ADUs

With a brand-new plan, vibrant decor, and a bright-yellow door, Ghislaine Viñas reinvigorated a 600-square-foot kit house for her family.

As Nicolás Tovo and Teresa Sarmiento of La Base embraced modular design as part of their architectural practice, they noticed that prospective clients were wary of prefabricated construction. So the duo teamed up with Place, an Argentine prefab builder, to make a proof of concept just outside the Patagonian resort town of Bariloche.

A wall of clerestory windows brings afternoon light into the ceramics studio while large sliding glass doors can open it entirely to the garden. They were all custom-made by Blomberg, a company in Sacramento, and the project's biggest splurge.

“It’s the biggest one you can get,” says Patrick Powers of the shipping container he revamped and moved to Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Steel frames hold ample glazing, including a pair of custom 2,000-pound sliding doors.

Double Duty marks the first time that the AIA Austin Homes Tour has featured an ADU as a primary residence. Located in East Austin and designed by Pollen Architecture & Design, the dwelling accommodates modern urban Austinites working from home. Tall ceilings and outdoor views make the less than 900-square-foot home feels expansive, while foldaway cabinetry and multifunctional furniture ensures the rooms transform seamlessly from living to working mode. In lieu of a garage, an expansive screened porch brings the outside in.

Apart from concealing surprisingly deep drawers and closets across their units, Fritz Tiny Homes curates other thoughtful, space-saving solutions: for example, the Gemini sofa from Resource Furniture that can be pulled up into a bunk bed.

Built by Fritz Tiny Homes and delivered by crane, the compact ADU brings new potential to a compact Silver Lake lot.

The four containers are also the same brand, which was an important consideration as each brand has slightly different dimensions, and the highly detailed design of the hide-out necessitated precision.

Warwas offset the rear of the ADU to accommodate the power lines running behind the house, and he designed a window in the office/guest room upstairs that meets the roof in the same way that the window off the dining area/kitchen meets the ground.

The company's base model comes with a custom Murphy bed and a Kohler bathtub for $64,955. It is technically a studio, and the company is working on its first one-bedroom model for ordering in March.

Isaac describes the building as a “semi-modular” unit: “It has a pier and beam foundation, so it can be moved, but only short distances because its 17-foot width means permits would be necessary. It was also built on site.”