Prefab

When they are eventually integrated into the parks, the cabins are meant to stand in groups of ten to 15.

The L-shaped secondary building perches over a craggy escarpment. It offers the best vantage point for taking in the moss-planted roof, forest, and ocean.

The main building sinks then elevates in full view of ocean.

The Monogram Modern Home is a prefab structure designed by Chris Pardo and manufactured by Method Homes.

New pine and spruce wood from the Pyrenees (both recyclable and PEFC certified) were selected for the façade of the 1,000-square-foot prefab. Smart blinds cover the windows, rigged to open and close depending on the weather forecast.

The jaunty boat-like shell of the Hütte Hut began with a case study undertaken by Brian and Katrina Manzo, a husband-and-wife team of industrial designers behind Sprouting Sprocket Studio.

Studio owner Joey Williams uses his space to work from home as an Austin-based media director.

Subtle features incorporated into the design, including an elevated terrace and jetty, help the home float above the island.

“The house almost doesn’t exist, but serves as the subtle cloak between inhabitant and environment.”—Cynthia, resident

The roughly 160-square-foot modules, dubbed Mini House 2.0, were built in collaboration with Swedish manufacturer Sommarnöjen, and are delivered flat-packed. The homes are painted wood, and include a shaded deck space, plus full insulation and electricity, for a price of about $29,000. The modules come in various layouts, and can be configured and combined to include a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, and living space.

The wood shed portion artfully encapsulates all the domestic detritus that would be anathema within the all-glass sleeping portion.

This dreamy, glass bedroom by the lake was created as an early prototype for the prefabricated greenhouse/she kits known as the Kekkilä Green Sheds.

A Simple Plan A Marmol Radziner–designed prefab house, trucked onto a remote Northern California site, takes the pain out of the construction process.

Embedded in the desert, this Marmol Radziner–designed prefab home for a Las Vegas casino executive features a James Turrell pyramidal Skyspace structure.

The outer wall means residents don’t have to worry about privacy when the sun goes down and the house’s windows begin to glow.

Since Copenhagen is generally cold, the house was painted black to trap warmth. The result was that in its first year, it consumed so little energy that the client received a generous refund from the heating company. “Many wooden houses in Scandinavia use this trick,” Larsen says. “On sunny days it even radiates warmth, so that in spring and autumn you can sit outside by the wall and in this way extend the outdoor season by a few weeks every year. These weeks are valuable in places with little light.”

An imaginary axis divides the floor plan down the middle, with the open plan living room and kitchen to the south and three bedrooms to the north. In the dining area, a freestanding island hides appliances and piping while also providing counter space. Floor-to-ceiling windows make the outside deck and garden feel like an extension of the interior.

The living room's double height makes the space seem larger that its actual size. Stairs leading up to the sleeping loft are placed next to the open fireplace. The plastered wall and the soapstone tiles on the floor add some roughness to the wooden interior.

Vipp's prefab Shelter units are made in factory in Denmark with a six-month lead time.