Archinect - News

Skylab Architecture teams up with Steel Hut to design modern ready-to-build and climate resistant dwellings

2024-03-02T17:29:00-05:00

Portland-based interdisciplinary design studio Skylab Architecture has announced its partnership with woman-owned kit home manufacturer Steel Hut to design forward-thinking, affordable dwellings that boast increased fire resistance and durability for harsh climates.

The prefabricated homes are entirely made of recycled and recyclable steel. They can be used in a variety of ways, such as accessory dwelling units (ADU) and remote living spaces. The interior of the homes are characterized as ultra-modern and warm. They have an impressive visual scale relative to their size. In addition, the houses provide indoor-outdoor connections through large windows.

Steel Hut’s "Jackrabbit Loft" model.

“It’s an incredible opportunity to work with Steel Hut to address the many challenges people face during the design and construction process. And being able to support people’s desire to live in nature is too important to miss,” said Susan Barnes, Principal at Skylab. “These home designs merge state...

andblack design studio creates a modular, prefabricated black box theater with multifunctional use

2023-06-22T17:37:00-04:00

Kanika and Jwalant Mahadevwala, architects and founding partners of andblack design studio, have created a multifunctional black box theater design that uses parametric models to "allow customization of several variables to achieve the specified volume." Their design prototype, Darwin Bucky, is a prefabricated kit of parts made of wood, aluminum, steel, and glass.

Designed for Abhay Mangaldas, founder of India-based startup Darwin, the lightweight modular panel design is a flat-pack system that emphasizes versatile on-site assembly.

Darwin Bucky assembly. Image © Vinay Panjwani.

According to the architects, Darwin Bucky is a "black box that can be used as an exhibition gallery, a town hall, an expo center, a performance arena, or even serve as a bar or a nightclub. It is designed to be placed in public gardens, exhibition grounds, or even in a city center."

Aerial view of Darwin Bucky site. Image © Vinay Panjwani.

Without the need for a ...

MVRDV's new demountable science building has over 120,000 reusable components

2023-05-25T19:36:00-04:00

Construction of MVRDV’s Matrix ONE project, a laboratory and office building in the heart of Amsterdam Science Park, has been completed.

The six-story, 140,000-square-foot structure is the largest of seven buildings that now make up the Matrix Innovation Center, a site for scientists and entrepreneurs to develop sustainable solutions for current and future issues.

Image: MVRDV / © Daria Scagliola

As the main hub at the Center, Matrix ONE aims to be a guiding example to the other buildings at the Amsterdam Science Park. The building was made to be demountable, in which connections such as screws and bolts allow elements to be detached and reused. In addition, its floors are made using prefabricated concrete slabs with no fixed connections.

Image: MVRDV / © Daria Scagliola

The platform Madaster was used to provide a material passport system that registers all the materials and products incorporated in the building. It provides insight into the carbon dioxide storage for over 120,000 ...

OMA and Circlewood develop adaptable modular wood system to build schools in Amsterdam

2023-05-12T13:59:00-04:00

OMA, along with Circlewood, a coalition of architects, engineers, builders, and researchers, have developed a modular wood system to build a variety of schools in Amsterdam.

This project aims to support the city’s goal to halve the use of primary raw materials by 2030 and become fully circular by 2050. As part of this mission and the need to meet the increasing demand for schools, Amsterdam initiated the Innovation Partnership School Buildings program to build nine to thirty “high-quality, flexible, and sustainable” schools in ten years.

Image courtesy of OMA

Consisting of standardized wooden columns and cross-laminated wooden floor panels, the prefabricated system is connected by recycled steel joints. OMA explains, "All of the components are made in a factory under a digitally controlled process allowing for quick assembly and disassembly by an electric crane on site."

Photography by Arthur Wong for OMA.

They are arranged into 11.8-foot wide (2.6m), 23.6-foot long (7.2m), and up t...

Mass timber pedestrian bridge rises at Toronto's George Brown College

2023-04-28T14:26:00-04:00

Canadian construction company PCL Construction is celebrating a major milestone in the construction of George Brown College’s new Limberlost Place on Toronto’s waterfront, with the installation of a mass timber pedestrian bridge.

Standing 65 feet above street level, the structure connects level five of Limberlost Place to level six of the college’s Daphne Cockwell Center for Health Sciences. The 10-story Limberlost Place is reportedly set to be the first mass timber, net-zero carbon emissions institutional building of its kind in Ontario. It was designed by a team consisting of Moriyama and Teshima Architects and Acton Ostry Architects. The building is expected to be completed by 2024 and will be open for classes in January 2025.

Video via PCL Construction on YouTube

The pedestrian bridge stretches approximately 70 feet and is made up of two glue-laminated trusses and four cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels. Individual CLT pieces were prefabricated at an off-site location befor...

Appels Architekten designs prefabricated wooden home in Bavaria

2023-03-28T14:49:00-04:00

Zurich-based firm Appels Architekten has designed an open, simplistic family home in Bavaria, Germany, composed of wooden cubes.

Called “House by the Lake,” the home balances privacy and spaces for gathering. As detailed by the architects, this configuration allows residents to retreat or participate in communal living at any time.

Photo © Florian Holzherr

All of the private rooms are housed within a sculpture of wooden volumes. Ample open space is made available both horizontally and vertically, drawing light into the house and offering views into the garden and surrounding environment. These features are maximized through the house’s generous ceiling height, light interiors, and expansive windows.

Photo © Florian Holzherr

A look inside ANNA Stay, the World Hotel Building of the Year 2022 winner at the World Architecture Festival

2023-01-04T17:21:00-05:00

A modular, wooden cabin from Dutch designer Caspar Schols has won the World Hotel Building of the Year 2022 Award at the recent World Architecture Festival (WAF). Named ANNA Stay, the project is recognized for its sustainable design that allows its guests to reconnect with themselves and nature.

Image: Tonu Tunnel

Image: Jorrit 't Hoen

The building blends into its surrounding environment through its highly flexible design. The structure features two protective sliding shells: an inner shell comprising double glass and an outer shell made of wood. The shells can be adjusted, allowing the space to adapt to various weather conditions, moods, or occasions.

Image: Jorrit 't Hoen

In the cold, the insulated wooden shell can retain heat inside the dwelling. If it becomes too warm, inhabitants can slide and close the wooden layer to keep the coolness within. The glass layer can also be slid open to inject cool air to enter. The glass layer also invites natural light ins...

New prefabricated tiny house can be assembled in an hour for less than $40,000

2022-12-05T15:22:00-05:00

A Los Angeles-based tiny house startup named Vika Living has unveiled a compact, semi-permanent housing unit that it says can be set up in an hour for just under $40,000.

Called the Vika One, the fully prefabricated dwellings provide 144 square feet of living space, with a shared sleeping, living, dining, kitchen area, and separate bathroom. Its ceilings stand 8.5 feet tall, paired with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall and a 42-square-foot outdoor terrace.

The tiny house is also delivered complete with furnishings and fixtures, including a bed, table, chairs, toilet, kitchen, storage units, and mechanical systems for HVAC, water, power, and waste. There is also an off-grid model, which includes rooftop solar panels and batteries, fresh water pumping and filtration, and off-grid waste systems.

Image: Vika Living

The units are fully assembled in Vika Living’s Los Angeles factory and then delivered and installed on site. No foundations or heavy equipment are needed to set them up.

The ...

Prefab construction startup Vantem plans 15 U.S. factories

2022-07-18T15:50:00-04:00

The company, which just raised a Series A round of investment from the Bill Gates-founded firm Breakthrough Energy Ventures, builds homes using panels with a proprietary design that sandwiches an insulating layer between two structural boards.

Vantem announced it would use the recent funding from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Quadrant Management, and TEM Capital to build 15 factories for prefabricated modular housing units across the U.S. by 2029. According to the company, its proprietary panel system has already been deployed in over three million square feet of residential space globally, including Uruguay, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, and the Caribbean.

"Affordable housing is a global need that must be addressed," said Vantem CEO Chris Anderson, adding, "but if we build with traditional methods, we will solve one problem only to worsen another."

One year after ambitious construction startup Katerra went belly up, the market for modular, prefabricated construction is getting increasingly crowded with several players seeking to establish early dominance and disrupt the conventional model, including Vancouver-based ...

Startup raises $155 million to become ‘rising star’ in prefabricated construction

2022-06-28T09:00:00-04:00

One year after the failure of the ambitious construction startup Katerra, another construction technology company is seeking to pick up the mantle as a leader in sustainable, modular, prefabricated construction.

Based in Vancouver, Nexii Building Solutions has been described by The New York Times as “a rising star in the expanding green building industry,” combining a patented modular system with a reliance on 3D modeling software and third-party verification of its sustainability metrics.

Nexii's panels are fabricated in the company's two Canadian manufacturing plants. Image: Nexii/Twitter

Founded by entrepreneur Stephen Sidwell in late 2018, Nexii became the fastest company in Canadian history to reach a valuation of more than $1 billion, doing so in 31 months. Having recently completed its seventh round of funding, the startup has raised more than 200 million Canadian dollars, or 155 million U.S. dollars.

As described in a recent feature in the Times, Nexii’s patented building s...

Deconstruction of building made of alternative concrete resulted in just two buckets of waste

2022-03-30T17:07:00-04:00

Two buckets. That’s all that was left at the end of the day when Nexii, a concrete alternative start-up, tore down one of its first demonstration projects. A 700-square-foot showroom and model home displaying Nexii’s building technology was constructed in 2019 near Vancouver to prove the buildability of the new material, which has far lower emissions than conventional concrete.

Combining their sturdy panel-based construction system with their concrete alternative, Nexiite, which produces about 35% lower carbon emissions than conventional concrete, Nexii was able to deconstruct the showroom in six days, saving almost every part of the building for future reconstruction. In contrast to conventional concrete, Nexiite doesn’t use Portland cement, which is a major source of emissions worldwide. The company’s building panels are designed to be continuously reused, with assembly simply requiring craning the pieces onto a foundation and bolting them together.

The waste produced from the showroom’s disassembly consisted only of the sealant used to connect the panels, small sections of weatherproofing, “a couple of screws,” and some waste generated by the people on-site, such as lunch waste. The building will be reassembled next...

IF_DO designed a modular office building that can be taken apart and reassembled elsewhere

2022-03-17T18:39:00-04:00

Humans have led nomadic lifestyles for thousands of years. We settle in one place, move to another–some of us never even settle at all. Our lives fluctuate, but save for the odd floating office or experimental walking house, our buildings remain anchored in place. Once they’re built, they only have two potential futures: demolish, or reuse. A new building in London, however, offers an interesting alternative: demount and move elsewhere.

The office building, designed by London-based architecture firm IF_DO, was made to be mobile, as it sits atop a “meanwhile space,” a location that hosts temporary buildings until the local council develops permanent plans for the space. This building will occupy the site in London's borough of Southwark for up to 11 years, after which it will be dismantled and reassembled elsewhere.

Photo: Mike Massaro, image courtesy IF_DO

The 3,000-square-foot structure consists of five timber and steel structural modules and contains 12 micro-units wrapped around a central shared space. The modules were prefabricated off-site and assembled on-site over five months. When the building is set to relocate, its steel connectors will be unbolted and the various timber elements will be unscrewed.

Image courtesy IF_DO

Learn more about the building here.

Inside a new robotic housing factory in British Columbia, Canada

2021-10-20T11:50:00-04:00

Intelligent City, a Canadian company focused on innovation in housing, has offered a glimpse inside their new factory in Delta, British Columbia. The facility, which has now begun building mid-to-high-rise urban housing projects for Canada and the United States, will use advanced robotics to automatically assemble mass timber building systems.

Intelligent City's new factory in British Columbia. Image courtesy: Intelligent City

The company was founded in 2008 by German-Canadian architect Oliver Lang and Canadian designer Cindy Wilson, who also comes from an architectural background with a Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia. The team is currently working to deliver 2,880 homes in Canada and 1,400 homes in the United States, with delivery of their first projects expected in early 2022 in Vancouver.

Intelligent City's new factory in British Columbia. Image courtesy: Intelligent City

The company’s approach is centered on the use of mass...

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has built four new gates composed of prefabricated modules

2021-09-28T14:59:00-04:00

In an unprecedented move, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) has constructed four new prefabricated modular gates for its Terminal C.

The gates replace a 72,000-square-foot extension comprising five gates built in 1988. According to CNN, they were initially intended to be used for only 10 to 15 years at the most, however, due to their central location and constant use, DFW chose not to replace them until now. Their demolition began in February and was finished in March, which is when work on the foundation and underground utilities for the new gates began. This effort was completed in August.

Check out the progress on the High C Gates at DFW!

The new, 5-gate concourse is being built in prefabricated modules, which will be transported to the terminal and put together later this summer. The construction method saves time and money, and is a first for a U.S. airport. pic.twitter.com/zd0P7Ra3AH
— DFW Airport (@DFWAirport) July 13, 2021

DFW worked with construction companies A...

UCLA’s BruinHub will give respite to students facing long commutes and housing insecurity

2021-09-24T11:43:00-04:00

The UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, in collaboration with cityLAB, has officially opened the BruinHub, a first-of-its-kind space serving UCLA students facing long commutes or housing insecurity. Located in the John Wooden Center, the BruinHub will be a 24/7 space with facilities for students to nap, rest, study, store belongings, and wait out traffic.

BruinHub launch, September 23rd, 2021. Image courtesy of UCLA

The design of the BruinHub centers on Study Pods; prefabricated units constructed from machine-cut OSB and finished with vibrant-colored fabrics. Each pod contains a flexible bench which can be used for sleeping or studying, as well as a worktop, reading lamp, storage space, and power outlet. The wider facility also includes WiFi, charging stations, a food prep station, personal storage, and a hub for distributing important campus information and services. The hub has been designed to meet COVID-based safety standards for sanitizing and social distancing.

Video...

One Northern California designer is replenishing housing stock in the region with new, fire-resistant prefabs

2021-08-06T15:03:00-04:00

A Chico-based general contractor with a degree in architecture is attempting to use pre-fabricated, non-combustible, eco-friendly and customizable home packages to help rebuild homes in Paradise and other areas of California where replacement homes due to natural disasters still must be built.

The city of Chico was in the crosshairs of the 2018 Camp Fire, which destroyed over 18,000 homes in and around Butte County over a 17-day span. This week, an entire town in Plumas County was razed by the Dixie Fire. Steelmaster has more on Vern Sneed's Q Cabin Kit here.

Related Reading: UCLA's Department of Architecture and Urban Design has been at the forefront of fire-related building resiliency since launching the FireCity and FireLAnd initiatives last year. Read our recent interview with Associate Adjunct Professor Jeffrey Inaba and Professor Hitoshi Abe here.

A Finnish architect unveils a new cottage design before stepping into the Olympics spotlight

2021-07-15T19:06:00-04:00

A Finnish architect with hopes for Olympic gold has unveiled her designs for a new log villa whose inspiration she says came to her during training for this year’s games in Tokyo.

Finland-based manufacturer HONKA is now offering an Olympic windsurfer’s designs for a cottage as part of a series of cost-efficient log villas tailored to cold archipelago environments.

Honka Tyrsky. Image courtesy Honka.

Tuuli Petäjä-Sirén is a practicing architect and Olympic silver medalist who previously served as standard-bearer for her country during the 2016 opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. Her new Tyrsky model evokes waves at crest breaking onto shore in the seaside fishing villages where she had trained.

Honka Tyrsky. Image courtesy Honka.

The 1.5-story cabin is packed with high ceilings, a built-in sauna, and multipurpose mezzanine built from timber logs that enhance an ecological focus that has defined Petäjä-Sirén’s previous work. Two and three-bedroom versions of the home are available th...

Denizen takes remote working to the next level with 3D-printed office pods

2021-07-08T17:59:00-04:00

Individuals can now take their offices anywhere they want with the Denizen Architype, a 3D-printed, personal office pod, designed to provide an ideal remote work space. The prefabricated office can be set up in any location and is available by subscription.

Designed “for the perfect day of work”, the Denizen Archetype comes as remote work has become the new norm due to the pandemic. The 90-square-foot office pod is made to cultivate inspiration, focus, and productivity, including features, such as professional lighting, controllable privacy glass on every window, and perfectly framed camera views at the desk and whiteboard. As stated on Denizen’s site, “With 10’ ceilings and immersive windows, it’s big enough to love spending your whole day in but small enough to install anywhere with minimal permits.

The office is built with integrated heating, cooling, air filtration, a mini-fridge, and a rear lounge with overhead reading light. Each pod features an adjustable standing desk made ...

Automated rebar prefabrication startup raises $8 million in Series A funding

2021-07-01T18:38:00-04:00

A New York-based construction robotics startup that makes prefabricated rebar cages for concrete structures has announced that it has secured $8 million in a Series A funding round.

The round was led by Tribeca Venture Partners and featured Blackhorn Ventures, Point72 Ventures, New York State, and Twenty Seven Ventures. This follows a $3 million seed round raised in late 2019.

The company, Toggle, was founded in 2016 by Daniel Blank and Ian Cohen. Toggle automates the rebar assembly process, combining its software with industrial robots and heavy material handling equipment. This allows the company to produce building materials in a safer, more productive, and more precise manner, thus able to deliver them at a lower cost and faster speed.

"At a time when global construction is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, Toggle offers a way to add capacity while saving time and cost on some of the largest types of projects," said Toggle CEO, Daniel Blank. "We are especially grateful f...

Spanish architecture studio DelaVegaCanolasso designs a 'Tini Office' perfect for remote work

2021-03-26T15:27:00-04:00

Remote offices took many forms last year, but the Spanish architecture studio, DelaVegaCanolasso, designed an office that focuses on mobility and flexibility. The "Tini Office" was developed for the 'TiniHome' series in Spain.

The prefabricated, 263.7 square foot (22-square-meter) module provides individuals with a fresh and isolated workspace that "brings them back to nature." Constructed out of recycled OSB wood with a corten steel facade, the minimalist office design can turn your backyard or vacant open space into a ready-to-use remote work area. Aiming to promote a customizable tiny office experience, the TiniHome series promotes sustainability, fast production, and ease. "You can choose that your 'Tinis' are totally self-sufficient, with solar panels + batteries, water tank, and septic tank," shares the Tiny Home series team.

Tini Office by delaVegaCanolasso (2020) Image © Imagen Subliminal (Miguel de Guzman + Rocío Romero)

Image © delaVegaCanolasso (2020)

Plans © delaVegaCanol...

Self-powered home builder Dvele acquires prefab company Blu Homes

2020-06-10T18:02:00-04:00

Dvele, a San Diego-based housing technology company, has acquired Blu Homes, a modern luxury prefab home manufacturer. The two entities will come together to deliver a comprehensive prefab offerings to customers.

"In the early years of our entrepreneurial journey, Blu was the company we looked at as leading the charge for high-end prefabricated homes," said Dvele Co-Founder and CEO, Kurt Goodjohn in a statement. "We have the utmost respect and appreciation for what Blu has contributed to our collective space. They forged a path allowing Dvele’s innovative home focused technologies to flourish. Combining the Blu brand with our original vision for Dvele as a technology platform is a powerful step forward in our quest to revolutionize this industry."

With its recently launched self-powered home initiative, Dvele will combine its technology with Blu's prefabricated designs to deliver a new spatial solutions for future customers and residents.

“We’re excited to join with Dvele for the ne...

Modular construction startup Katerra cuts 200 jobs to embrace automation

2019-12-13T17:08:00-05:00

Katerra Inc., a modular construction startup, got an $865 million cash infusion from investors led by SoftBank Group Corp. last year. Now, the company is shutting down a factory in Phoenix and cutting 200 jobs. The move will shift Katerra’s manufacturing away from Phoenix and into its highly automated and lower-cost factory in Tracy, California.

The company's mission is to "shake up the construction industry with a combination of efficient factories, prefab parts and modular construction units," Bloomberg reports. The Phoenix factory will remain open thorugh the end of the year and affected employees will receive a 90-day severance package.

Katerra acquires two general contractors to bolster nationwide presence

2019-09-13T16:50:00-04:00

US prefab specialist Katerra has added two contractors to its stable of companies: UEB Builders and Fortune-Johnson General Contractors. The acquisitions allow the Silicon Valley company to expand its coverage of the US market. UEB Builders is a general contractor in Arizona that constructs commercial and residential projects. Georgia-based Fortune-Johnson specialises in multi-family residential projects. Both companies will adopt the Katerra brand.

According to Bim+, the acquisition will add 320 employees to Katerra's payroll, pushing the company's workforce to 8,500 individuals. In January 2019, the end-to-end building services provider also received an infusion of investment from Japan's SoftBank that raised Katerra's valuation to over $4 billion.

Are there more pros than cons to modular construction?

2019-07-23T09:43:00-04:00

“Timing in the apartment world is everything [...] The time of year we release a building and when we start putting tenants in it is critical for a project’s success.”

Behind every successful construction project lies a team of people working to complete a project deadline. However, with automation and building manufacturing on the rise, many question how these methods of construction will change the way buildings are designed and built in the future. Will these new methods become commonplace?

A recent article in Multi Family Executive talks about modular development and the advantages of modular construction. Using the multifamily development group Beverly Crossing as an example, writer Joe Bousquin showcases the company's positive experience with this building method with their 126-unit Canvas project in Beverly, Massachusetts.

"Modular buildings are constructed off site under controlled plant conditions, then shipped to the site for assembly, reducing the construction schedule." Courtesy of MFE. Image © Prefab Logic

Is modular construction the key to project turnover, and is it the answer? Curtis Fletcher, president and CEO of Prefab Logic, shar...

World's tallest modular hotel, rising in NYC this fall, aims to establish prefabrication on a grand scale

2019-05-01T18:32:00-04:00

The world’s biggest hotel company is betting that factory-built guest rooms are a key to juicing revenue -- and helping guests get a better night’s sleep. Marriott International Inc. is laying plans for what it says will be the tallest modular hotel in the world, in Manhattan’s NoMad neighborhood. Its 168 guest rooms will be assembled in a factory in Poland, shipped overseas and trucked into New York in the middle of the night, when the city streets can accommodate the oversized loads.

Marriott International hopes to spearhead a new movement of prefabricated tall buildings with the development of its 26-story, $65 million AC Hotel New York NoMad, announcing that "once erected over a 90-day period, the 360-foot-tall tower will represent a milestone for Marriott’s ongoing initiative to encourage hotel developers in North America to embrace modular for new construction projects."

Design and image credit: Danny Forster & Architecture

"The 168-room, 26-story AC Hotel New York NoMad is scheduled to rise at 842 Sixth Avenue with prefabricated guestrooms arriving at the hotel site fully constructed, inside and out," explains the project description. "Besides finished, painted walls, each 'module' will contain a fully outfitted guest room – with beds, sheets, pillows, flooring and even toiletries. The hotel’s roof and rooftop bar are expected to be produced using modular construction, and its more customized public areas such as the restaurant and lobby are expected to be c...

Amazon buys into the (Alexa-powered) prefab housing market

2018-09-26T13:32:00-04:00

Amazon has made clear that it wants to own the smart home space. Now the company's going a step further, taking a stake in a start-up that's building actual homes. On Tuesday, Amazon said its Alexa Fund invested in Plant Prefab, a Southern California company that says it uses sustainable construction processes and materials to build prefabricated custom single- and multifamily houses. The start-up is aiming to use automation to build homes faster and bring down costs.

With this recent investment in eco-friendly prefabricated home factory Plant Prefab, Amazon uses its mighty financial leverage and dominance in the market for voice-controlled connected devices to make the brand just as synonymous with smart homes as it already is with online retail.

Plant Prefab, headquartered in Rialto, California, offers standard and custom prefab homes in collaboration with established design partners, including Ray Kappe, KieranTimberlake, and LivingHomes.

BIG designs first prototype for affordable vacation home company Klein

2018-08-15T15:12:00-04:00

Behold the first prototype of the Brooklyn-based Klein, a new company that wants to make the process of building small houses more affordable all over the world. A45 is a 13-foot-long wood and glass cabin for one, two, or three people (if one of them is tiny) designed by the Danish architectural firm Bjarke Ingels Group [...] meant to be the first of many designs [that will fulfill the fantasy] of having a home outside the city...

Founder Soren Rose started Klein after leading the firm Søren Rose Studio based in New York and Copenhagen. By providing small, cheap, prefab houses the company aims to make vacation home ownership more affordable to a wider audience.

Klein prototype A45 by BIG. Image: Matthew Carbone.

While there are currently no set prices, homes are projected to range from $50,000 to $300,000.

Klein prototype A45 by BIG. Image: Matthew Carbone.

The first prototype, designed by BIG, is the start of several options which will be fully customizable and ready within 6 months of placing an order.

Klein prototype A45 by BIG. Image: Matthew Carbone.

Klein is currently taking preorders on a case by case basis.

Klein prototype A45 by BIG. Image: Matthew Carbone.

Kanye West's first YEEZY Home project appears to be a prefab affordable housing scheme

2018-06-04T14:00:00-04:00

It's been merely a month since rapper/entrepreneur/design aficionado Kanye West announced on Twitter that he would launch an architecture venture with his design firm, to be called YEEZY Home, and now first renderings have appeared on Instagram that list West among the designers.

"Low income housing scheme, made of prefabricated concrete in collaboration with Petra Kustrin, Jalil Peraza, Kanye West, Nejc Skufca," reads the caption of an image that shows a minimalist courtyard flanked by walls that mimic the brutalist, austere aesthetic of West's latest private estate as well as his YEEZY HQ in Calabasas, a posh Los Angeles suburb.

Image via Jalil Peraza/@jalilperaza on Instagram.

The image was shared by designer, and former Kanye West collaborator, Jalil Peraza who added another rendering this morning of an ultraminimalist kitchen with muted brass and concrete surfaces, crediting the same design team.

Image Jalil Peraza via hypebeast.com.

Hypebeast also published another rendering o...

Japan's disposable housing culture

2018-03-22T13:48:00-04:00

[...] the value of the average Japanese house depreciates to zero in 22 years. (It is calculated separately from the land, which is more likely to hold its value.) Most are knocked down and rebuilt. Sales of new homes far outstrip those of used ones, which usually change hands in the expectation that they will be demolished and replaced. In America and Europe second-hand houses accounted for 90% of sales and new-builds for 10% in 2017. In Japan the proportions are the other way around.

The Economist article describes Japan’s throwaway housing culture as a phenomenon that is not only a burden on the national economy and the environment but also does not see renovation and refurbishment of existing structures as an appreciation in value.

There are exceptions of course: one rare example of an upgraded old structure is this Kyoto guest house makeover by B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio, published on Archinect earlier this month.

This Swiss firm is experimenting with prefab movable housing

2018-03-20T15:29:00-04:00

Swiss architectural practice Rahbaran Hürzeler Architekten is developing an experimental residence to be realized anywhere. Called movable house, every aspect of this project is determined by motion from floor plans to structural elements to energy storage.

The movable house is not designed with a specific site in mind, but rather can be constructed almost anywhere. The main goals of movable house are that it can be put up quickly with easy and efficient transportation of all structural elements.

This prefab architecture can stand alone or be attached to an existing building. The four main areas of the structure are arranged around a central library which doubles as a transitional space to connect it all together. This creates a flexible and transparent living space for a family of four on the smallest possible footprint.