Saturday, March 5, 2011

(Prefabricated) Green Homes

Ceiling beams, big windows, woodcementsteel, recycled materials, solar panels, prefabricated. Finally, a firm has designed and built my dream home for me (how nice!). All I need to do is find a plot of land upon which to plop my sanctuary and let the good folks of GreenFab's building core come assemble it. Prefabricated mass production homes are no longer for post-war housing markets (as seen in Levittown, PA, left) or emergency module homes. A partnership between Hybrid Architecture and GreenFab has yielded design-forward, prefabricated green homes that need not cost $1M. With the goal of making green living somewhat more affordable, the 1300 Series models are built to owners specifications at about $180/ square foot total. The model unit was made in a factory outside of Seattle in 2 weeks and took 45 days to assemble and finish at the site. It opened for public viewing last week (below).

Obviously, it hasn't been the best few years for the construction and home design industries and a rebound is not exactly looking imminent. The gloomy market numbers might have provided even more motivation for architects and designers: these innovative firms continue to search for the answers to our affordable/ sustainable housing issues in all directions. The GreenFab home could be appealing to a wider audience hoping for sustainable solutions or perhaps will become a way to responsibly build a home for those who might not have been able to do so in the past. Because of its sustainable, minimalist and affordability attributes, prefab has become more and more popular around green building and design circles in the last decade. Let's hope it becomes even more affordable and accessible in the future.

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