Welcome back to GeoJourney Episode 10. Last episode, you watched the entire exterior shell come together and the loft floor go in. Now the build moves fully inside.
This episode covers wall framing, insulation, and the complete MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) system. You'll see how pre-assembled modules arrive on site ready to install, and why Geoship's approach to building from the inside out is designed for speed and precision at scale.
What You'll See in this Episode:
Interior Wall Framing and the Full MEP System: Neil Decker walks you through the interior build, from factory-made wall cassettes that define the two-bedroom, two-bath floor plan to the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC modules that plug into the dome ready to go.
Why Innovation Takes Time: Micha and Andrew talk through what it actually takes to build a new housing system from scratch, why Geoship invested in vertical integration early, and how every problem solved on Amma #1 carries forward into the production platform.
Interior Wall Framing: From Shell to Floor Plan
With the exterior enclosed and the loft floor complete, the next phase brings the interior to life. Neil Decker and the install team began setting wall cassettes, pre-built wall frames manufactured at the Geoship factory and delivered to site ready for installation.
The cassettes define the rooms and circulation of the Amma floor plan. On the first floor: a bedroom with storage, a full bathroom, a utility closet, and an open kitchen, dining, and living area.
On the second floor: an office, the primary bedroom with built-in storage, and a primary bathroom. High ceilings span the main living area below, and a great circle skylight runs across the top of the dome.
The primary bathroom upstairs sits beneath two windows, with space for a tub, a separate shower, a vanity, and a toilet. It's a generous layout for a dome, and one that starts to show what living in an Amma home will actually feel like.
Insulation
Once the wall framing was complete on both floors, the team moved to insulation. The current material is mineral insulation, chosen for its high fireproof rating. Mineral insulation performs well thermally and is a strong fit for this stage of development.
Looking ahead, Geoship's material science team is developing a proprietary cellular foam ceramic insulation. This next-generation material is designed to be healthier to install and live with, eliminating the small fibers associated with mineral insulation. It's another example of how the Amma #1 build is both a finished home and a live development platform.
MEP: Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing
The MEP systems are where Geoship's factory-first philosophy is most visible. Rather than running each trade sequentially on site the way conventional construction does, Geoship pre-assembles plumbing, electrical, and HVAC modules at the factory and delivers them ready to install.
Plumbing
The plumbing system is assembled as a complete unit before it enters the dome. Angled reference marks on the assembly help the team orient it correctly within the curved interior geometry. Once positioned in the utility closet, the system connects to the home's water supply and drainage lines.
Electrical
The electrical system centers on a subpanel housed in the utility closet. Wiring runs from the subpanel to individual outlets and lights using quick-connect fittings, a plug-and-play approach that reduces on-site labor and the potential for wiring errors.
Some wiring is still completed on site during this build, but the system is designed for full factory pre-assembly in future production. Pre-cut wire lengths will run from the subpanel to each outlet location, and the entire assembly will install as a single unit that screws into place.
HVAC
The climate system combines two components: an energy recovery ventilation (ERV) unit and a concealed mini-split system.
The ERV brings fresh air into the home through a heat exchanger, so incoming air is tempered by outgoing air without losing the heating or cooling already generated inside the structure. This keeps indoor air quality high while minimizing energy loss.
The air handler is installed inside the interstitial floor between the first and second stories, hidden by the drop ceiling below. It connects to an exterior condenser and distributes conditioned air to each room through a dedicated duct system. The result is a fully climate-controlled home with no visible HVAC equipment in the living space.
Like the plumbing and electrical systems, the HVAC components are assembled as complete modules before installation. Larger assemblies are built up as far as possible at the factory, while smaller components are kept separate so they can be fitted around framing within the interstitial floor.
Why Innovation Takes Time
Building a home is one thing. Building the system that builds the home is something else entirely.
Housing is one of the most regulated, capital-intensive industries in the world. Moving fast without understanding the full system breaks things that matter. Geoship is starting from first principles, moving at the pace of the problem, and building with scale as the primary goal.
Early on, the team made a decision most companies don't make: invest in itself. Geoship bought its own lab equipment, built its own tooling, and developed the full material stack in-house. None of it existed when the company started. The material formulation, the mixing line, the casting and curing processes were all built from scratch. This isn't optimization of a known system. It's zero to one.
That vertical integration gives Geoship control over the pace of innovation, and it means engineering, manufacturing, and installation all stay in sync. Engineers work in the factory and are actively engaged on site.
Every problem that gets solved stays solved. Every process that gets dialed in carries forward. By the time Geoship builds its tenth home, the company will have more invested in its technology stack than most homebuilding startups have by their hundredth. What feels slow today is building the foundation for what moves fast tomorrow.
"Having a world-class team like this is exactly what you need to go from a startup with a product and a vision to delivering a product at scale that's going to change the world. We've got the talent that we need to make this dream a reality." - Micha Mikailian
What's Next
The walls are framed. The insulation is in. The mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems are coming together. In the next episode, we'll continue the interior build and show you what happens as Amma #1 moves closer to a finished living space.
Thank you for following this journey and believing that housing can be built differently. Whether you're an investor, a future homeowner, or someone who shares the vision of regenerative living, you're part of making this transformation possible.
The Geoship Crew
