Published by Martha Danly under Green Living

Back in 1992 I took a job with PC Connection, the computer reseller then based in the tiny hamlet of Marlow, New Hampshire (pop. 605). My relocation from the Boston area involved saying goodbye to an 1828 Federal colonial home that I had lovingly restored and that I completely adored (how could I not, with its seven fireplaces, wide board pine floors, and massive wisteria by the side door?). But the move would be worth it, I told myself. More than a few times.

The mantra nearly worked—until I showed up for my first day at my new job and spoke with the CEO’s assistant, who had made arrangements for my short-term housing in nearby East Alstead, a suburb of Marlow. She held out a pair of gleaming brass Yales. “Here are the keys to the house,” she said. “You’ll love it—it’s a doublewide.”

Doublewide? Doublewide? Isn’t that an adjective?

And isn’t “trailer” the noun that follows it?

That moment with the keys suspended in air in front of me will remain a major stop-action memory in my life. I was crestfallen, to say the least. In my book, no job is worth it if I have to live in an ugly, vinyl-clad sardine can.

Maybe the house would have olive green sculptured carpeting. Turned out, it did.

Maybe it would be filled with furniture from a blowout sale at Levitz. And it was.

But what the heck! I decided to make the best of it. (In fact, I had many memorable moments living in that house, including a midnight walk with friends to a frozen beaver pond on a still, minus-20 degree night, lying (wrapped in warm fleece layers) atop the ice, staring at the stars. Or the spring morning when I was chasing after my runaway black lab puppy, Lucy, and accidentally dove headfirst into my neighbor’s compost heap.)

Despite my stiff upper lip, the doublewide sojourn left its mark. To this day, hearing the term “prefab” still triggers a little wave of fear and anxiety.

It’s with this backdrop that I am learning about modern prefab homes. My interest in green living naturally brings me to the current generation, because they are inherently green by design.

Allison Arief, whose 2002 book Prefab recounts the history of prefab houses and introduces the new movement, summarizes key elements of desirability in the design and fabrication of green modular homes:

• Heavy reliance on natural light and ventilation
• Smaller footprint
• Efficient floor plans based on patterns of natural movement through the house
• Use of sustainable building materials
• Clear expression of construction elements—expanses of glass, exposed beams, and studs
• Units flat-packed and shipped on trucks
• Overall quality- and cost-control by the architect
• High degree of customization
• Lower cost: faster construction time, less waste, and eventual economies of scale

All these benefits notwithstanding, it pays to remember that fewer than 200 prefab homes of this genre have been built thus far, so we’re still just beginning to realize their potential.

I’ve already written about two leaders in the modern prefab movement, Michelle Kaufmann and Charlie Lazor, and I expect to be writing a lot more on the subject. As an appetizer, here’s a taste of a few homes from seven prefab architects whose work is on the cutting edge.

Office of Mobile Design (OMD) is dedicated to the design and construction of responsible, sustainable, and precision built structures. Jennifer Siegel, founder and principal of the Los Angeles-based firm, strives to make modern prefab affordable. According to their website, “OMD Prefab homes cost about 15% less than conventional buildings, take less than half the construction time, and employ more sustainable building methods.”

Rocio Romero’s stated design philosophy is simplicity: “We rigorously employ the principles of minimalism. Our designs produce comfortable spaces with balanced proportions and clean lines that promote natural air and light. Our manufacturing and construction solutions make for simpler construction and more affordable building.” Each of Romero’s LV line of prefab homes is shipped on a single flatbed in order to simplify construction.

Michelle Kaufmann Designs was founded in 2002 “to help make thoughtful, creative design accessible to all.” A member of the Ecological Design Collaborative, Kaufmann designs homes based on five ecoprinciples that she details in her book Prefab Green, published in February 2009. She aims to design homes that embrace the principles of eco-friendliness and cost-effectiveness, without sacrificing beauty.

Marmol-Radziner Prefab, based in Los Angeles, like all modern prefab designers and manufacturers, aims to combine “the efficiency of factory-built homes with the benefits of custom residential design.” No contractor is needed to build one of their Rincon Homes, because they build the prefab modules in their factory and ship them complete, including all finishes, flooring, and appliances.

Resolution: 4 Architecture was founded in 1990 by Joseph Tanney and Rob Luntz, whose designs may appeal to the mainstream, but whose company name and mission are a little harder to grasp. They “seek to investigate, re-investigate, work with the palpable, illuminate the obscure and understand the composite interface of architecture, its user and its context.” Of course, the designs speak for themselves. I like it that one of their designs is called Doublewide.

FlatPak, the brainchild of Charlie Lazor and his Minneapolis-based firm Lazor Office, grew from his own need to find a modern yet affordable home for his family. Like other leading designers in the field of modern prefab, Charlie mixes textures and materials such as steel, bamboo and sandblasted glass. The flatpak mindset came easily to Lazor, whose previous company Blu Dot made assemble-it-yourself furniture in the IKEA style.

Hive Design, like many other modern prefab designers, began its existence as a high-end residential architecture firm, and subsequently envisioned the advantages of mass customization with prefab methodology. Each of their product lines comes in small, medium and large versions of the basic model, which can then be ordered with a flat or pitched roof, with modern or traditional windows, and with or without an attached garage.

The more I learn about prefab homes, the more I see potential for them to offer us the ideal combination of what we really seek in a home—that it be affordable, comfortable, beautiful and green—as we define each of these terms. If it turns a few heads too, that’s all to the good.

Nothing like the doublewide in East Alstead. I’m over that now.

Sources:
designmobile.com
hivemodular.com
inhabitat.com
jetsongreen.com
marmolradzinerprefab.com
mkd-arc.com
prefabcosm.com
prefabs.com
re4a.com
rocioromero.com
trendir.com
wallpaper.com