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Collection by Erika Heet

Amazing Prefabs

Prefab houses are getting leaner, more efficient, and, in some cases, bigger. Here, we explore highlights from our December/January prefab issue, juxtaposed with our favorites from the past.

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“If you look closely at the concrete wall, the curvature is based on one really simple formal move,” says Massie. “In front, the roof is about 11 feet high, and in back, about 9 feet. If you could imagine just pinching the back of the building, that linear distance would have to go somewhere, hence the curve.” That arc continues inside as the wall nearest to the guest sleeping area. “It’s really interesting to feel that wall dimpling toward you,” says Wooten. “It changes as you walk from the bedroom to the guest bath—it starts with a dramatic curve and gradually flattens out.”
“If you look closely at the concrete wall, the curvature is based on one really simple formal move,” says Massie. “In front, the roof is about 11 feet high, and in back, about 9 feet. If you could imagine just pinching the back of the building, that linear distance would have to go somewhere, hence the curve.” That arc continues inside as the wall nearest to the guest sleeping area. “It’s really interesting to feel that wall dimpling toward you,” says Wooten. “It changes as you walk from the bedroom to the guest bath—it starts with a dramatic curve and gradually flattens out.”
Renowned designer and architect Jens Risom sourced parts from a catalog for his customized A-frame and had them delivered in pieces to his remote island site off Rhode Island, helped to raise the aesthetic profile of modular construction.
Renowned designer and architect Jens Risom sourced parts from a catalog for his customized A-frame and had them delivered in pieces to his remote island site off Rhode Island, helped to raise the aesthetic profile of modular construction.
Embedded in the desert, this Marmol Radziner–designed prefab home for a Las Vegas casino executive features a James Turrell pyramidal Skyspace structure.
Embedded in the desert, this Marmol Radziner–designed prefab home for a Las Vegas casino executive features a James Turrell pyramidal Skyspace structure.
In need of more room for their growing brood, Eric and Emma Gimon, with Luc, Paul, baby Louise, and their dog, Nefi, asked for a private space to accompany the house designed for Eric’s great-aunt.
In need of more room for their growing brood, Eric and Emma Gimon, with Luc, Paul, baby Louise, and their dog, Nefi, asked for a private space to accompany the house designed for Eric’s great-aunt.
This modular system created by the architects at Resolution: 4 allows them to customize a home’s floor plan by stacking, lining up, and joining factory-built, rectangular modules.
This modular system created by the architects at Resolution: 4 allows them to customize a home’s floor plan by stacking, lining up, and joining factory-built, rectangular modules.
Tanya Wexler and Amy Zimmerman linger in the breezeway designed to draw eyes, and footsteps, from the driveway through the house to the gently sloping backyard and swimming pool beyond.
Tanya Wexler and Amy Zimmerman linger in the breezeway designed to draw eyes, and footsteps, from the driveway through the house to the gently sloping backyard and swimming pool beyond.
Completed in 2008, the rectilinear home features a roofline with a dramatic parabolic curve that creates two bulbous volumes inside the home, one of which houses a curved skylit shower.
Completed in 2008, the rectilinear home features a roofline with a dramatic parabolic curve that creates two bulbous volumes inside the home, one of which houses a curved skylit shower.
The compound at dusk.
The compound at dusk.
For all its hard environmental work, one of the most immediate of the Blue Sky Home’s pleasures is how it sits so snugly in its desert surroundings.
For all its hard environmental work, one of the most immediate of the Blue Sky Home’s pleasures is how it sits so snugly in its desert surroundings.
Each of the residences has outdoor space attached to it; the family’s unit has a roof deck. In lieu of a green roof is a galvanized tub filled with grasses—a collaboration between the architects and landscape architecture firm space2place.
Each of the residences has outdoor space attached to it; the family’s unit has a roof deck. In lieu of a green roof is a galvanized tub filled with grasses—a collaboration between the architects and landscape architecture firm space2place.