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Aro Homes, Olsen Kundig, Net Zero Prefab

JonathanLivingston

What do you guys think? 

In the bay area I would venture this prefab is easily north of 1M in cost.  

I have seen many architects try and do the prefab / semi custom / stock plan thing to watch it fizzle out.  

https://www.archpaper.com/2024... 

 
Jan 4, 24 3:45 pm
JLC-1

Am I living in a different planet? is 4.2 million affordable in California?

 Tom Kundig, principal, owner and founder of Olson Kundig. “From affordability and expanded access for homebuyers to the speed of the construction, this is an exciting project on every level.”

Jan 4, 24 4:00 pm  · 
3  · 
JonathanLivingston

Oh damn I missed that

Jan 4, 24 4:12 pm  · 
1  · 
Janosh

Yeah no. I think we can also be a little skeptical of anyone claiming that the resources necessary to build a 3,000 SF home for just one family can every be "sustainable". These guys make beautiful luxury products.


Jan 4, 24 4:37 pm  · 
6  · 
natematt

JLC-1:

You are not, no one considers that affordable in California in general. Housing prices are nuts, but that’s like 10x nuts. For 5m you could buy a mansion in the Hollywood hills. The skewed idea of affordable is probably more like 500k here.

I don’t want to put too much thought into that price point though, these articles tend to lack clarity on the why, sometimes in the other direction too. The last project I had in an article online that talked about cost was being misunderstood as costing 3x as much as it actually did.

However, when claiming affordability and speed, a 3000sqft single family residence from prefab doesn’t necessarily seem like it’s going to hit all the marks. Guess we’ll see.

I think this topic needs to be examined across a larger spectrum of companies. One architect that has done a bit of this is Marmol Radziner, curious on their perspective on cost effectiveness. Also, I recall knowing someone that worked for a company called bluhomes, which seems to have been eaten by a company called Dvele, who actually lists base prices for their tiny homes.

Jan 4, 24 6:24 pm  · 
1  · 
Janosh

Marmol folded their prefab business - it wasn't profitable.

Jan 5, 24 8:57 pm  · 
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natematt

I mean, that says something right there

Jan 7, 24 12:46 pm  · 
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JonathanLivingston

That siding looks warped, what's going on with the shadow lines between the window on the upper floor? Will look better once all that wood ages out a bit I suppose. 

Jan 5, 24 12:20 pm  · 
1  · 
Almosthip

That was the first thing I noticed too

Jan 5, 24 1:52 pm  · 
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MBhere

It’s “affordable” when you consider Kundig’s houses are typically +$20M. 

Jan 6, 24 11:21 am  · 
1  · 
whistler

Yawn... that looks like suburban hell! WTF???

Jan 8, 24 7:38 pm  · 
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