“The house is kind of crooked, with rough floors, and no fancy finishes—but it has lots of personality,” says architect Francisco Mesquita Moura.
Partially hidden from the main driveway, the cottage is accessed by a meandering stone path—you can't drive a car up to it. "It's not conventionally convenient,
Floor Plan of Palazzo Ventidue
Floor plan of Brown House by Bldus
Keep founders Austin and Kotono Watanabe revived a compact home in Minneapolis with a dazzling kitchen, an all-electric upgrade, and a clerestory “scoop.”
The primary suite has a custom bed designed by FMT Estudio, and the same channeled concrete exterior to mark it as an addition to the original property. This approach, note the architects, enables you to "see the different layers of history."
The studio opens out to a large verandah, which features a six-foot-long vintage French trough sink. The creative couple use it for soaking willow prior to weaving and washing out cyanotype prints. “We had an epic search for the right sleepers for the verandah,” says Miriam. “Eventually, we found some Jarrah sleepers. Our daughter is called Jarrah and it’s an Australian timber, so it felt right.”
The flooring throughout the interior comes from a stash of old teak planking that Simon bought on eBay. “It gives a real sense of grounding to the spaces,” says Miriam.
Windows and doors were enlarged to allow a natural transition to the outside.
Floor Plan of Molly & Jung’s Home Remodel by Howells Architecture + Design
Floor Plan of Clinton Hill Carriage House by the Brownstone Boys
In collaboration with San Antonio-based architecture studio Lake|Flato, HiFAB has created two models for prefab "Haciendas.” Though they might look like regular homes—allowing them to integrate into existing neighborhoods—these homes can be constructed on site in seven days or less. The Studio is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom home that starts at $249,000, while The Standard is a larger three-bedroom, two-bathroom home that starts at $375,000.
Designed by Manta North, this 516-square-foot residence is situated on an organic farm near the intersection of Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.
London creative studio Unknown Works has bookended brick infill terrace house with two semi-detached additions to provide “space for a young family’s creative pursuits, ensuring the layout could be adapted for hosting parties and intimate family gatherings.” Designed as a kit of prefabricated structural panels in spruce cross-laminated timber (CLT)—chosen as a flexible, cost-effective, sustainable material technology—the additions were assembled on-site in just four days.
The large blue barn door, mimicked by the garage doors, is an hommage to the family home, which also has big sliding storm doors.
The prefab home was crafted with structural insulated panels (SIPs). “SIPs are relatively new to Australia and provides a more straightforward and efficient alternative to traditional framing,” notes the Archier team. “These panels not only offer a simpler construction method; they’re also thermally efficient and environmentally sustainable. Working with the standard dimensions of the panels and keeping the building footprint small proved cost-effective.”
Architects Gordon Stott and Jared Levy saw modular prefabrication as a chance to make high-quality residences more affordable—so long as the construction method was extremely efficient. In 2012, they launched Connect Homes with fifteen designs as part of its original Design Series. Since, Stott and Levy have made more affordable models as well as shelters and community buildings for unhoused people.
"This home was created for a family who have been residents of the islands for more than 40 years,” the architects explain. “Elevating the building forms a cold air chamber under the structure that keeps the structure cool. The walls next to the roof generate a double space separated by the structural beams, thus forming another air chamber that ensures ventilation of the interior skin. Perforations in the floor and walls allow a cross supply of air.”
The couple love the home’s privacy and the way it interacts with the environment. They describe certain rooms as feeling like being inside a treehouse with views out to the surrounding forest canopy.
Photo courtesy of Cabin Anna
The blackened timber cladding helps the prefab to blend into the forest. The interior of the home was conceived as two blocks that house less flexible spaces like the bathroom, kitchen, and storage. This approach helped to avoid the use of interior walls, “freeing up the rest of the spaces to connect with the setting,” explains iHouse. “The forest is framed at all times.”
According to the architects iHouse Estudio, this prefab in Punto del Este, Urugay, aims to immerse the residents in the forested surroundings. “Continuing with this idea,” they add, “the house features a flowing interior with no interior walls. Inside, blocks contain bathrooms, a kitchen, and closets, freeing the rest of the spaces to connect with the setting. The forest is framed at all times."
Having bought and restored several quirky properties in Washington over the years, including a five-story tree house and a 100-year-old barracks, architect Jason F. McLennan and his wife, artist Tracy McLennan, bought the camp-like retreat in 2020—even though it had no power or running water at the time and is on a secluded island with no ferry service.
Family room bar area (with original lucite door)
Working with salvaged and donated materials (and without ferry service), the Stinn Family assembled this dreamy getaway piece by piece.
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