Prefab construction

Overlooking a lush wooded valley below, the Cornwall Cabin rests on a steep sloping site in a rural corner of Northwestern Connecticut. As a weekend retreat for a Manhattan mother and her young daughter, the 1,500 square foot modern prefabricated cabin - located two hours outside the city - was carefully designed for simple, low-maintenance living. The compact floor plan efficiently accommodates the essentials for their weekend lifestyle. Custom built-ins for storage, benches, bookshelves, and bunk beds were incorporated throughout to maximize space and usability. Caption The cabin is sited to allow for uninterrupted views of the valley to the South. As such, the house is a linear composition oriented on an East/West axis, with expans... More

The Mountain Refuge is a young tiny-house startup founded by the two Italian architects Massimo Gnocchi and Paolo Danesi. The Refuge aims to finding balance between sustainability and design. It does not want to become a design item, nor a technological system. Our goal is being able to deliver the Refuge around the world, at competitive prices. To do so, we are currently discussing/looking for partnerships with prefab construction companies from the US, Europe, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, and we remain interested in receiving new partnership opportunities. The Mountain Refuge is inspired by traditional archetypes, evoked through contemporary principles. A space in which human's origins, his connection with nature and history... More

Artfully situated in Los Angeles’ world-famous Venice neighborhood sits the Mildred Residence, the latest architectural creation from award-winning southern California design firm, Minarc. As experienced designers, the Minarc team views space and function as mutually important factors to consider when creating well-defined and inhabitable areas wherein design elements are oriented to take full advantage of natural light and cross-ventilation. As such, the layout of the Mildred home is multifaceted and places simultaneous focus on clean simplicity, thoughtful sustainability, and aesthetically pleasing functionality.   Inspired by the beautifully dramatic landscapes found in nature, the design for the Mildred Residence creates su... More

INSCAPE, a new meditation concept, opened in Manhattan 2016. Archi-Tectonics designed the Inscape concept not only as a one-off, but also for worldwide distribution. The first PROTO space in Chelsea occupies a large 6000sf ground floor. The space contains a set of large volumes; ellipsoid meditation spaces; a “Dome Room” and an “Alcove room”, an extensive retail space, as well as a lounge for guests. An important element of healthy living is found in lifestyle changes, meditation and ‘cleaner’ live-work environments. When developing the Inscape meditation concept, prefab construction, renewable materials, such as bamboo, linen and cardboard, became the driver of the spatial configueration.   Medita... More

The Bunkie is a collaboration between furniture makers Evan Bare of 608 Design and Jim Moore together with Jorge Torres and Nathan Buhler of BLDG Workshop. It began as a medium to experiment in ideas that cross boundaries between architecture and industrial design. In the case of the Bunkie, this experiment involves reduced-impact materials and the adoption of CNC detailing from furniture manufacturing for use in prefab construction.In the end, the Bunkie functions as large-scale furniture as much as small-scale architecture; its multiuse nature responds to both expanding families and recreational applications via three operating modes: open, play, and sleep.An incredible location on Lake of Bays near the Muskoka region of Canada provides t... More

I don’t think we have to persuade you very hard to visit Sonoma County, California. The place really makes a case for itself. Situated just 45 minutes north of San Francisco, Sonoma County is in the heart of wine country and features some 425 distinct wineries and plenty of local gastronomical delights to pair nicely with your beverage of choice!However, wine, food and natural vistas are not the only draw. After a day of eating and enjoying great wine you’re going to need a place to rest your head. We recently sat down with Christy Beaver, the in-house Interior Designer for Method Homes (a luxury modern prefab home builder) and she talked to us about a recent project in Sonoma County they are affectionately cal... More

The new kindergarten extension, a prefab construction made of wood of local origin, grows out of the south side of the existing building and stretches into the garden, adding an additional 130m2 of playroom surfaces to the original volume of a typical Slovene kindergarten from the mid 1980s. The main design concept derives from the existing kindergarten's lack of play equipment. The new façade eliminates this weakness by offering a play element along all three exterior walls: it consists of dark brown roughcast and timber slats revolving around their vertical axe. The slats are the colour of natural wood on one side but painted into nine different bright colours on the other side. The toy slats offer shade for the windows, as well as p... More

The base for the design was the desire to create a free unrestricted access to knowledge and information, as well as a collaborative and cooperative management and decision making process with emphasis on the right to see the operations and activities of government at work. This supports government accountability and helps protect other necessary rights. The new City Hall of Sandnes would celebrate the concept of openness and transparency. Designed as a welcoming house which is as accessible as possible to its citizens and a building that lives up to the highest requirements for a modern, efficient and flexible office space. The volume required by the program would be adapted to the local urban conditions and modified to create conne... More

This imaginative eco-classroom kindles a creative spark and reminds us how beautiful small, simple buildings can be. The structure appears to be no more than a stack of logs. The design boasts an efficient prefab construction and the window coverings even have a painstakingly placed log façade to complete the illusion. The eco-classroom has been completed on behalf of Hampshire County Council for Fairfield Infant School, Havant. The structure will be used for a wide range of outdoor activities from bird watching to drama and performance. The building is raised almost 2m from ground level at the highest point and includes a spacious deck, bird hide style viewing hatches and a rainwater collection tank. Completed for approximately £20,0... More

Restaurant ‘Het Bosch’ by JagerJanssen in collaboration with DREISSEN architects is located at a superb location on the Nieuwe Meer lakeside [Amsterdam, NL], a stones throw away from the Southern Amsterdam business district. The Design has to distinct faces: one towards the marina and one facing the Nieuwe Meer lake. Both faces derive their qualities and appearance from the surroundings. The marina side is rough, seeking relation with boat hangar architecture. The lake facade is more horizontal, broad and refined. Large transparent surfaces exhibit the restaurant interior. The characteristic roof intermediates between these two aspects: it morphs from 3-pithced roof to a straight edge. This space saving configuration makes it possibl... More

The Modular House overcomes the main disadvantage of prefab typology, its rigidness by amplifying sustainability and adaptability to various sites and needs – homebuilders can mix and match from the matrix with off-the-shelf components, floor layouts, floors positions, and skin/window patterns. Within the standardization of prefab construction we found a way to preserve a level of flexibility. It is a free-standing, prefab dwelling unit for compact footprint of 400sf situated in an urban site anywhere in the world and Los Angeles, California in particular. First floor program includes living/working area in different stages of openness, dining area with or without bar counter, powder, and storage. Kitchen layouts are compact and in the s... More