Prefab

The petite prefab cabin only took eight days to assemble once arriving to Switzerland.

Builders, developers, designers, and architects have developed a range of homes that are composed of prefabricated, modular, or kit-of-parts pieces that can allow for lower costs, faster and easier on-site construction, and even higher quality spaces. Here, we delve into the differences—and similarities—among these manufactured residences.

“It’s the biggest one you can get,” says Patrick Powers of the shipping container he revamped and moved to Salt Spring Island, British Columbia. Steel frames hold ample glazing, including a pair of custom 2,000-pound sliding doors.

#Honomobo M.05

Based in New York City, Cocoon9 takes a unique approach to prefab homes, offering a line of tiny homes with high-quality construction and finishes, smart technology, energy efficiencies, and versatile spaces that are ready for the modern market.

San Francisco–based architect Cary Bernstein has designed countless residential projects and worked with dozens of contractors. She knows well the difficulties of architect-contractor-client relationships, and she’s developed a pretty good system for making them work.

EcoCraft Homes is a Pittsburgh area resource-efficient Smart Home builder of super energy-efficient homes. Founded in 2012, EcoCraft Homes is a family-owned organization with a unique building philosophy in the Pittsburgh area that emphasizes energy efficient homes that can be built in as little as 90 days. Their mission is to build smarter, greener homes that are 100% Energy Star-compliant, and their manufacturing process is so advanced that our homes can be built to achieve net zero energy consumption for all of their heating, cooling and electricity needs.

Photo by Deborah DeGraffenreid

Established in the 1970s, Bensonwood continue to refine the forgotten craft of framing buildings, and complete projects that range from traditional timber frames to energy-efficient hybrids.

This Beverly Hills kitHAUS is comprised of modernist prefab modules that can accommodate a variety of uses: from yoga studios to home offices, and from weekend retreats to pop-up kiosks and guest rooms.

Go Home by Go Logic is a design/build firm that designs and constructs modular homes that stand out in the crowd: they're both modern and contemporary, but still harken back to the traditional architecture of farms and barns in New England.

Conceived as an escape from city living, this 2,580-square-foot prefab comprises two primary and 11 secondary modules, while the 290-square-foot guest cabins consist of single modules craned into place atop concrete piers.

“It’s easy to be in the honeymoon phase. But too often people skip important conversations, and things can go badly.” —Architect Michelle Kaufmann

Architect Jim Garrison of Brooklyn-based Garrison Architects was asked to design a retreat for visiting families on an idyllic lakeside expanse of land at a boarding school for troubled teens, Star Commonwealth in Albion, Michigan. To drastically reduce academic interruption and cut site noise, Garrison decided early on to create an 1,100-square-foot modular building dubbed Koby, with two bedrooms on opposite sides of the structure and a common dining area in the middle “as a therapeutic space for families to gather and eat together.”

Eco-conscious and energy-efficient, the structure’s heavily insulated walls and panels help the house approach passive energy standards. Exterior sliding shutters and deep overhangs contribute environmental benefits, as does the breeze wafting off the lake.

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.