotels, restaurants, breweries, container offices, and public/private placemaking initiatives.
Product overview
RAD Lab Designs is an architectural and development firm offering a portfolio of modular container-based products and design services. Their Container Living Unit series (Models 1-4 and Milo) provides prefabricated ADUs ranging from 320 to 1200 square feet as saleable design packages. The flagship Quartyard urban park concept demonstrates their tactical urbanism approach using repurposed shipping containers. Additional offerings include the RAD Package (architectural drawing services) and hotel/hospitality projects like Hotel Herringbone. The company serves residential, commercial, and hospitality sectors with modular construction methods.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Custom Architecture & Design Services Full-service architectural design and project management for custom residential, commercial, hospitality, and urban-infill projects—spanning concept through construction—for clients including hotels, restaurants, breweries, housing developments, and community spaces.
- Design-Build Services Integrated design and construction services in which RAD Lab manages both the design and build phases, particularly for modular container projects, enabling compressed timelines and consistent design quality.
- Milo ADU Plan Package A 320 square foot Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) composed of two 20-foot retrofitted shipping containers, featuring one bedroom, one bathroom, an open living room to kitchen floor plan with built-in kitchen island, custom built-in furniture, and Bosch appliances. Sold as the RAD Package design drawings for $4,000, with optional custom modifications billed hourly.
- Model 1 Container Living Unit The smallest and most affordable of RAD Lab's Container Living Unit series, a 320 square foot studio featuring a compact open-plan layout with modern finishes, designed for ADU or compact residential applications.
- Model 2 Container Living Unit A 480 square foot modular container unit with one bedroom and one bathroom, featuring a covered patio that encourages indoor/outdoor living.
- Model 3 Container Living Unit A 960 square foot modular container home with two bedrooms and one bathroom, featuring ample outdoor living space with a convertible storage area.
- Model 4 Container Living Unit The largest Container Living Unit at 1,200 square feet with two bedrooms and two bathrooms, representing a comfortable single-family home with master suite and spacious open-plan living area.
- Micro Unit ADU A compact and efficient Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) designed to accompany single-family homes, featuring a refined design for passive income potential or multigenerational housing.
- RAD Package (Construction Document Packages) Comprehensive architectural drawing packages delivering detailed floor plans, elevations, sections, details, and specification schedules for windows, doors, and hardware, with basic consultation services and custom configuration options available as add-ons.
Quantifiable outcome
- 40+ completed projects across residential, commercial, and hospitality sectors
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use RAD Lab Designs
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
RAD Lab Designs technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
RAD Lab Designs partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.
- FreeForm DevelopmentcoreRAD Lab partnered with FreeForm Development on Hotel Herringbone project in Waco, TX - an upscale boutique hotel with multiple restaurants, bars, event spaces, and retail.
- Lucky Find HospitalitycorePartnership on Hotel Herringbone project with Lucky Find Hospitality for hospitality operations and management.
- Corey McEntyrecoreLocal chef and restaurateur partnered on Hotel Herringbone project bringing culinary expertise to the development.
- 5 Pointmajor5 Point commissioned RAD Lab to design and build a modular container pop up park in Irvine, CA for their Great Park development, featuring mixed-use commercial activations.
- CoPlacemajorCoPlace engaged RAD Lab to design and master-plan a mixed-use project with shipping containers for Logan Heights neighborhood near downtown San Diego, including retail, office, beer garden, restaurants, event space, soccer fields, and residential micro-units.
- City of San DiegocorePublic-private partnership where RAD Lab entered lease with City for Quartyard project with percentage of net revenues paid to Housing Asset Fund. City provided vacant lot for temporary activation until permanent development.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
RAD Lab Designs competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Method Homes: Method Homes manufactures precision-built modular and prefab homes, competing with RAD Lab for buyers seeking architect-designed alternative construction.
- Connect Homes: Connect Homes designs and builds modular homes using repurposed shipping containers, directly overlapping with RAD Lab's cargotecture product line for residential clients.
- Boxabl: Boxabl mass-produces foldable prefab ADU and home units, a direct architectural-format competitor to RAD Lab's productized plan packages.
- Plant Prefab: Plant Prefab is a custom prefab home builder offering sustainable, modular residential designs — overlapping with RAD Lab's modular/ADU focus and serving similar property-owner customers.
- Koto Design: Koto Design creates modular, sustainable cabin and small-format buildings — a strong design-led parallel to RAD Lab's modular hospitality and ADU work.
- Cover (formerly Cover Technologies): Cover produces prefab ADU units and accessory dwellings, directly competing with RAD Lab's Milo and Models 1-4 in the California ADU market.
- Honomobo: Honomobo manufactures container-based modular homes and commercial buildings, a near-direct functional peer to RAD Lab's shipping-container architecture model.
- Dvele: Dvele designs and builds tech-enabled, design-forward prefab smart homes — overlapping with RAD Lab on design-quality modular housing for premium customers.
Broad incumbents
- Olson Kundig: Olson Kundig is a design-led architectural firm producing distinctive custom homes and hospitality projects, sharing RAD Lab's high-design, award-recognition-driven positioning.
- Marmol Radziner: Marmol Radziner is an established high-end residential and commercial architecture practice in California, comparable to RAD Lab on premium custom home design even though not modular-focused.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
RAD Lab Designs social profiles
Digital presenceRAD Lab Designs financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
RAD Lab Designs leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
RAD Lab Designs funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
RAD Lab Designs M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about RAD Lab Designs
What does RAD Lab Designs do?
RAD Lab Designs provides full-service architectural design, modular construction documentation, and design-build services with a specialization in repurposed shipping container architecture and adaptive reuse. The firm sells standardized Container Living Unit plan packages (Milo, Models 1-4, Micro Unit) as downloadable construction documents and delivers fully custom architecture for residential, commercial, hospitality, and urban-infill projects. Projects range from ADUs and container homes to boutique hotels, restaurants, breweries, container offices, and public/private placemaking initiatives.
Is RAD Lab Designs a public or private company?
RAD Lab Designs is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was RAD Lab Designs founded?
RAD Lab Designs was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is RAD Lab Designs based?
RAD Lab Designs is headquartered in San Diego, United States, in the North America region.
How does RAD Lab Designs make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Custom Architecture & Design Services are the primary driver. The others are ADU Construction Document Packages and design-Build Services.
Who are RAD Lab Designs's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Method Homes, Connect Homes, Boxabl, Plant Prefab, Koto Design, Cover (formerly Cover Technologies), Honomobo and Dvele. Broad incumbents are Olson Kundig and Marmol Radziner.
Does RAD Lab Designs have an API?
No public API is recorded for RAD Lab Designs.
What industry is RAD Lab Designs in?
RAD Lab Designs's product category is Architectural Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAK, Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services, with a secondary code of HSAPAMAL, ADU Modular/Prefab ADU Procurement & Installation. Its NAICS code is 5413 and its SIC code is 2451.