Prefab

The firm collaborated with Kountry Kraft and its modular manufacturer, Simplex Homes, to expand the palette of materials, including the teak cabinetry used in the kitchen and dining areas. Interior designer David Bentheim suggested the marble backsplash for the bar area. Antique dining chairs, an LED Aurea pendant lamp by FontanaArte, and a Paolo Piva table from B&B Italia complete the room.

For 2015, Vipp, the Danish industrial design company known for its iconic trash cans and all-black kitchens, introduces a 592-square-foot prefab unit called Shelter.

Heating for the unit is provided by a Spartherm fireplace, with electric heating integrated into the magnesite floor. Walls are insulated with fire-tested wool felt under plywood panels.

An imaginary axis divides the floor plan down the middle, with the open plan living room and kitchen to the south and three bedrooms to the north. In the dining area, a freestanding island hides appliances and piping while also providing counter space. Floor-to-ceiling windows make the outside deck and garden feel like an extension of the interior.

A Simple Plan A Marmol Radziner–designed prefab house, trucked onto a remote Northern California site, takes the pain out of the construction process.

NOEM, a Barcelona–based architecture firm, created a metal-clad house for a young client just outside Madrid. It’s raised 12 feet off the ground to offer better views of the landscape, lending it "the futuristic feeling that it just landed," says Pol Guiu, one of NOEM’s cofounders.

The main building sinks then elevates in full view of ocean.