1100 sqft Kullman Frame System Modular House, Michigan






Floor plans
Diagram
Construction
About Garrison Architects




ArchitectureGarrison Architects
ProjectKoby Cottage
Area1,100 sqft
LocationAlbion, MI, United States
Year2008


This 1100 sqft modular house design is composed of two intersecting diagonal axes centered around social area - dining room as a meeting place. One axis incorporates the bedrooms, the other axis includes the living room and public entry hall. The design consists of two modules and uses new modular technology - Kullman Frame System (KFS), which allows build modular homes of prefabricated steel hollow tube frames. This prefabricated system has capacity to achieve 12 stories height and uses patented connection technology that speeds the overall construction process and minimizes field finishing.

Description by architects

Koby Cottage was designed to accommodate families visiting their children attending a boarding school for troubled teens. Surrounded by nature, it provides a peaceful, private domestic setting for reuniting families.

The eleven hundred square foot cottage has an X-shaped plan formed by joining two prefabricated steel modules. One wing is for parents, the other for their child. A dining table is situated where the two wings cross to create a place for meeting, discussion and to express family bonds. The structure is raised above the ground and the space between the modules is sheathed with glass to show the landscape as continuous and nature as enveloping.

Koby is a prototype constructed using the KFS (Kullman Frame System), an extremely strong and efficient modular space frame consisting of hollow tubular steel that allows for large cantilevers and window openings. The structural system was developed for the construction of multi-story modular buildings. Its tubular steel space frame has the unique capacity to achieve heights of twelve stories using patented connections that minimize field finishing and speed the overall construction process. The cottage features a high level of craftsmanship and detail as well as number of high performance components.




Modular Prefab Houses by Ma Modular, Texas








About Ma Modular

Prefab SIP Panel House






Built with Structural Insulated Panels (SIP), this prefab SIP panel house is conceived as an attempt to achieve a maximum optimization of dimensional and structural qualities of this construction material. This modular house was built in 10 days with 40 split-level panels (21 cm x 488 cm x 122 cm) and 71 wall panels (11.4 cm x 244 cm x 122 cm). The SIP panels exposed on the facade are fashioned as terraces on the third and second floors.

Design: Alejandro Soffia, Gabriel Rudolphy
Area: 139 sqm
Year: 2011
Location: Santo Domingo, Chile
Photography: Felipe Fontecilla

Modular Prefab Elevated Home on Stilts, Maryland






Floor plans
About Kieran Timberlake Associates

DesignKieran Timberlake Associates
ProjectLoblolly House
Area2,200 square feet
Assemble Time6 weeks
Year2006
LocationTaylors Island, Maryland
PhotographyBarry Halkin, Peter Aaron / Esto, Halkin Photography


Awards

AIA Institute Honor Award
AIA Housing Award
AIA Pennsylvania Honor Award
AIA Philadelphia Gold Medal
AIA TAP BIM Award
Architect R+D Award
Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award and International Architecture Award
EPA Lifecycle Building Challenge
World Architecture Festival (shortlisted)

This modular prefab elevated home on stilts is composed entirely of ready-made components and off-site manufactured elements, assembled in less than six weeks. The install process begins with off-site manufactured ceiling and floor panels. They distribute cold and hot water, radiant heating, waste water, electricity and ventilation through the building. Fully integrated mechanical room and bathroom modules are lifted into planned position. Wall panels containing insulation, structure, windows, exterior rain screen and interior finishes complete the cladding.





Description from architects

How can we holistically transform the way we make architecture, compressing the construction timespan and making use of technology to create a truly sustainable, aesthetically moving shelter?

Loblolly House was inspired by the childhood urge to build tree houses. An effort to bring back the magic of a house in the trees — one that requires climbing up to gain a view — Loblolly House appeals to a primal instinct about how we inhabit space. It also represents a home that is uniquely integrated with its setting among the tall loblolly pines from which it takes its name.

Site

Positioned between a dense grove of pines and a lush foreground of saltmeadow cordgrass leading to the bay, the prefab modular elevated home on stilts is formed about and within the elements of trees, tall grasses, the sea, the horizon, the sky, and the western sun. The skewed piles upon which the foundation rests mimic the form of the forest, fusing the natural elements of this barrier island to architectural form.

Loblolly House also reflects an environmental ethic; by lifting it off the ground, we ensure that it touches the site very lightly. Our desire in conceiving this stilt home was to reimagine what was possible in the realm of building — with the intention to improve the productivity of design and construction, enhance affordability and quality, and do so in an ethical and aesthetically moving manner.

Fabrication

Most houses are built from thousands of parts, which are transported separately to the construction site and pieced together by hand — a process of extraordinary duration, cost, and environmental impact. With the prefab home made from pre-built modules, by contrast, we wanted to use integrated assemblies of those parts, fabricated off site, to build a house in an entirely different way. Specification was no longer structured around the 50 divisions of the Construction Specifications Institute traditionally used to organize the multitude of parts. Instead, the conception and detailing were formed about four new elements of architecture: scaffold, cartridge, block, and equipment. The connections between elements were designed to be made using only simple hand tools.

Each element — and its junctures with other elements — was first digitally modeled to an exquisite level of detail. At the time, in 2004, parametric modeling software was in its nascent stages and required significant effort, but its use ensured that elements fabricated simultaneously would fit together perfectly. The assemblies were then fabricated off site, anticipating their attachment to the aluminum scaffold system that would eventually support and connect them. Unlike a traditional building process, in which construction must happen sequentially from the ground up, with the prefab home made from pre-built modules, the various elements could be prepared at the same time, shifting 70 percent of the effort to the factory. All of the modular prefab elevated home's systems were pre-integrated into the floor and ceiling panels, termed smart cartridges, to distribute radiant heating, hot and cold water, waste water, ventilation, and electricity throughout the prefab elevated house on stilts.





Assembly

At the Taylors Island site, the building began with traditional, site-based preparation of the foundation. However, once the aluminum frame was in place, the assembly process could continue apace. Floor and ceiling cartridges and pre-built modules — including entire bathrooms and mechanical blocks — were lifted and fitted into place. Exterior wall panels containing structure, insulation, windows, interior finishes, and a wood rain screen of western red cedar completed the cladding. From the platform up, the prefab home made from pre-built modules was assembled in less than six weeks.

As you approach this modular stilt home from the 800-foot-long drive in the afternoon, when the sun shifts to the west, you can see a mysterious glow at its center: the orange glass of the footbridge connecting the main house to the guest quarters. Like its perch amidst the trees, this is one of the elements of magic to the structure of the prefab elevated house on stilts, accentuating the daily ritual of the passing of the sun. With this project, we wanted not only to envision anew the process of design and construction, embedding within it an environmental ethic, but also to create a house that evokes the extraordinary natural world that is its home.

Modern white prefabricated home design, Italy





Modern prefabricated home design, Italy

This modern white refabricated home design (Italy) born from the notion that the house should be a manifestation of function, environmental responsibility, fashion, elegance and poetry in life. This open, modern concept house features futuristic edge with a minimalist interiors, because everyday living should never be boring, but simple.

Design: Subissati

Small one bedroom modular building





Small one bedroom modular building

This complete small modular building offers a living room, a kitchen room, a bedroom and a separate bathroom. The house fits on semi truck trailer and can be transported just about anywhere. The 280 SF modular unit come with all the essentials appliances. It is pre-plumbed, pre-wired and ready to plug in.

Design: Modular Dwellings

weeHouse - Modern Prefab Homes by Alchemy Architects






Marfa weeHouse - 440 sq ft 1 Bedroom Modern Prefab Home, Texas


Prefab house, Texas

Installation
Floor plans, Drawings
Video
About Alchemy Architects


ProjectMarfa weeHouse
Design and manufactureAlchemy
LocationTexas, United States
Area440 sq ft
Bedroom1
Year2007
PhotosScott Ervin


AIA Honor Awards

Small Projects 2011





This 440 sq ft 1 bedroom prefab home serves as a simple retreat space on the beautiful remote area outside an arts colony in Texas. It is the first of three prefab modules that are planned to install for the site. The module installed complete with an outdoor shed and a fully finished exterior and interior, leaving only sun-shielding canopies, decks and utility hookups to be assembled on-site.

Description by architects.

This weeHouse and its cool, calming interior serves as a simple 440 SF retreat space on the fairly remote site outside a small arts colony in West Texas. It is designed to be the first of three weeHouse modules that are planned for the site.

The module arrived complete with an outdoor shed (housing w/d + hot water heater) and a fully finished interior and exterior, leaving only utility hookups, decks and sun-shielding canopies to be installed on- site. A stepped foundation provides a proud platform for sweeping views of an amazing landscape.

Program 

The client wanted a modestly-scaled retreat that sat lightly on the landscape in a remote site, 20 minutes outside the small arts colony of Marfa, in West Texas. The initial house is a do-all outpost, the first of three modules that are planned for the site. The module arrived complete with an outdoor shed and a fully finished interior and exterior, leaving only utility hookups, decks and prefabricated sun-shielding canopies to be installed on-site. The architects sought to re-imagine the ideal of luxury based on size, instead looking to leverage the uniqueness of place through effcient multi-use space with simple, elegant detailing. They also concentrated design efforts on the process of producing high-quality work within a modest budget and a geographically challenging location.

The house is reduced to a floor and ceiling, the end walls creating a TUBE that locates a nexus on the landscape.

The simplicity of the living space and its amenities offer livability and a sense of luxury without detracting from the reason to be there in the first place: respite. Expansive decks promote outdoor living, the glass allows natural cross ventilation, and large awnings that block the intense SW Texas sunshine.

Process 

The remoteness of the site created unique challenges to delivering high quality architecture. The Client contracted with the Architect to purchase not only design services but also the actual house - as a product.- prefabricated in a modular factory. This gave the Architects complete control over the process: from concept to completion, and allowed the house to be "plugged in" with all electrical, infloor heating, and final plumbing items compelte upon delivery. 

The house is located in the high deserts of Texas and is a minimalist refuge. One room serves as bedroom, kitchen, dining room and living room. The adjacent room is a luxurious bathroom with views of mountains to the north and south. A prefabricated utility shed houses an outdoor kitchen and laundry,
leaving the rest of the essentials to the main module. 

Data

  • Size: the project consists of a 15’ x 35’ house (525 sf of conditioned space) and a 4’ x 15’ shed, for a total of 585 sf.
  • Cost: modular work and design, $155k. Site costs withheld.
  • Structure: standard wood frame with simple “framing square” type bolt-on moment brackets to reduce cost, weight, installation labor.
  • Ceiling height: 8’.
  • Siding: fibercement panels and trim, painted with an oxidized latex paint with suspended iron filings.
  • Windows: standard Andersen 8’x8’ sliding doors.
  • Roof: Epdm rubber, vented.
  • Heating: The house is heated via wood-burning fireplace, on-demand electric boiler with hydronic in-floor heating located in the bath cabinet. A small 19-seer rated split wall AC unit provides all the cooling needed.

Curtain tracks are integrated into the ceiling/door trim.

Steel Frame Transportable Prefab Home by Bachbox, New Zealand





Steel frame transportable prefab home, New Zealand

About Bachbox

Design and manufacture: Bachbox
Location: New Zealand

The steel frame transportable prefab home (New Zealand) specifically designed for simple transportation and crainage when fully assembled. The low maintenance powder coated steel shell can be made entirely secure by four folding decks which enclose the building and the system can be operated by remote controlled electric winches. The prefab building is designed suitable for extreme environments and to be cyclone and earthquake resistant. Can be combined or customised to fit any need: holiday cabin/bach, permanent home, rental, office or temporary accommodation.





Pre assembled house, Denmark





Pre assembled house, Denmark

This pre assembled house (Denmark) was created with the ambition of designing a quality building at an affordable price. The prefab house is in several different variations which have the basic floor plan design to reduce costs. The building has a kitchen with installed furniture, utility room, bathroom and large room which can be divided into two spaces, and in addition a large living room and roof terrace.

Design: ONV arkitekter (Denmark)

Factory-Built Modular House, New York





Factory-built modular house, New York

About Resolution 4 Architecture

DesignResolution 4 Architecture
ManufacturerApex Homes
Area1800 square foot
LocationNew York
PhotographyPhloto & Warner


This 1800 square foot factory-built modular house is located on a 5-acre rocky outcrop. The owner, who loves rock climbing and mountain biking, had camped out on the hilltop during the siting of the new house to determine the best orientation, spot and angle for his new escape. The house has three sides of transparent glass walls and wrap-around outdoor decks with a loft-like social space upstairs that contains living room, dining room and kitchen.

Round prefab Energy Star home, Canada





Round prefab ENERGY STAR home, Canada

This round prefab Energy Star home is the first Energy Star efficiency program qualified house in British Columbia, Canada. Energy Star homes are more comfortable: cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter; save money on energy bills compared to structures built to standard code; are better for the surrounding environment, generating fewer greenhouse gases and using less energy; are 25% more efficient than those erected to minimum building standards. It’s similar getting 3 months of free energy use every maintenance year.

Design: Mandala Homes

Minimalist Prefab Modular House, California





Minimalist prefab modular house, California

Design: Marmol Radziner
Area: 185 sqm
Location: California

Rising at 1,5 meters above the ground, this 185 sq.m. minimalist prefab modular house in California capturing the beautiful views of the surrounding desert landscape and Mount San Jacinto. The main living space is designed facing west with the view of the local open landscape. The structure was built using prefab modules and also consists of a metal frame which can be clad in glass, wood or metal. The architects used three different types of basic building modules: external modules for outdoor area of decks, modules that contain indoor living areas and modules to provide sun protection.

Prefab Geodesic Dome Home Design, Denmark





Prefab geodesic dome home

About Easy Domes

Design: Easy Domes (Denmark)

Domes and polyhedron shaped buildings and designs are seen all around the world. Old and ancient examples are mostly churches, minarets, the arctic igloo. Today we have high-tech examples of geodesics from added super-domes in different sizes and materials, to simplified and nature orientated and sustainable buildings.




The structural behavior of Platonic polyhedra - from first experiments and full scale buildings made by Buckminster Fuller, architect and engineer, to other experiments showing the fact, that plate structures are not a type of lattice structure, but a independent type of structure with dual properties to the lattice structures. This was confirmed when the basic equation of stability for plate structures was found.

Plates and lattices are duals like axial and shear forces, like the closed and the open, and in the same way as yin and yang are incompatible, but yet form some interesting combinations.

Conditions of stability to convex singular coherent polyhedra, as combinations of these form the basis for nearly all buildings considered with characteristics of pi-free three dimensional geometry. Topology, stability and geometry are similar seen in quite different levels: The carbon molecule structure with 60 atoms on each vertice - similar to the geometry of the truncated icosahedron. Resent NASA´s Spitzer Space Telescope discovered small "buckeyballs" in space 6.500 light-years away stacked together in enormous structures hundred of millions of miles wide. In the biological world Radiolaria and Foramifera as high frequency plate polyhedra. The structural concept of honeycomb, and maybe a good example of pure plate structure, the sea Urchin.

Introducing the Easy Domes concept, the word easy can be regarded as a key word. The Easy Domes building kits are manufactured as high quality wooden sections ready for mounting at building site. The prefab dome construction is easy to assemble with only steel bolts and nuts. Small prefab domes can be erected by manpower while bigger prefab geodesic domes need a crane. The structure is suitable for all kind of terrain and implementable to any climate condition.

This page will highlight news and developments from around the world - in light of polyhedra to sinus related trans-formations - updated to new concepts, ideas as full scale examples.

The prefab geodesic dome home design offers an easy and quick assembling of the structure. On a timber or concrete basic it takes only one day to raise the building which is made of quality materials: 3x6" and 3x4” timber in pinewood and plywood. All sections are pre manufactured and ready to assemble with nuts and bolts and the sealing with rubber or asphaltpaper. This prefab geodesic dome homes are certified and with quality and precision installation, meet international building standards and rules. Delivery is easy in container and lifting crane is not needed to build structures until 50 SF. The prefab domes are proposed as passive or low-energy solutions with eco friendly energy efficient technology in heating and electricity.

Each prefab dome home is designed and manufactured for personal wishes on room arrangements, windows, in- and out- side building materials,  flooring, water- and energy supply a.m.

One prefab geodesic dome-building kit  includes the 21 wooden sections, the load construction, and two wall sections for main door. Fittings for mounting the sections are included a delivery.

Special designed windows in hard-wood or aluminum are to each delivery. Here aluminum-skylight are offered too. The needed aluminum flashing for  secure against rain, is the third manufactured product.




Eco Friendly Modular Home, Vancouver, BC, Canada





Eco friendly modular home

Video
About Architecton Kanau Uyeyama Arch

Design: Architecton Kanau Uyeyama Arch
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Year: 2008

This eco friendly modular home was selected as Feature Home by Greater Vancouver Home Builders' Association for the 2008 Home & Garden Show. Energy-efficient windows and appliances, recycled materials and smart wiring mitigate the effect of the building's eco-footprint. The bedroom wing and living/kitchen room wing, linked at the main entry door and by the courtyard outdoor deck, provide multiple possible accesses to the deck - an integration of outdoor/indoor living spaces, including kitchen area, a spa with a canopy and potential for various seating configurations.





2,500 sqft 3 Bedroom Prefab Home, Portland, Oregon




Prefabricated home, Portland, Oregon

About Stillwater Dwellings

Designer and builderStillwater Dwellings
Area2,500 sqft
Bedrooms3
Year2010
LocationPortland, Oregon


Completed in 2010, this 2,500 sqft 3 Bedroom prefab home (Portland, Oregon) was assembled over remodeled daylight garage/workout/office space below. The largest room in the prefab home is over 12'6" tall, 17' deep, and 42' wide, with no interior walls.




Inside, the prefab home is finished with custom porcelain and glass tile bathrooms, museum-quality lighting, teak hardwood flooring, super-insulated roof and walls, and hybrid high-efficiency hot water heating.

Small Modular House / Prefab Sauna, Sweden






Sustainability

Add a Room focuses on sustainability in terms of design, functionality, quality and environmental awareness. Scandinavian houses that last forever by one of Denmark’s top architects.

Simplicity

The design and materials are predefined making it easy for customers to purchase confidently. The modular houses are built indoors in Scandinavia and transported by truck directly to your plot, eliminating messy building work and delays due to weather conditions.





Flexibility

Prefab modules are like playing with building blocks! They can be linked together with other modules, added and removed to create your perfect living space. Don't over consume – buy little at a time :)

Enjoyability

Think big live small! It’s all about enjoying life, simplifying and optimising your living space, merging the inside and out whilst reducing maintenance and your ecological footprint. We call it “compact smart living”.


About Add a Room

Design and manufacture: Add a Room
Photography: Addaroom, Matti Marttinen

This small modular house is a concept from cooperation between Sweden and Denmark. The various modules can be connected in different ways to meet different needs and assemble a variety of designs, kind of lego structure blocks for adults. The house includes pergola and deck as well as possibility to link other facilities such as outdoor shower, prefab sauna and outdoor kitchen.

Interview with Owners and Designers

Would you like a holiday home but don't have the money for a big one? Well, why not start small, and then let the house grow by adding rooms?

It is in all its brilliant simplicity, the idea behind the Swedish company, Addaroom. Their modular house concept based on adding a room and that is exactly what the concept is all about.

Lots of design magazines have already spotted the Addaroom, and have written about the concept. So far, sales have not quite met the interest; But hopefully this will come now, states Susanne Aarup, who is the woman behind the Addaroom idea with her Swedish husband, Sven Hansson.





She has also found a company that will produce the cozy little house modules, namely Hansen & Larsen. And that it became the Dejbjerg company, is not entirely coincidental, says economist-educated Susanne Aarup.

She is from Højmark, Denmark, but has lived in Sweden for many years. When she and her husband were in searching of a producer and partner closer to the markets down in Europe than their hometown, Stockholm, she asked her siblings if there was a West Jutland company they could recommend. There was!

Production in Skjern

Hansen & Larsen were immediately on the idea. Karsten Larsen and his sister and brother-in-law, Dorte and Brian Meldgaard, who own the company together with Meta Larsen and Flemming Nissen, would like to spread the activities a bit more.

"We thought it was a good idea. Some times of the year there is not as much to look at as others, and we saw that in this way we could fill in some gaps", says Karsten Larsen.

"We started production last April. It's something completely new to us, so it took a little more time than we had imagined, but now we're running it in", says Dorthe Meldgaard.

"However, conditions in Dejbjerg are not entirely optimal, so we are considering moving production to Skjern. One of the advantages of building such small modular houses is that production can take place inside, and thus does not depend on the weather", says Karsten Larsen.

Karsten Larsen and Dorte and Brian Meldgaard believe so much that this type of modular house can face something of a breakthrough that today they are co-owners of Addaroom with Susanne and Svenne Hansson.

"The trend is towards these types of houses that are both simple and compact, and where outside and inside are merging. We are early in the trend and the crisis has left its mark; interest has been there but people have kept buying again. Hopefully that will change now", says Susanne Aarup.

Architectural Prefab Modular Design

"My husband and I got the idea when we saw that many Swedish holiday homes were in a bad condition. But replacing an entire house is a big step, so we thought, why not start small with something much more compact, and then add or subtract modules as needed", she continues.

She adds that the prefab house modules can also be used for other than leisure accommodation. She and her husband - who are carpenters - agreed that design and quality should not be given anywhere. The prefab houses are for year-round use in the North Europe climate and therefore they can easily be used for, for example, student or youth housing or in connection with holiday centers, or - why not? - on top of high-rise buildings!

Susanne Aarup also sees great opportunities in so-called business to busines, i.e. trading with other business companies.

The fact that Addaroom has aroused such high regard in design circles is not strange. Susanne Aarup and Sven Hansson have allied themselves with well-known architect, Lars Frank Nielsen, co-founder of the architectural firm 3xN; she came into contact with him through the furniture company OneCollection in Ringkøbing, their furniture she has in Sweden.

Lars Frank Nielsen also liked the idea. Together with Susanne Aarup and Sven Hansson, he designed an almost minimalist house that could easily be stand alone small prefab house, but which could also be assembled with several units.

Multiple Modules





The basic module is 15 or 20 square meters, i.e. 3x5 m or 3x6.6 m, and a porch of 3x2.4 m with pergola 3x1.5 m in extension of the small modular house.

These prefab modules can be connected directly to each other, or they can be connected with outdoor or indoor modules, so that you can create outdoor environments with atrium, outdoor kitchen and outside shower or, for example, get two separate sleeping areas with a shared bathroom and kitchen in the middle.

It has been a goal to blur boundaries between outside and inside as much as possible, so of course there is also a sauna module!

Prefab Sauna Module

"It's a year-round home we're building", states Susanne Aarup, and continues: "We have made every effort to make the houses so simple and to build them in such solid materials that only minimal maintenance is required. When you are in a holiday home, you do not want to spend the time on maintenance".

2000 sqft LEED Platinum Sustainable Prefab Home, Vancouver, BC, Canada





LEED Platinum sustainable prefab home

Design: Pb Elemental (Seattle, USA)
Construction: InHaus Development
Area: 2000 sqft
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Photos: SeeVirtual

Designed for “smart” active lifestyle, this ultra modern 3 bedroom, 4 bathroom 2000 sqft LEED Platinum sustainable prefab home includes a large separate studio/office space and bright stunning principle spaces.





The home has been verified through every stage of design and construction to ensure that it meets the stringent standards of the Canadian Green Building Council’s LEED program. The house is located 200 meters from Semiahmoo Bay in White Rock’s East Beach community, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Small Prefab Home, BC, Canada





Small prefab home, Canada

Design: Birmingham and Wood
Manufacture: Smallworks
Photos: Keith Henderson

The small prefab home (Canada) is 624 square foot and is designed to be modern and open with large window and door openings to allow for outdoor/indoor living and a sense of spaciousness and lightness.





1000 sq ft 2 Bedroom Off-the-Grid Modular Prefab Desert Home, California





Prefab desert house, California

Floor plan
About o2 Architecture




ProjectRock Reach
Architecto2architecture
Bedrooms2
Area1000 sq ft
LocationYucca Valley, Mojave Desert, California
Year2009
PhotosNuvueinteractive

This off-the-grid modular prefab desert home in California is 1000 sq ft and situated in the arid region Yucca Valley. The main principles of the prefab modular house design are sustainability, adaptability, economy and durability. Emphasis was given to ensure minimal plot disruption while retaining privacy and maximizing views. Solar technologies provide space heating, hot water and electricity. The house was completed with an 8 week construction in 2009, at $270/SF.

Description by architects

A collaborative effort between o2 architects' Martin Brunner and Lance O'Donnell and Prefabricated Home developer Blue Sky Building Systems; this 1,000 square foot 1000 sq ft 2 bedroom modular home is located in the Mojave Desert region at 4,000’ above sea level. The program called for a sustainable, modestly scaled residence to serve as a prototype for a prefabricated line of homes. Special attention was paid to site placement and building orientation. Inspired by Le Corbusier's "Domino"; the building contains a pure structure of columns and planes. Adaptability is created by the non-load bearing walls and openings that can be moved within the structure to satisfy a variety of site conditions.

The 1000 sq ft 2 bedroom off-the-grid prefab modular home in California is positioned above the site on moment-resisting columns and beams of cold-formed, light gauge steel. The building envelope is composed by a grid of pre-manufactured wall panels and standardized building components. The bathroom module, containing all home MEP systems, is built off-site and delivered finished. Interior spaces are defined by the placement of storage cabinetry, eliminating interior framed walls. Solar technologies provide electricity, hot water and space heating.

The flat-packed building components minimize transportation volume and promote sustainability through material/structural efficiency and can be dissembled and relocated. The inherent nature of prefabricated design ensures low embodied energy and minimizes site waste. The 2 bedroom prefab desert home was completed in May of 2009 after a construction schedule of 8 weeks and a construction budget of $270/sf.





Off-Grid Prefab Home with Solar Panels, California





Off-grid green prefab home, California mountains

About OMD

Design: OMD
Area: 2150 sq ft
Location: California

The off-grid prefab home with solar panels in California is designed to be self-sufficient, independent and closely connected to the nature, this prefab home is a pioneer for off-grid green housing in the region. The 2-story 2150 sq ft home is built with structural insulated panels. The off-grid prefab home introduces faster construction time, less material waste, tighter building envelope, higher insulating properties and green finishes resulting in a lower life-cycle cost of the home.





The first floor design emphasizes the strong relationship between the outdoor garden and patio with the indoor living/dining/kitchen/reading space. The 12 ft second floor plan includes two bedrooms connected by an office/studio and a bathroom.

20 x 50 ft Prefab Home Prototype - Canuhome

Canühome: a home for the 21st century that educates consumers about what they can do to achieve a balance between sustainability and lifestyle, quality and affordability, social responsibility and innovation. 





Prefab green home prototype Canuhome


About IwB - Institute without Boundaries    

ProjectCanuhome
DesignIwB
Area850 sq ft
Year2008


The prefab home prototype is a 50 by 20 ft. prefab home, including a living room, dining and kitchen room, bedroom and bathroom. The features include reduced ecological footprint through resource and water efficiency; improved indoor environment and air quality; adaptable, accessible and universal design to meet changing needs; inherent affordability – eligible for green financing, less costly to operate, lasts longer.

Description by  IwB

Overview:

The Canühome was conceived by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and the Institute without Boundaries to raise the profile of sustainable and intelligent residential design. Building on the research conducted in the World House Project, a team of IwB faculty, students and experts set out to create an exemplary home environment that re-imagines how we may live in the near future. The 850 square foot residence was exhibited 12 times and viewed by over 500,000 people, in numerous cities in Canada and Europe.

 Goal:

The Canühome is a model home exhibit that aims to educate consumers about what they can do to achieve a balance between sustainability and lifestyle, quality and affordability, social responsibility and innovation.





Narrow Lot Prefab Modular Home, Santa Monica, CA





Narrow lot prefab house, Santa Monica, CA

Design: OMD

This four-module two-story narrow lot prefab house (Santa Monica) is 16 ft. wide and situated in 100 ft. by 25 ft. lot. In the first floor there is an open kitchen-dining-living space facing a courtyard with sliding glass door. The second floor contains an open office space, two bedrooms and a terrace over the courtyard. Due to narrow lot conditions there is tandem parking in the garage.





Prefab Modular Weekend House, California




Modular weekend house, California

Design: Marmol Radziner

This modular weekend house in California is a minimalist simply structure with easily replaceable and low-maintenance materials like metal siding and concrete floors. The covered porch offers entertaining area for outdoor activities and sun bathing. The minimalist interior space boast exquisite and chic atmosphere.