With a reputation for smart and sustainable urban design, Seattle is home to a growing number of impressive factory-built homes. We’ve rounded up six standout Seattle homes that push the prefab envelope and lead the green building industry by example.

1. Solar Studio by Wittman Estes and NODE

Sustainable and stylish, the Solar Studio is Seattle’s first DADU (Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit) to achieve the International Living Futures Institute’s zero-energy certification. Located a West Seattle homeowner’s backyard, the one-bedroom dwelling not only generates all of its own energy, but also helps generate rental income via AirBnB.

2. Floating Home by Eric Cobb

Taking full advantage of Seattle’s waterfront, a couple tapped architect Eric Cobb to design a 1,800-square-foot floating home with space for entertaining, kayaks, and paddle boards. Clad in durable fiber-cement panels and ipe wood, the house was prefabricated in a shipyard in Port Townsend, Washington, and then pulled with a tugboat to Seattle’s Lake Union, where it dropped anchor for blissful indoor/outdoor living.

3. Lane Street Modular House by Hybrid Architecture and Greenfab

Crowned the first LEED Platinum–certified prefab home in Washington state, the Lane Street Modular House is remarkable not only for its environmentally friendly credentials, but also for its approach to education. Completed in 2010, the 1,870-square-foot modern home was opened to the public for months to educate local residents, builders, buyers, and other groups about the benefits of green architecture and prefabrication.

4. Alley House 2 by David Foster Architects and Method Homes

Another noteworthy LEED Platinum–certified prefab is the Alley House 2, which was designed by David Foster Architects and comprises four modules delivered by Method Homes. Prefabrication helped reduce the innovative infill project’s construction impact and scheduling requirements.

5. Genesee Townhomes by Chris Pardo Design: Elemental Architecture and Method Homes

Located in West Seattle, the modular Genesee Townhomes were constructed in Method Homes’ manufacturing facility in Ferndale, delivered as 12 nearly complete units, and then craned into place and joined together. Designed by Chris Pardo Design: Elemental Architecture, the 4-Star Built Green–certified complex consists of three townhomes, each of which includes three floors with three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, an attached garage, and a rooftop deck.

6. CLTHouse by atelierjones

Delivering a Northwest beach cabin aesthetic to a Seattle neighborhood, the CLTHouse checks all the boxes for a cozy yet design-forward home. Local practice atelierjones designed the 1,500-square-foot home using passive-house techniques and 67 prefabricated cross-laminated timber panels—the majority of which they left exposed as the final finish material for the home’s interior.

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