PreFabs

Apart from being their only collaborative design, the Luna’s black metal texture and cedar siding, shed roof, and open-plan living space set it apart from the other eight park model homes offered by Zook Cabins.

Bivacco Claudio Brédy, opened in 2021, is one of many huts in the region named after climbers who died while mountaineering. It was designed by BCW Collective and built by Chenevier, with consultation from Roberto Dini, an architecture professor and friend of Brédy’s, seen here with other friends and family. They gathered at the hut to remember Brédy’s life.

Aux Box, a prefab builder that makes backyard homes and offices, recently created a sauna.

The modularity championed by aux box refers to its method of constructing prefabs, which helps to minimize construction time, cost, and its environmental impact.

The furnished interiors are paneled in pine, which can come in a natural or whitewashed finish.

Windows and entries into the aux box are placed to optimize lighting, ventilation, and privacy. For example, a transom window beside the kitchen is situated opposite the front door in the Model 240 to allow for a cross breeze. In the picture above, cabinetry was placed where a stove and window would normally be positioned.

The Model 240 comes with a range and a refrigerator. The additional space in the Model 640 means that aux box can include an oven, dishwasher, and dedicated dining table in the larger model.

While infrared in the ceilings and electrical heating beneath the floors are included in the unit, mini AC/heat pumps are offered for an additional $3.3k CAD. Other upgrades include exterior outlets and screen doors.

The cabinetry throughout the unit and the bathroom tiling are offered in either white (pictured above) or black color schemes.

aux box boasts paying meticulous attention to every detail of their prefabs, even those you might never see. This include concealing utilities like the gutters, vents, and the hot water tank; placing the electrical box on the outside of the unit; and doing away with the interior trim and baseboards.

Given that the cabin is just over 100 square feet, a building permit is usually unnecessary.

The blackened timber cladding helps the prefab to blend into the forest. The interior of the home was conceived as two blocks that house less flexible spaces like the bathroom, kitchen, and storage. This approach helped to avoid the use of interior walls, “freeing up the rest of the spaces to connect with the setting,” explains iHouse. “The forest is framed at all times.”

The couple love the home’s privacy and the way it interacts with the environment. They describe certain rooms as feeling like being inside a treehouse with views out to the surrounding forest canopy.

Natural materials and the raw, exposed structure will patina over time, denoting the passage of time along with the house.

Architects Gordon Stott and Jared Levy saw modular prefabrication as a chance to make high-quality residences more affordable—so long as the construction method was extremely efficient. In 2012, they launched Connect Homes with fifteen designs as part of its original Design Series. Since, Stott and Levy have made more affordable models as well as shelters and community buildings for unhoused people.

The steel-frame structure allows for floor-to-ceiling triple glazing along the perimeter of the units.