Wouldn’t it be amazing to live in a house that reflects its surroundings? Espinar House fulfills such a challenging task by using a special skin material: cellular polycarbonate panels. Situated on a mountain site near Madrid, Spain, this two-story prefab home takes advantage of its unique location by enhancing every type of relation with the natural context, either in social or private areas. Continue reading →

Picture yourself in a boat or even in a small plane on your way to your secret weekend cabin on a remote island…that’s exactly what Eagle Ridge is all about. This unique artist’s retreat rests among pine trees and rocks rising from the ground almost like an artificial extension of the existing natural elements on Orcas Island. Continue reading →

One Patio House turns a conventional program into a splendid composition of volumes. Positioned in the suburbs of Santiago de Chile, One Patio House materializes a simple and efficient answer to the unique climate and the desired relation between interior and exterior spaces. Continue reading →

Limited budget + weekend home + lagoon = Raul House: a simple equation for the perfect prefab that blends with the unique Chilean landscape. Picture yourself living in a house between the Andes Mountains and the Aculeo Lagoon… Well, one lucky dweller had their dream come true… Continue reading →

Prefabrication is the most honorable method to use when it comes to respecting a delicate topography or ecosystem. In Borriol, Spain a modern house claims all the attention by its Eco friendly design. Positioned on a very steep site, this contemporary prefab seems to be suspended in mid air without disturbing the land beneath it. How? Read on to find out. Continue reading →

As most of you already know I have a strong passion for prefab and Eco friendly homes, so you can imagine how excited I was to receive a copy of Sheri Koones’s new book: Prefabulous + Almost Off The Grid – Your path to building an energy-independent home.

This 240-page hardcover starts with an inspiring forward by the environmentalist, actor and director, Robert Redford, followed by a wonderful collection of some of the most environmentally friendly and energy efficient homes across North America. Continue reading →

A house extension with butterfly wings…Isn’t this something truly innovative and fresh? In Berkeley, California there’s a prefab building that captures the essence of two related worlds: an existing 1950’s house and its unique surrounding environment. In order to preserve the existing atmosphere designed by a popular landscape architect some cautions were taken as guidelines for the new house extension: two new structures and a recast landscape, all balanced with the original residence. Continue reading →

MO House testifies one of those cases when the rule becomes the exception… In Madrid, Spain a single family house spreads all its energy through a dense green forest. An exquisite desire has lead to an astonishing volumetric result. All trees had to be preserved in their original position…

Although the conventional domestic program, the site’s morphology demanded a compound geometry for the positioning of the house. The prevailing presence of trees and the deep wish to achieve an inhabitable space fully integrated with the woods resulted in a unique solution. The program was transformed in a very direct way to a number of simple rectangular volumes, each one with its own function. Continue reading →

In Ikoma City, Japan, prefabricated architecture shows once again all its value and quality. The modern Niu House proudly arises between traditional Japanese style homes. This two story building (with a total floor area of 76 sq.m.) is all about innovation and originality…Let’s take a trip together through this exceptional tiny house where Small is definitely turned into the new Big! Continue reading →

Sometimes architecture has to deal with a very particular concept: ephemerality. In Shoham, Israel, Pavilion 2012 arises from the ground as an outstanding example of contemporary prefab building that works as an object!

The program for this transitory architecture is focused on creating a distinctive place to sell a future residential project for a large real estate. Some are born to last indefinitely…some are born to live for a short period of time! In this special case, Pavilion 2012 will be demolished in a year’s time, so a peculiar approach was developed in order to turn this building into a unique study case: a single ground floor with 300 sq. m. assembles the entire sales office program. Continue reading →