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Energy-Efficient Prefab Homes

Prefabrication can be used to solve anything from budget concerns to building obstacles. Packed with a range of sustainable features, these prefab homes tackle environmental issues, too.

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The rear of the house looks onto a lush backyard. The rough, industrial prefabricated concrete panels by the German manufacturer Syspro are the building blocks of the home.
The rear of the house looks onto a lush backyard. The rough, industrial prefabricated concrete panels by the German manufacturer Syspro are the building blocks of the home.
The house, complete with Glenn’s Toyota Prius.
The house, complete with Glenn’s Toyota Prius.
Solar panels catch the sun's energy; wide expanses of open doors and windows provide cross-ventilation; and strategic overhangs shade against the desert's endless heat.
Solar panels catch the sun's energy; wide expanses of open doors and windows provide cross-ventilation; and strategic overhangs shade against the desert's endless heat.
A slatted walkway leads into the new library, which the Gimons have outfitted with a Topissimo rug by Nani Marquina, Grove Garden wallpaper from Osborne & Little’s Tara collection, and a pink Chroma Sassy sliding wall panel by 3form.
A slatted walkway leads into the new library, which the Gimons have outfitted with a Topissimo rug by Nani Marquina, Grove Garden wallpaper from Osborne & Little’s Tara collection, and a pink Chroma Sassy sliding wall panel by 3form.
The 3,200-square-foot structure occupies a hillside site in Montauk, and enjoys a distant view of the ocean. Coen + Partners did the landscape design.
The 3,200-square-foot structure occupies a hillside site in Montauk, and enjoys a distant view of the ocean. Coen + Partners did the landscape design.
All of Scott Palamar’s selections and customizations brought the total to $150,000 for the 640-square-foot home and surrounding land. “I feel like I struck on such a novel solution because I was able to afford a home tailored to my lifestyle,” he says.
All of Scott Palamar’s selections and customizations brought the total to $150,000 for the 640-square-foot home and surrounding land. “I feel like I struck on such a novel solution because I was able to afford a home tailored to my lifestyle,” he says.
Carpenter poses outside his house, which is shoehorned into a tiny nonconforming lot among a block’s worth of older row houses and a derelict public park.
Carpenter poses outside his house, which is shoehorned into a tiny nonconforming lot among a block’s worth of older row houses and a derelict public park.