Pre-Fab House Research

Elsewhere in the room, which Esherick sited to maximize views, are Jean Prouvé Cité chairs.

The unusually tall shingles on the original house give it some of that Eastern feel, and Simonen, Parco, and Kaefer nodded to Esherick by giving the siding on the pavilion a similar horizontal orientation.

Paul cruises by Metropolitan pieces by B&B Italia in the living room of the main house.

The tearoom, reached by breezeways on either side, provides a transition from the main house to the pavilion, which measures 1,800 square feet. “The pavilion has a distinctive Japanese flair to it, like the original house,” says Parco.

The butterfly-roof pavilion by architects Kate Simonen, Benjamin Parco, and Phil Kaefer connects to the low-slung home Joseph Esherick designed in 1954 via two covered walkways and an open-air tearoom. All three structures sit lightly on the landscape designed by Lawrence Halprin and updated over 50 years later by Gary Roth, a former employee.

The compact, hardy cabins were designed to work in a variety of park settings, including the beach.

The Wedge is among the new cabin designs that will eventually be integrated into California State Parks.

Connect 5 House Floor Plan: A Kitchen / B Dining Room / C Living Room / D Master Bedroom / E Bathroom / F Bedroom / G Utility Room / H Deck.

The kitchen, which sits at the center of the house, features recycled glass countertops, Ikea cabinets, and carbonized bamboo floors. “We had Thanksgiving dinner there,” says the daughter. “There’s no sense of the house as small. It feels like a house.”

The deck offers views and a quiet spot for outdoor dining. The Western red cedar vertical siding is naturally resistant to rot and decay, making it a hardy choice for the exterior. The bronze wolf sculpture is by Sharon Loper.

Clad in Western red cedar siding and punctuated with floor-to-ceiling windows, this minimalist two-bedroom home boasts sunrise views over the Sonoma hills.

Krubiner (here, with girlfriend Kylie Gordon) furnished the house with finds from Craigslist and eBay, such as the 1970s Milo Baughman dining table and Norman Cherner chairs.

Simpatico Homes founder Seth Krubiner has lived in the prefab company’s nearly net-zero prototype since it was customized and lifted onsite in 2011.

During the 1950s and ’60s, Eichler built more than 11,000 architect-designed modern homes in California. Seth Krubiner, Simpatico’s founder, lived in one during his youth and remained smitten with its mixture of everyman affordability and mid-century cool.

With plenty of sustainable features, the all-electric home is on track to be a net-zero building, producing as much energy as it uses, and, hopefully, to receive LEED Platinum certification.

All kitchen appliances, cupboards, and counters have been united in a single, self-contained island, designed in collaboration with Bulthaup. The architects wanted unfussy space and they rejected easy-access overhanging cabinets. "There's an emphasis on convenience in the world that is all about numbing things," says Alan Koch.

Alan Koch stands with Oleana in the north-side entry court. The tree-stump table is one of several examples of the home's raw and hand-hewn details, which offset the cool steel structure. On the glass is a graphic by artists Sarah Morris and Liam Gillick.

Linda Taalman and Alan Koch built a home by Joshua Tree National Park, where temperatures can span from 32 degrees to over 100. The two opted for a glass enclosure with raw industrial style and green design that allowed them to live lightly on the land. iT House has floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the landscape, a suspended fireplace by Fire Orb for cold nights, and an abundance of spaces that open up to the outdoors.

Available to rent on Airbnb, the two-bedroom prefab house as a prototype for their pre-engineered IT House series and made an appearance in Dwell Magazine’s November 2008 issue.