Prefab

Approach from autocourt as the house sits atop a high point overlooking the rolling valley beyond.

Completed in 2018 on a 2.6-acre site in the San Juan Islands, the two-bedroom modular home was installed in a day.

The couple named their company Konga after the young son, Vinca’s mispronunciation of the Lithuanian word for “socks” when he was learning to speak. “For us, it formed a symbolic association with the feeling of the earth under bare feet,” says Goda. “It encouraged us to leave our footprint, but with minimal impact on nature and meaningful value to humans.”

“My intention was to create a simple and inexpensive way to build a home with a high design concept that could also be built relatively quickly,” says Karcher. “It made sense to create a system for the build concept, employing a panelized structural design with prefabricated pieces and parts for rapid assembly.” Design aspects, like Inception Shades, are customizable yet modular enough to expedite installation.

Drawing inspiration from the farmhouse vernacular, the Clinton Corners Residence features gabled structures clad in western red cedar and topped with standing seam metal roofing.

Los Angeles–based writer Leslie Longworth knew she’d found the perfect retreat when she spotted a five-acre lot in Pioneertown. Immersed in the rugged beauty of Joshua Tree with a dirt road for access, it was an ideal creative space. Seeking a low-impact build, she hired prefab company Cover to draft, construct, and install a custom home. The prefab came complete with fixtures, finishes, Wolf Sub-Zero appliances, and a state-of-the-art radiant heating and cooling system. In order to design around endangered Joshua trees, boulders, and the view, Cover used a combination of 3D mapping via drone imagery and handheld photos.

Completed in 10 months on a flat meadow atop a wooded bluff near the Cousins River estuary, the energy-efficient residence emphasizes indoor/outdoor living for a pair of nature lovers.

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.

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.

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.

A prefab home is any home that has been built, partly or fully, in a factory. The design may be fully preset, partly modified by the client, or completely made-to-order.

Kelly, Christen, and their dog Lucy seen standing in front of their home in summer.