We checked in on the green rebuilding efforts in Greensburg, Kansas when Planet Green’s docu-series premiered last month. We found plenty of interesting developments, but this prefab from Studio804 of the University of Kansas School of Architecture is definitely one of the most memorable. Built as the community art center, this innovative building uses modular design with the length of long truck trailers as the defining width component measure - an outside the box thinking that makes larger prefab buildings possible....read more at Inhabitat
PREFAB FRIDAY: Prefab Takes Up Residence At The MOMA!
Prefab is taking center stage this summer at The Museum of Modern Art in NYC with the Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling exhibit opening on July 20th. As part of the exhibit, five renowned architects will bring a mix of existing and prototype prefabricated designs to full form on a exterior lot adjacent to the museum...read more at Inhabitat
PREFAB FRIDAY: La Reserva by Sebastián Irarrázaval
This stunning prefab in Colina, Chile, is the work of Santiago-based architect Sebastián Irarrázaval. Despite its unique form, it is not meant as a custom design but rather a housing solution that can take shape repeatedly. Constructed of concrete, steel and timber, the 120 square meter structure (1290 sq ft) lives large with a simple geometric that is at ease with the surrounding landscape.
While the sustainability of steel and concrete are debatable, Irarrázaval takes advantage of the inherent benefits of these materials, mainly their thermal attributes. The exterior steel panels create a double facade where sandwiched air is heated and creates a natural draw of ventilation around the structure. The concrete elements work to regulate temperature by moderating swings between heating and cooling. As a complete system, and coupled with expansive adjustable openings, the building self regulates for the thermal comfort of occupants.
Completed in 2006, the La Reserva house is, according to the architect, low-cost housing that “relates to the idea of the container.” Its striking steel facade is meant to weather “as a continuation of the building process rather than as a force antagonistic to it” making the material choice a dynamic part of the design.
Although our critical side questions the materials, we can’t help but be drawn to this design from one of the world’s most exciting new architecture practices.
Via ArchDaily
Photos: Carlos Eguiguren....read more at Inhabitat
PREFAB FRIDAY: Beautiful Flatpak House in Aspen, CO
We’ve been fans of Flatpak home designs for quite some time, but are continually impressed when we find more of these unique, customizable prefabs in full form. This home in Aspen, Colorado, is our latest Flatpak discovery courtesy of Jetson Green’s Flickr habit. We’re captivated by the setting of course, but also decidedly enamored with the owner’s choice to combine the Flatpak custom components into this amazing abode in the Rocky Mountains...read more at Inhabitat
PREFAB FRIDAY: Landscape House for an Ecologist
In 2006 the AIA set forth an architecture challenge to create ‘A House for an Ecologist’– a home base from which a US Fish and Wildlife Service Ecologist in Residence could live and conduct field research. Raphaelle and Alfredo Maul, of Maul Dwellings in San Sebastian, Spain, answered the call with The Landscape House - a site-sensitive, passive solar dwelling designed to fuse environmental performance with aesthetic integrity, building science with architectural excellence...read more at Inhabitat
PREFAB FRIDAY: Joshua Tree by Hangar Design
The Joshua Tree prefab home made quite a splash at Milan’s Zona Tortona exhibit earlier this year, garnering long lines of fairgoers eager to take a look inside. This steel clad prefab is a compact two bedroom “mountain refuge” with a welcoming, and surprisingly roomy, wooden interior...read more at Inhabitat
PREFAB FRIDAY: Maison EvolutiV by Olgga
This gorgeous wood container prefab from Olgga Architects was turning heads at Salon Europeen du Bois in Grenoble last month. At just 70 square meters (about 753 square feet), this energy efficient abode is made of two prefabricated modules perched one on top of the other. Rather than box out the structure with a stacked configuration, the designers pivoted the top unit to create a variety of interesting and integrated outdoor spaces, as well as a variety of structural possibilities...read more at Inhabitat
FreeGreen Bringing Green Design to the Masses!
Continuing their momentum as green home design gurus, two of the Cornell Solar Decathlon team members have just launched a new endeavor aimed at bringing custom green design to the masses through an innovative business model called FreeGreen. Started by David Wax and his partner Ben Uyeda, FreeGreen is making green home designs free to everyone! ...read more at Inhabitat
PREFAB FRIDAY: Custom Wieler Home by Dustin Ehrlich
Architect Dustin Ehrlich has created a custom prefab home near Chapel Hill, NC. Constructed by WIELER, the structure mixes stone, wood, stainless steel and rusted corrugated metal to create an extraordinary first, and lasting, impression. While undeniably modern, the structure’s aesthetic also draws on the local architectural styles of nearby tobacco barns...Read more at Inhabitat
Prefab Friday: Residencia RR Sustainable Style in São Paulo
Just off the Brazilian coast in São Paulo, architect Andrade Morettin has created Residencia RR - a stunning summer abode nestled amidst the dense vegetation and semi-tropical, hot, humid climate of Itamambuca in the state’s north coast. With prefabricated components and an elevated foundation, the construction sits lightly on its site with a low ecological impact...read more at Inhabitat
Rocio Romero LV Prefab Home Opens in Napa, California!
When we ran the news of the New York LV open house tour, many of you asked us to keep you posted when Romero’s homes were accessible elsewhere. Well, West Coasters, hang on to your hats because there’s a new LV in town - a Rocio Romero LV is open for tours and much more against the amazing backdrop of Napa County, just a short drive north of San Francisco, and Inhabitat’s hometown in Marin County...Read more at Inhabitat
New Green Prefab from LivingHomes & KieranTimberlake!
Until now, KieranTimberlake and Living Homes were connected only by their shared drives to bring the best green residential designs to market, but this week the firms announced a partnership to design an exciting new line of versatile, sustainable, and modern prefabs that will make green living affordable and stylish...Read more at Inhabitat
ABŌD: Affordable Prefab for South Africa from BSB Design
The Abōd™ is a prototype prefab created by BSB Design for use as affordable housing in South Africa. It’s durable, lightweight and can be easily shipped in a compact box for quick on-site assembly. Perhaps it’s the shape or the vibrant colors of the corrugated paneling, but this design brings a cheerful presence to a very serious issue...Read more at Inhabitat
PREFAB FRIDAY: iPAD by Andre Hodgskin
We’ve been waiting and hoping for more from New Zealand architect Andre Hodgskin who first wowed us with BACHKIT™, a gorgeous holiday home of prefab pavilions designed in 2000. Hodgskin’s newest design is every bit as enticing. With the iPAD™, Hodgskin brings a stylish, versatile...Read more at Inhabitat
Rocio Romero LV Open House Tour Kicks Off Tomorrow!
Rocio Romero is one of our favorite prefab designers mastering the art of fusing modernist design with affordability. Her LV series articulates her commitment to minimalism with clean, comfortable lines that attend equally to indoor and outdoor spaces. To date, more than 110 LV prefabs have... Read more at Inhabitat
Prefab Friday: The Magic Box Gets Creative with Prefab
A new prefab from Jun Ueno brings a fun, modern aesthetic to accessory spaces for garden, courtyard or rooftop. The Magic Box is an extension room that can be used as an office, studio or serve any purpose that the user imagines. We haven’t gotten the whole scoop on how sustainable it is, but...Read more at Inhabitat
The Rapson Greenbelt
Modernist architect Ralph Rapson has managed this to reinterpret a 60-year old design with the green panache of a 21st century prefab. The Rapson Greenbelt, an articulate series of prefab dwellings, is derived from a 1945 design called Case Study #4, which debuted back...Read more at Inhabitat
A 'House Boat' for the Arctic
Winter shelter in the Arctic can take form in an upside down hunting boat – a traditional Inuit practice. Covey Island Boatworks, award winning builders of hand-crafted yachts, power and sailboats, has brought that idea into dry dock developing a prototype wood and epoxy prefab that...Read more at Inhabitat
Straw Bale Meets Factory Built in Switzerland
We’re quite taken by Strohhaus in Eschenz, Switzerland. Designed by Zurich-based architect Felix Jerusalem, this home masterfully combines prefab with sustainable materials, primarily prefabricated strawboard panels that provide affordable, environmentally sound insulation...Read more at Inhabitat
‘Watershed’ Sustainable Writer’s Retreat
It’s easy to see how inspiration takes hold in ‘Watershed’ - a 100 square foot writer’s retreat in Oregon that is as sustainable as it is engaging. Commissioned by a well-known nature writer and designed by FLOAT architectural research and design, this small-scale project fulfills its intention...Read more at Inhabitat