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“The kitchen building is hunkered down and has a flat roof, which is a very different architectural language than the large volume of the guest bedroom tower,” Shaw says.

The primary bedroom cabin sits in a natural clearing amongst the trees, allowing for a water view and copious sunlight. The boulder-studded coast offers gently sloping paths to the ocean for a quick dip.

In 2020, van Schaik founded SuperLA, a design and development startup seeking to redefine how we build homes. They create repeatable designs for multifamily buildings constructed with a prefabricated, panelized system made of cross-laminated timber (CLT). The system seeks to prioritize occupant and planetary health, says van Schaik, as well as design and construction efficiencies.

“The name 'Unfinished House' refers to an aesthetic attitude…. Self-finishing materials were selected to reduce resources and reveal the building’s construction. Tile and plywood are the only added ‘finishes’; They cover areas with wiring and plumbing,” the architects tell us. “The building is an all-timber structure with cellulose and wood fiber board insulation. Many of the materials were locally-produced including the wood framing, plywood, corrugated metal, and wood cladding.”

“Unfinished House is a two bedroom, two bathroom 1,400 square foot home in Canada that is a prototype for panelized prefabricated construction with a high-performance envelope,” says Workshop Architecture. “Panelized prefab means that instead of being framed on site, the house comes flat-packed on a truck, a jigsaw puzzle of 8-to-16 foot-wide pieces that have the structure, insulation, and vapor barrier all pre-assembled.”

KitHAUS recently completed this custom k9 project in Highland Park, California. The project took approximately six months, with the majority of that time spent waiting for approval from the City of Los Angeles. Shipment of a kitHAUS typically takes about eight to 14 weeks from the time of deposit to delivery.

Top 9 Prefabs of 2020: These best-in-class prefabricated homes are vying for your vote in the Dwell Design Awards.

White subway tiles and a large window over the sink brighten the kitchen.

In Australia, a manufacturer and an architecture firm create an off-grid home that can be broken down and shipped across the world.

"Radical sustainability

Considering that much of their Los Angeles neighborhood was closed due to Covid-19, Monica’s partner agreed to move with her to residential Torrance. A lover of sports and physical activity, Antony has embraced the move and even gotten involved in motivating Monica’s father to do his physical therapy.

The ESCAPE One XL tiny home is one of the larger of models in the community, and it features generous glazing.

Cover designed this 414-square-foot prefab office/guesthouse specifically for the Hollywood site.

HGTV stars Robert and Cortney Novogratz transformed a "generic white box prefab" into a cozy surfer paradise for a family of four in Montauk, New York. The clients’ paddle collection and surf art are used as interior decor, while large windows and sliding glass doors emphasize the indoor/outdoor living experience.

The roof overhang provides shelter to the entry with an oak front door from Lyndon Doors.

A tight budget, a bunch of elbow grease, and a whole lot of love transform these campers, trailers, and buses into incredible homes on wheels.