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Designed by Minarc for a couple in Santa Monica, the Dawnsknoll residence was built using mnmMOD, a system of prefabricated panels that are recyclable, fire- and termite-proof, and efficient. With the structural panels built ahead of time at the factory, this residence was completed in less than a year. The 2,400-square-foot home champions an indoor-outdoor lifestyle with expansive windows that frame views of the outdoor kitchen and pool. Visitors of Dwell on Design's West Side Home Tour will have the opportunity to see Dawnsknoll firsthand.

A collaboration between Minarc and Habitat for Humanity, this low cost home in South Central L.A. was built with unembellished cement board cladding and Minarc’s signature mnmMOD panels.

Minarc’s GRASSsit bar stools, topped with synthetic turf recycled from football fields, sit near the barbecue.

1. Bigger Doesn't Necessarily Mean Better. This idea is essentially the core tenet of tiny home living—that a large home doesn't always mean it's better or more thoughtfully designed. With tiny homes, every decision has to be based on thoughtful consideration. More often than not, efficiency rules, leading to a well-designed home.

Jay and Jaclyn Lieber worked with Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir and Tryggvi Thorsteinsson of Minarc to design a house using the designers’ mnmMOD panels, which can be assembled with a screw gun.

Iceland prefab pioneers Tryggvi Thorsteinsson and Erla Dögg Ingjaldsdóttir of Minarc built this Culver City family home with mnmMOD – a customizable, locally manufactured building system of prefabricated panels the duo designed, which minimizes energy consumption and reduces a home’s carbon footprint. Made with a blend of 30 percent recycled steel and cradle-to-cradle certified extruded polystyrene, mnmMOD components can be assembled with just a screw gun.

The weeHouse exteriors are clad in corrugated Cor-Ten, but with a custom pattern of folds to create an organic randomness. The foundations were designed with a shallow recess around the top to make the modules look like they’re hovering. After they bought the property in early 2014, the Siegels camped there for two summers while they saved up money and planned a permanent structure. In his research, BJ came across this design, a customizable prefab house by Alchemy Architects. "Of all the things that I found, I was drawn to that one because it was absolutely the simplest and cleanest," he says.

Minarc’s Plus Hus is a tiny energy-efficient prefab marketed towards homeowners seeking to add an accessory dwelling unit to their property. The 320-square-foot structure is prefabricated in downtown Los Angeles, and it can be shipped flatpack to anywhere in the U.S. with prices starting at $37,000.

The Buster is a customizable home by Build Tiny, a family-owned business in Katikati, New Zealand. The compact dwelling features a lofty living space, plenty of natural light, and a surprising amount of storage. Sheathed in two-tone corrugated metal, the home can be ordered either finished or unfinished. The basic shell starts at around $35,382, while a turn-key version is priced at $65,228.

Dawnsknoll optimizes the capture of natural light and cross ventilation, keeping down electrical costs. Interior/exterior courtyards, as well as the master and living room sliders, help circulate breezes. Sustainable heating is also introduced through radiant floor heating and domestic water heating throughout the house.

Project Name: Dawnsknoll

A pull-out console provides smart storage in the headboard.

An outdoor swing bed makes the most of sunny, Santa Monica weather.

Living Moss wall in powder room created by Minarc.