Modern prefab homes are also popularly known as modular homes as you can put together any number of rooms to create the kind of home you wish.

Prefab homes are increasingly witnessing high demand due to a variety of reasons:

Speedy construction

The construction of a prefab home is much faster than a custom built home. Within two months of order time your home is ready.

Since each room is built in a factory, all you have to do is to place your order with the prefab house builders and your house is built, transported to your site and then put together. On the other hand a traditional home can take few months or even a year.

Life nowadays has become very fast and people are perennially short of time. Prefab modern homes are an ideal option as they are faster to build and hassle-free.

Better Insulation

The insulation of prefabricated walls is superior to traditional houses as they are built in a factory. Although site-built walls are thicker than prefab walls, they still tend to sag over a period of time.

Protection from Bugs

Since modules of prefab houses are built in the factory, they are better protected from bugs. In contrast, traditional homes take a lot of time to build so the timber and other parts are more exposed to damage.

Money Saver

Once your prefab home is built, you can save a lot of money on electricity due to superior insulation. Precious money is also saved on lumber. It generally reduces construction and design costs to a great extent as compared to a traditional home.

Design the Way You Like

With a prefabricated home you get the benefit of designing your own home according to your whims and fancy. You can choose the number of rooms you want, their size, designs, etc.

Environment- Friendly

Prefabricated homes are less damaging to the environment as they are made from recycled, renewable materials, use less energy and don’t pollute. As people are becoming more conscious about environment, the demand for eco-friendly green prefab homes is growing.

In fact, there are green home building websites now that offer aesthetically designed environment-friendly prefab houses, modern outdoor and indoor furniture, home accessories, etc.

Better Equipped to Handle Natural Disasters

Prefab homes are stronger than traditional homes. Particularly, for an area which has experienced hurricanes or tornadoes, a prefab is an ideal choice as they can withstand violent storms and other natural disasters better than traditional homes.

Lower prices, faster and easier to build, and a range of designs to choose from are the chief benefits of prefabricated homes. The popularity of prefabricated homes is thus sky rocketing.

Prefab homes today are built from such advanced technology that you can’t even tell the difference between a prefabricated house and a traditional house. People from all walks of life are now choosing prefabricated homes instead of traditional homes.

Architect Andres Duany, best known for work designing New Urbanist communities (walkable, small-scaled, mixed-use) has shifted gears a bit to create a light, expandable shelter known as the “core house” for Haiti’s homeless. The house, designed to stand up to earthquakes and hurricanes isn’t Duany’s first foray into disaster relief housing: several years ago he helped develop the prefabricated “Katrina Cottage” as an alternative to the widely criticized FEMA trailers.

Duany’s house for Haiti is small– 8′2″ x 8′2″ x 19′8″—but can sleep 8. Essential for cost-reduction and ease of distribution—can be packed flat in a package less than two feet thick. It’s designed for quick assembly from a strong, lightweight, and waterproof composite material Duany describes as miraculous. Can this work in Haiti? We hope so. At present, there are at least a million people without homes in the hurricane-battered country.

Rendering courtesy of Jetson Green

This post originally appeared on www.refresheverything.com, as part of GOOD’s collaboration with the Pepsi Refresh Project, a catalyst for world-changing ideas. Find out more about the Refresh campaign, or to submit your own idea today.

Founded in 2007, Blu’s mission is to provide American home buyers and institutions with buildings that are healthful, economical, and beautifully designed, and to do so in a convenient, predictable and customer-centered way. Blu Homes, Inc. is a privately owned business that uses quality design, sustainable materials and leading technology. The designs reflect the unique building surroundings, and contain only healthful construction materials and treat the natural world with care. Blu’s building process not only respects the land but also the client’s time and budget. Blu builds high-quality homes faster, in a controlled factory environment that minimizes waste. Blu Homes are currently being built in the Colorado Rockies, California woodlands, Carolina coast and towns throughout New England and for corporations from coast to coast.

2.  Linwood Homes http://www.linwoodhomes.com/

Linwood is one of the largest brand name suppliers of high end custom homes in North America. They provide site specific design, premium building materials, technical expertise and practical construction options.

Customers can also take advantage of Linwood’s proven building system which allows customers to maintain control over the entire building process. The system is based on planning ahead and making informed decisions about the building process. This gives you a more predictable project outcome.

Linwood can help in this way because it is a knowledge based business rather than just a traditional material supplier. This means customers can get the best possible result in terms of lifestyle and appraised value with less risk.

3. Stillwater Dwellings http://www.stillwaterdwellings.com/index.htm

Stillwater Dwellings was founded by 2 architects, and 1 builder/developer on these fundamental principles:

a. Quality, contemporary, prefabricated homes do not need to be expensive
b. Building a new home should be fun, not stressful
c. Eco-friendly building is not a luxury, it is our responsibility
d. Construction costs can (and should) be predictable. Careful, thorough planning and intelligent building processes make this possible.
e. Less ‘house’, more ‘home’

4.  HOM https://www.homlifestyle.com/

HOM Dwellings are modular homes that are built in the Silvercrest Homes factories in Corona and Woodland, California, and delivered virtually anywhere in the Western United States. Typically delivered in 8 to 10 weeks from time of purchase, HOM features 3 models from 1,000 square feet to 3,600 square feet. You can select and customize your HOM and then work with KAA Design Group to choose the right specialized Contractor to handle all the aspects of the transaction, delivery, and setup on your property. KAA Design Group brings over 20 years of industry insights and each purchase of HOM is accompanied by an expert KAA Project Manager that guides you through each step.

5. KRDB Design http://www.krdb.com/

KRBD is an Austin, Texas-based design/build firm that specializes in affordable, modern custom homes and speculative multifamily developments. Now the company is making its work even more accessible with ma Modular. “With ma, we’re continuing the idea of building quality, modern spaces efficiently that was started with our design/build firm here in Austin,” says architect Chris Krager, KRDB’s principal and co-owner of ma Modular. “Ma enables us to expand our reach.”

Offered at a base price of $150 per square foot, ma is “the promise of prefab fulfilled,” the company says. It’s available in two module sizes—36 feet by 15 feet and 60 feet by 15 feet—and has three available floor plans, which make up the six building blocks of the system. The modules can be linked in an unlimited variety of ways, including one- and two-story configurations, allowing future homeowners to customize to their specific needs and site.

Like most modular houses, ma homes are delivered fully equipped with plumbing, electrical fixtures, and appliances and will require minimal site work. Each home features 2X6 exterior walls, metal roofs, R30 to R50 roof insulation, low-E insulated windows, bamboo floors, and solid surface countertops, among other amenities.

Here are a few examples, please click here to view the entire gallery & process. (at the site, click on “Build Process” > “Building the Cambridge”.)

1. Less Waste, More Materials:

While material waste is virtually eliminated, prefab homes typically use 25-35 percent more material in the structure of the home itself. While the overall material consumption is probably a wash, the extra building materials of a prefab home go to good use. The factory-setting allows builders to construct a stronger home with fewer areas of vulnerability. A FEMA study found that wood-frame modular homes stood up better than stick-built homes to the devastating winds of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

2. Less Labor, More Quality-Control:

It’s not so much less labor as it is lower labor costs. Construction workers for prefab homes will go the home-building factory and can work on several homes at once, cutting down on commuting and wasted time. Meanwhile, inspectors are present during each step of the building process, ensuring a seamless structure, built-to-last. Indeed, panelized and modular homes, like conventional home and unlike mobile homes, will appreciate in value over the years.

3. Less Wait, More Money:

According to the National Association of Home Builders, “Once all building materials arrive at the factory, some manufacturers can assemble modules in a single day. Typically, a two-story, 2,500 sq. ft. home can be constructed in a factory in under a week.” Of course, this doesn’t mean you can move into your new home in just one week, but you probably won’t need to wait 6-8 months, either. This streamlined construction also translates into building costs between 10-35 percent less than a comparable stick-framed home.

Remaining obstacles for the prefab industry in the current Economic conditions:

The biggest obstacle is the startup capital prefab home builders require. Says Barry Bergdoll, curator of the architecture and design department at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, “If someone wants to launch a prefabricated house system, even with its possibilities of customization, they have this enormous upfront investment in machines and a factory, etc., so there are all sorts of odds set against someone who wants to do this.” This obstacle has been exponentially compounded by the tightening of credit markets, especially to small businesses, and the uncertainty of the home building industry at-large.

Yet, as these economic realities subside—taking several conventional home building companies with them—a sizable gap will remain for prefab housing to occupy. The development of computer-aided architectural design and optimizing monetary and material savings will be key, so a new generation of prefabricated housing can finally deliver on its promise of revolutionizing the home building industry.

Shipments of precut homes are forecast to perform the best of all other types of prefabricated housing. Shipments are expected to grow about two percent annually to 20,500 units in 2011. Demand will be particularly strong in the growing Midwest housing market, but will also benefit from increased market penetration in the contracting housing market of the South.

The Midwest region is expected to be the fastest growing source of demand for prefabricated housing through 2011. This region accounted for approximately 18 percent of total demand for prefabricated housing in 2006, second only to the South. Rebounding from the poorest performance of any region from 2001 to 2006, demand for new housing in the Midwest is forecast to grow through 2011, providing favorable conditions for prefabricated housing. Strength in the Midwest will be particularly beneficial to manufactured and precut housing.

Would you consider a prefabricated home over a site-built one? What are your specific pre-requisites if you were to consider a prefab?

We are always here and available to answer any questions you have about prefabs. Ask away in the comment section.

The Cabin Series by Balance Associates Architects currently features two lines of models, the Method Cabin and the Balance S-M-L Cabins.

The Method Cabin is available in many different configurations and layouts from 1050 square feet and up. It features an innovative cantilevered roof system and a functional floor plan for modern cabin dwelling.

The Balance S-M-L Cabins is a line of three models of self contained cabins between 400-800 square feet that can go on or off grid. The line is designed to be delivered close to 100% complete and move in ready. It offers all of the amenities and features of a Balance designed home blending seamlessly with its surrounding.

Model #1 |  1811 Square feet
3 bedroom | 2 bath | 5 modules

Model #2 |  1234 Square feet
1 or 2 bedroom | 1 bath | 3 modules

Model #3 |  1471 Square feet
2 bedroom | 1.75 bath | 3 modules

Base Price Includes:

• all framing / roof / exterior cladding and trim
• windows / sliding glass doors / doors / decking
• interior walls / flooring / trim
• pluming and electrical fixtures
• appliances not included
• foundation, site work, and transportation not included

Method Homes Contact Information:

info@methodhomes.net
206.789.5553

2711 E. Madison St
Suite 211
Seattle, WA 98112

Press Inquires
Isaac Cronin Public Relations
Email: icpr1@sbcglobal.com
Phone: 510.644.9517

Developer and Investor Inquiries
brian@methodhomes.net

FlatPak is a pre-engineered modular home design system. Using concrete, glass, metal or wood modular “menu” components, the FlatPak system allows home builders to create a wide variety of custom layout designs and material configurations – a sort of “hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don’t upset us…” approach. The Flatpak House was created by Charlie Lazor, a founding partner of Blue Dot furniture.

(*Oh for heaven’s sake if this isn’t the coolest prefab system I’ve ever seen.  I really encourage you to look around the web site and see what you think.  I WILL own one of these homes someday soon.*)

2. Enovo House (the Intelligent home) www.enovo.ca

From Canada, Enovo homes are ecological and evolutional through their architectural design, the building materials used as well as through the revolutionary home automation system managing their interior.

Enovo, the intelligent home, is without a doubt THE construction of the future available right now. A house that evolves, a house that understands, a house that lives and adapts; a house that suits everyone, all cultures, all horizons, all preferences and all aspirations.

3. Joshua Tree by Hangar Design www.hhd.it/j_t.html

This steel clad prefab is a compact two bedroom mountain refuge with a welcoming, and surprisingly roomy, wooden interior. While the exterior finishes might be a bit busy for some tastes, inside are clean, sparse, modern spaces with plenty of natural daylight.

4. ZeroHouse www.zerohouse.net

New York architect Scott Specht has the answer to all of our zero-energy prefab dreams with the new ZeroHouse. This completely self-sustaining prefabricated house generates its own power, collects its own water, processes its own waste and is 100% automatic. Versatile, durable and site-sensitive, ZeroHouse can be erected in almost any location in one day with steel frame components and a helical-anchor foundation system that requires no excavation.

5. iPadhttp://www.ipad.net.nz/

The iPAD is a true kitset bach designed to covers a range of options; it could be a one bedroom holiday home, secondary dwelling, granny flat, office, studio or resort unit to name but a few.  It can be grouped as a series of pavilions to form larger accommodation if required. A single iPAD totals 50m sq with decks of 55m sq and will retail in New Zealand for $125,000.00*. Various external cladding and colour options are available to suit individual taste and context.