This inflatable factory for prefab building will reduce project timelines & costs + revolutionize construction

Posted on 15/12/2023 by Srishti Mitra

A notable fact about the construction industry is that it’s always been consistent, – consistent with its techniques, technologies, and practices. Consistency can be a good trait to possess in most scenarios, but it doesn’t stand true for this one. In the construction industry, it could be considered a deteriorating one. After all, construction is responsible for 13% of the global economic output but has faced a productivity increase of only 1.0% annually for the past 20 years. But despite these depressing numbers, a revolution has been slowly encroaching on the world of construction, and that is – Prefabrication.

Off-site construction has been proven to reduce cost, time, waste, and risk, and in turn construction professionals are moving towards factory-based construction more and more. After all, according to a survey of over 800 architecture, engineering, and contracting (AEC) pros conducted by the SmartMarket Report from Dodge Data and Analytics – 66% report that prefabrication reduces project schedules, with 35% of them stating reductions of four weeks or more, whereas 65% report a reduction in project budgets, with 41% citing a reduction of 6% or more. Yes, factory-based construction is revolutionizing the construction industry, but what if we revolutionize the very factories in which we construct prefabricated structures and homes? And, that’s where the construction startup Cuby steps in.

Designer: Cuby

Now, let’s make it clear, what Cuby is actually offering isn’t the prefab buildings that are constructed in factories, but rather the factories themselves. Backed by the climate tech venture capital fund ‘At One Ventures’, Cuby’s vision is simple – inflatable factories. Inflatable architecture seems to be on a rising curve nowadays. We recently saw New York-based startup Automatic Construction invent a new technique called Inflatable Flexible Factory Formwork (IFFF), which utilizes an air pump and processor to construct homes by pumping concrete into an inflatable balloon-like structure. You could say Cuby’s inflatable factories are similar to it, but not quite. Cuby’s aim is to develop and operate turnkey, transportable factories that look like large pop-up huts! The factory is basically a massive arched plastic shed, with lines of machines, workstations, and robotics arranged within it. The entire inflatable factory can be packed into 20 shipping containers, transferred to a new site, and assembled in a span of days. The plan is to set up these inflatable factories on or close to the construction site, to create a powerhouse that can produce multiple kits of parts to build multiple types of buildings at a high output capacity. What the Cuby intends to do is pick up what would traditionally be built on a construction site, and instead build it within the factories, allowing the construction process to be streamlined, quick, and efficient. Cuby is also building the tools and machines these factories will require for prefabrication and modular building.

Designed to be transportable and portable, Cuby’s factories will employ lean manufacturing techniques on or near the construction site itself. This innovative methodology will eliminate the risk of human error, reduce project timelines, and completely wipe out the logistical dilemma of shipping building components over vast distances. Cuby claims that the costs will be 30 to 40% less as compared to the conventional construction of a home. The evergrowing issue of the skilled labor shortage we are facing today will be tackled by the Cuby factories as well since they’ve been designed to be operated by relatively unskilled laborers. This basically means, the laborers require a certain level of skill, but they will also be able to operate machinery well above their skill levels. For example – a laborer who would be hitting nails on a conventional construction site can operate a laser cutter in the factory. These are Cuby’s USPs, and what they claim will set them apart from the other factory-based construction startups.

Now how do the inflatable factories actually construct homes? Much like most of the factory-based construction startups in the market, Cuby manufactures building components in the form of a ‘set kit of parts’. The kits include the typical and commonly used building components such as wall panels, and floor slabs. Cuby co-founder Aleks Gampel says that the building elements aren’t really groundbreaking, the kits are what you would usually find on a traditional construction site. But this was intentional on Cuby’s part. It is a commendable effort to streamline production, which in turn will reduce labor and construction costs, as well as project timelines.

Now, what is future plan of action for Cuby’s factories? It’s simple. The startup isn’t planning to compete against any of the construction giants, because that would be a foolish and expensive goal, instead, it will sell its factories to major developers for $5 to 7 million, who will in turn use them for their own big prefabrication projects. It’s a wise POA that will allow the Cuby factories to slowly but surely gain a monopoly in the arena of factory-based construction. The risk is less, the reward is high, and profits are even higher. It’s profitable not only for Cuby, but also for the builders who buy from them, and it will provide end-users with homes that they love, and are delivered excellently to them. Cuby will have its first two factories up and about soon enough. If the factories are a success, we could easily watch them connect together to build streamlined, efficient, dynamic, and precise systems for the construction industry.

The post This inflatable factory for prefab building will reduce project timelines & costs + revolutionize construction first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Câpsula Tiny Homes Are Small But Mighty Helping You Live Large With Less

Posted on 06/11/2023 by Srishti Mitra

Dubbed Câpsula, this tiny homes concept by architecture studio i29 was launched at Dutch Design Week 2023. It is a series of prefabricated cabins and tiny homes that provide simplicity and design-led thinking. Although the project is small-scale, the plans and ambitions for it are pretty huge. The main intention behind the project is to encourage slow living and form the perfect cabin architecture, with few excellent options.

Designer: i29

The series of prefabricated cabins and tiny homes basically includes three iterations: Soft Lodge, Writer’s Block Hut, and Tiny Holiday Home. The various versions allow you to pick a home that can fit your particular needs, uses, and wants. The cabins follow the style of minimalist architecture, but this does not entail a cold or boring aesthetic, in fact, the various homes are classy and imbibed with depth and meaning. Timber was utilized as the main material, as well as natural textures and colors.

The tiny homes can accommodate a family of four, and they’re equipped with a living room, kitchen/dining area, a patio, bedrooms, and a bathroom. Although the homes are small with a minimum footprint, they offer top-notch amenities and feel pretty spacious. Each volume has its own special program and has a pretty distinctive size and height. They are accentuated with large windows and sliding doors, to allow a serene indoor-outdoor connection, creating a home that provides stunning vistas and a touch of fresh air. The homes may be small but they are mighty!

The Soft Lodge and Writer’s Block Hut prototypes were built for the Dutch Design Week 2023, and they will be displayed in the garden of DOMUSDELA, where visitors can experience the homes for themselves. In fact, the Writer’s Block Hut will be utilized. podcast broadcast, wherein creatives can discuss their work process, and relationship to space. According to i29, the Câpsula project is all about “living large with less”, and the concept is intended to grow as businesses do. Although these initial designs are by i29, in the future, there will be more opportunities for designers and architects to collaborate with the company, and create interesting builds.

The post The Câpsula Tiny Homes Are Small But Mighty Helping You Live Large With Less first appeared on Yanko Design.

Prefab Architecture designed to convert you into sustainable architecture advocates

Posted on 21/03/2022 by Srishti Mitra

Prefabricated architecture has been gaining a lot of popularity and momentum recently! It basically involves making buildings or building various components at a particular location, one that is better suited for construction, and then once completed, transporting it to the final site or location. Prefab architectural designs have a multitude of benefits – they keep costs down, ensure projects are more sustainable and efficient, and they also prioritize and pay attention to simplicity and modularity. And we have curated a collection of our favorite prefabricated designs for you – from an AI-enabled prefab tiny home to a prefab traditional farmhouse with a contemporary twist – these prefabricated designs are a part of an integral growing trend in modern architecture, and could be the future of it as well!

1. The Folding Dream House

Michael Jantzen, a multidisciplinary artist based in New Mexico, is one artist who seems endlessly inspired by geometry. Merging sustainability, architecture, and technology, Jantzen developed an adaptable modern home called The Folding Dream House that expands from an enclosed, cubic structure into a multi-layered, dream home.

Why is it noteworthy?

From its initial conception, the Folding Dream House was designed as a place to sleep. Amounting to the size of a conventional hotel room, the Folding Dream House consists of two prefabricated, portable modules. Each rectangular module is envisioned mounted atop an elevated, triangular foundation that connects the home’s expandable support beams to its frame. On each facade of the Folding Dream House, Jantzen envisioned triangular overhangs and partitions as foldable panels that expand from the home’s frame.

What we like

The panels can be folded open or closed in many different ways around the modules in order to accommodate various functional and/or aesthetic requirements

What we dislike

It’s still in the conceptual phase!

2. The Hithe

The Hithe is a prefabricated, demountable structure located in London’s Rotherhithe community designed to support local businesses while bridging the city’s communities with modern changes. The Hithe is a 200sqm is located on Albion Street, the neighborhood social hub. Prefabricated by design, the structure consists of five modules that were constructed offsite and then assembled on Albion.

Why is it noteworthy?

New social infrastructure is rising in the London neighborhood, providing residents with a meeting hub that could function as the very bridge that maintains the neighborhood’s identity while connecting it with imminent modern changes. The Hithe is a new, fully demountable, and re-locatable multipurpose structure designed by IF_DO Architects to bring the community of Rotherhithe together.

What we like

Provides city residents with a common space for work, social, and commercial purposes
In an effort to reduce the need for built-in circulation spaces, each of the ten micro studios is accessible from the building’s exterior

What we dislike

Unsure whether it can actually meet its goal of reducing gentrification

3. A-Fold’s line of prefabricated homes

A-Fold’s line of prefabricated homes come in two models and are designed to provide earthquake relief as well as to withstand a natural disaster. At the height of the pandemic, A-Fold launched the designs for their line of prefabricated homes that includes two bi-level cabins. Model A, the first of the two to be released, is a traditional A-frame cabin and ranges in size from 51 sqm to 125 sqm. Model T is named for its trapezoid shape and its smallest size is slightly larger than Model A’s, coming in at 52 sqm while its largest size is 127 sqm.

Why is it noteworthy?
Like most prefabricated homes, Model A and Model T from A-Fold are both constructed offsite and transported via truck to the home’s destination. Then, each home is mounted atop a screw piles system foundation, which consists of metal poles that spiral sectors are attached to and then driven deep into the ground.

What we like

The very build of the home is built to withstand natural disasters like earthquakes through a system of massive hinge connection
A choice between roofs – a modern look with Isogrecata metal paneling or a more traditional look with bitumen roof tiles

What we dislike

No complaints!

4. Piaule

Garrison Architects created 24 prefabricated cabins in the Catskill Mountains. Deemed Piaule, the 50-acre boutique resort consists of cabins elevated on stilts. The property also includes a communal lodge with a lounge and restaurant, a sunken spa and wellness space.

Why is it noteworthy?

The resort is located on a beautiful site that includes state-protected wetlands, a seasonal stream, and stunning views of the surrounding Catskill Mountains and Kaaterskill Grove. The hotel was built while attempting to preserve the nature of the land, hence it takes up only 5 acres of the otherwise 50-acre property.

What we like

Interiors are made from materials that are local and native to the area
The cabins are constructed around existing trees

What we dislike

No complaints!

5. ARCspace

Why is it noteworthy?

ARCspace reports the buildings are “spec-built from the ground up in 40-60% less time and cost than traditional construction.” Residents can fully customize their tiny homes or even scale up to the size of traditional homes and have a huge range of interior design details to choose from including optional elements that provide off-grid power and water. Some homes feature self-contained atmospheric water generators called Hydropanels that are grid-independent and pull a few liters of drinking water out of the air each day.

What we like

40-60% less time and cost to construct

What we dislike

Although solar panels can be added, the primary supply still comes from onsite plumbing and electrical systems

6. Hewing Haus

Four basic units comprise Hewing Haus’ prefabricated tiny home catalog, ranging in size from 200sqf to 600sqf. Expanding on their commitment to sustainability, Hewing Haus constructs their tiny homes from cross-laminated timber (CLT), large-scale, prefabricated, solid engineered wood panels that “sequesters carbon making constructions fast, quiet and less costly,” as Hewing Haus builders describe.

Why is it noteworthy?

Hewing Haus is a prefabricated tiny home company that uses clean construction to build small-footprint tiny homes from sustainable materials. Responding to the demand for additional residences across global cities, the tiny home builders with Hewing Haus “leverage clean construction to build beautiful, small-footprint dwellings with the world’s strongest and most sustainable materials.”

What we like

Carefully planned out to optimize floor space and maximize living
Built using sustainable materials

What we dislike

No complaints!

7. Moliving

Moliving is a nomadic hospitality solution made up of Scandinavian-inspired prefab tiny homes. Compared to the years that it takes to give rise to traditional hotel accommodations, Moliving boasts a 3-5 month construction, assembly, and installation process. Built with Green- Steel, proximity woods, and other sustainable materials, Moliving’s Hurley House units have a sustainable construction process as well.

Why is it noteworthy?

Moliving, a nomadic hospitality solution, has developed a line of Scandinavian-inspired, prefabricated tiny homes called Hurley House, which can be placed anywhere as tiny private retreats for guests to find relaxation. With hopes of providing city dwellers with a private, countryside oasis, Hurley House is set to replace Hudson Valley’s now-inoperative Twin Lakes Resort.

What we like

Short construction + installation duration
Built from sustainable materials

What we dislike

The classic hotel suite-inspired interiors are unexciting

8. The Amagansett Modular house

The Amagansett Modular house is a 1,800-square-foot prefabricated home constructed from stacked shipping containers. Modeled after their circa-2008 insta_house, the Amagansett Modular home is a custom design for a family of four. While the insta_house is a scalable, prefabricated structure formed from four stacked shipping containers, the Amagansett Modular house takes on two additional shipping containers to meet the couple’s requirements.

Why is it noteworthy?

What we like

Unique cantilevered structure
Features a floating shipping container

What we dislike

Not much to distinguish it from other shipping container-based architecture

9. Cube One

Low-cost, prefabricated, and ready to live in homes are all the rage right now! And tiny home builder Nestron has jumped on the bandwagon with their latest AI-enabled home ‘Cube One’. Cube One is a 156 square foot home perfect for all kinds of residents – from single youngsters to large families. The value for money home has been equipped with built-in furnishings, voice-controlled tech, and a galvanized steel shell that not only lends it a sci-fi feel but also protects it from extreme temperatures and natural disasters.

Why is it noteworthy?

Much like a Rubik’s Cube, the dynamic Cube One can be customized and played around with! The interior can be customized with various add-ons and trimmings, including a kitchen with a bar counter, a wardrobe, a bed, a living area, and a shower accompanied by a toilet and laundry machine. It also comes fully equipped with smart technology which is experienced in the form of color controllable LED lighting, a television, sound system, and air conditioning.

What we like

Built from recyclable materials
AI-enabled

What we dislike

Eco-friendly and sustainable elements like a compostable toilet, solar panels, and electric-heated flooring are integrated at an additional cost

10. The Friends Lab House

The Friends Lab House finds its veil with permeable black-stained Accoya timber batten screen cladding that hearkens back to the other blackened timber structures around the property. Just beyond the Friends Lab House, dense woodlands run parallel with the lengthy home, a subtle ode to the home’s sweeping surroundings. Describing the home’s initial plans, AMPS founder Alberto Marcos says, “A similar formal and color approach to the existing farm was used for the design of the new house, but reinterpreted in a thoroughly contemporary way, from structure to finishes and importantly, a very high level of energy efficiency.”

Why is it noteworthy?

Especially true in the wide-open countryside of Hampshire, England, new architecture must blend into its surroundings and that was one of the Friend Labs House’s residents’ main requests. In addition to building an expansive, sustainable home, AMPS ensured the residence would harmonize with its surroundings by mirroring the look of the farm’s other homes.

What we like

Outfitted with energy-efficient specs needed for a self-sufficient home

What we dislike

Traditional aesthetics

The post Prefab Architecture designed to convert you into sustainable architecture advocates first appeared on Yanko Design.

This prefabricated home unfolds from a fully-enclosed cubic structure into a multi-layered dream home

Posted on 09/03/2022 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

The Folding Dream House is an expandable modern home that transforms from a fully-enclosed cubic structure into a multi-layered dreamhouse that combines indoor and outdoor living.

Shapes have always been a source of inspiration for designers. Shapes make up the structure of our world and reveal endless configurations when combined together. Games like Tetris and structures like the Egyptian pyramids haven’t gone out of style for a reason. Playing with shapes is addictive and flexible.

Designer: Michael Jantzen

Explaining the expandable structure of the home, Jantzen describes, “These panels can be folded open or closed in many different ways around the modules in order to accommodate various functional and/or aesthetic requirements. The slotted panels can be moved and secured in ways that shade some or all of the sliding glass doors and skylights. They can also be folded completely around the modules in order to safeguard all of the glass when no one is occupying the house.”

The Folding Dream House is currently in its conceptual phase, Jantzen envisions each wooden module painted in optic white. In addition to the expandable panels, each facade also supports six large sliding glass doors around the perimeter, and two large glass skylights in the roof. Inside the modules, Jantzen configured a queen-sized bed, a large closet, a shower, toilet, sink, combo pod, a dining table with four chairs, and two small portable food prep and storage units.

From each facade, the panels halve into triangles and fold out to provide shading with overhangs and privacy with partitions.

Then, the panels can fold back down to fully enclose the modular structure.

The post This prefabricated home unfolds from a fully-enclosed cubic structure into a multi-layered dream home first appeared on Yanko Design.

These prefabricated homes are built to provide deployable shelter in the wake of natural disaster

Posted on 02/03/2022 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

A-Fold’s line of prefabricated homes come in two models and are designed to provide earthquake relief as well as to withstand a natural disaster.

Ranging from disused shipping containers to DIY flat-pack houses, prefabricated homes provide an efficient way of building houses without losing the distinct charm of traditionally built homes. Designed in response to events like natural disasters, prefabricated homes can be built offsite and then transported without impacting the environment around them.

Designer: A-Fold x Nico D’Incecco

In this way, prefabricated homes provide sufficient, deployable shelter for individuals in need. In 2009, when an earthquake left 40,000 people homeless in Central Italy, Nico D’Incecco and the team at A-Fold relied on prefabricated construction methods to design a home that can unfold in a matter of hours and provide anti-seismic security.

At the height of the pandemic, A-Fold launched the designs for their line of prefabricated homes that includes two bi-level cabins. Model A, the first of the two to be released, is a traditional A-frame cabin and ranges in size from 51 sqm to 125 sqm. Model T is named for its trapezoid shape and its smallest size is slightly larger than Model A’s, coming in at 52 sqm while its largest size is 127 sqm.

Like most prefabricated homes, Model A and Model T from A-Fold are both constructed offsite and transported via truck to the home’s destination. Then, each home is mounted atop a screw piles system foundation, which consists of metal poles that spiral sectors are attached to and then driven deep into the ground.

Through this type of foundation, the homes can be folded back up at any moment just as easily as they were unfolded, allowing residents to take their homes with them. While the very build of the home is built to withstand natural disasters like earthquakes through a system of massive hinge connections, the home’s portability can also be of aid during evacuations.

Buyers can choose from an array of different finishes for the home’s roof, floors, and facades. Depending on the buyer’s taste, the roof can keep a modern look with Isogrecata metal paneling or a more traditional look with bitumen roof tiles.

Each model’s flooring can also completely change the look and mood of the home. Those who tend toward cozier interior design can choose between engineered hardwood flooring and carpeting. Besides that, buyers can opt for vinyl, LVT wood flooring, or linoleum paneling. Then, each home can either be clad in spruce shingles, stone or be given a floor-to-ceiling window facade.

Buyers can choose from an array of different flooring panels, from linoleum to hardwood.

The silhouette of Model T gives the model’s interior lofty ceilings and a unique shape.

Inside, Scandinavian-inspired interior design elements give the home an airy, spacious feel.

Overhead eaves provide roofs for the semi-enclosed terraces.

The post These prefabricated homes are built to provide deployable shelter in the wake of natural disaster first appeared on Yanko Design.

Off-grid, prefab cabins on wheels by Nomadic hospitality create portable space for travelers to escape from city life

Posted on 05/02/2022 by Shawn McNulty-Kowal

Moliving is a nomadic hospitality solution made up of Scandinavian-inspired prefab tiny homes.

Tiny homes are changing the hotel game. With the pandemic restricting air travel and hospitality services, designers within those industries had to get creative. To encourage responsible and sustainable travel, tiny homes offer a remote getaway where guests can still enjoy their bucket list destinations in a safe and eco-conscious way.

Designer: Moliving

Compared to the years that it takes to give rise to traditional hotel accommodations, Moliving boasts a 3-5 month construction, assembly, and installation process. Built with Green- Steel, proximity woods, and other sustainable materials, Moliving’s Hurley House units have a sustainable construction process as well.

Each prefabricated tiny home comprises 400-square-meters and packs a lot into such a tiny space. Whether the tiny home brings guests to a lake’s shoreline or a wintry wonderland, each model features identical layouts that work to embrace the outdoors of any setting. The units are also designed for on- or off-grid living, depending on each guest’s preference.

Looking at a Moliving unit head-on, a front deck creates an intimate transitional space between the outdoors and the interior. Immediately walking past the unit’s bathroom, where a shower and toilet can be found, guests are welcomed by the tiny home’s main living area. There, Moliving outfitted the interior space to resemble classic hotel suites.

On the other side of the bathroom, a minibar punctuates the main living area, where guests can indulge in the perks normally served in hotel minibars, like a coffeemaker, various beverages, as well as a mini-fridge. From there, an integrated desk borders the edge of the living area and merges into the main bedroom. Doubling as the bed frame’s headboard, the desk looks out three bay windows directly to the surrounding landscape.

The bedroom itself is paneled in wood, providing a warm, rustic cradle for sleeping that subdues the bright white walls that line the rest of the Hurley House units’ walls. From there, guests can lounge anywhere on Hurley House’s 120-square-foot outdoor deck that brings guests to the precipice of the outdoors in their chosen destination.

The post Off-grid, prefab cabins on wheels by Nomadic hospitality create portable space for travelers to escape from city life first appeared on Yanko Design.

Top 10 prefab architecture trends of 2022

Posted on 12/01/2022 by Srishti Mitra

1. Cube One

2. The Friends Lab House

3. ARCspace

Meet ARCspace, a modular architecture firm that is constantly creating innovative designs and material development to do its part in curbing the emissions for their industry using sustainable, affordable, prefabricated homes. All structures are prefabricated for highly efficient and quick builds which reduce emissions and minimizes waste. ARCspace reports the buildings are “spec-built from the ground up in 40-60% less time and cost than traditional construction.” Residents can fully customize their tiny homes or even scale up to the size of traditional homes and have a huge range of interior design details to choose from including optional elements that provide off-grid power and water. Some homes feature self-contained atmospheric water generators called Hydropanels that are grid-independent and pull a few liters of drinking water out of the air each day.

4. The Amagansett Modular

Located in Amagansett’s East Hampton village, the Amagansett Modular is one of many modern homes that take disused shipping containers to construct modular houses with little waste. Considering the durable and inexpensive nature of shipping containers, they’re the ideal option for building prefabricated homes and MB Architecture is no stranger. Modeled after their circa-2008 insta_house, the Amagansett Modular home is a custom design for a family of four. While the insta_house is a scalable, prefabricated structure formed from four stacked shipping containers, the Amagansett Modular house takes on two additional shipping containers to meet the couple’s requirements.

5. Iniö

Iniö is a prefabricated log home from Pluspuu designed for a Switzerland-based Finnish couple who’d like a holiday retreat in their hometown of Heinola. Pluspuu knows log cabins better than we do. Based in Helsinki, the prefabricated log cabin design company constructs high-quality log houses and cabins alongside Pirkanmaa-based Ollikaisen Hirsirakenne Oy, a family-run cabin construction company with over 40 years’ worth of experience. For a Finnish couple who relocated to Switzerland, Pluspuu’s prefabricated Iniö log house came as the ideal home for holiday retreats in their hometown of Heinola.

6. Villa Timmerman

Defined by windows covered by over crossed grilles that form the shapes of diamonds and vertical beams, Villa Timmerman draws in ample sunlight from each side to create beautiful lattice shadows inside. The architects also note that “The grid was an experiment that proved to work well as extra protection against solar radiation on the façade and as a protective layer against the drifting rain on the west coast.” The villa’s location was in fact chosen so that sun would enter the house from at least one side at all hours of the day so that extra protection was necessary.

7. The Falcon House

Partly immersed in the surrounding woodlands, the Falcon House pokes through from the nearby forest with sharp angles and a geometric silhouette. Conceived to maximize the total living space and available views of the surrounding landscape, Koto flipped the Falcon House’s layout upside down. Nicknamed the Upside Down Home, Koto’s latest home is defined by two cuboid modules stacked almost perpendicularly together.

8. VMD

VMD (Vivienda Minima de Descanso) from STUDIOROCA is a line of prefabricated tiny homes built from disused shipping containers in Mexico, with an interior equipped with off-grid capabilities and simple luxuries. STUDIOROCA designed the line of prefabricated homes to provide a “no-fuss, low-cost building solution,” outfitting the exterior and interior with environmentally friendly materials and smart home automation systems. Tracing the interior’s open layout, each one-bedroom shipping container provides an open-plan kitchenette, a dining area, and living space on one end, then a bathroom and storage space can be found in the middle, whereas the bedroom finds privacy on its own end.

9. Exosteel

Exosteel comprises a group of modular steel homes that would be constructed using a 3D-printed construction system that supports and distributes all the functional elements of the building. Mask Architects co-founders Danilo Petta and Öznur Pınar Çer felt inspired by Costantino Nivola’s sculpture work, in particular a travertine sculpture called ‘La Madre.’ Punctuating the terrain of a sloping mountainside in Sardinia, Exosteel is comprised of heart-shaped, white homes with center ‘energy towers,’ oriented in the same way as the head on Nivola’s ‘La Madre.’

10. Hüga

Developed from the Danish word Hyggee, Hüga was conceptualized, designed, and built over a span of 24 months, during which Grandio’s team of designers were able to produce a 45 m2 residence with space for a bedroom, living room, bathroom, kitchen, and dining area. The final results are these hüga units that are built with reinforced concrete and designed for minimal maintenance as well as reducing your energy costs. These compact homes can withstand all climates and adverse conditions, including earthquakes, wildfires, and hurricanes. Hüga homes are also mobile and modular so much so that you can extend your house in plan in just one day. Weighing about 55-Tn, Hüga requires a team and machinery for transportation but can be placed according to the prospective resident’s preference.

The post Top 10 prefab architecture trends of 2022 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Top 10 prefab architectural designs of 2021

Posted on 23/12/2021 by Srishti Mitra

Prefabricated architecture has been gaining a lot of popularity and momentum recently! It basically involves making buildings or building various components at a particular location, one that is better suited for construction, and then once completed, transporting it to the final site or location. Prefab architectural designs have a multitude of benefits – they keep costs down, ensure projects are more sustainable and efficient, and they also prioritize and pay attention to simplicity and modularity. And we have curated a collection of our favorite prefabricated designs for you – from a prefab cabin with a rustic personality and modern details to a micro resort made from three prefab timber cabins – these prefabricated designs are a part of an integral growing trend in modern architecture, and could be the future of it as well!

1. ARCspace

2. Iniö

3. Exosteel

4. Uni Villa

Studio Puisto collaborated with nature tourism entrepreneur Kari Vainio and installed the first prototype in the forest of Hyvinkää, Finland. One 1,205-square-foot, U-shaped villa is the core of the layout and consists of two accompanying studio units. All three units come with a keyless check-in system and ready-made furniture. Uni means “dream” in Finnish and it alludes to the dreams that aspiring hospitality entrepreneurs will be able to fulfill their own micro-resorts that won’t require the big capital investment that hotels do. This first Uni Villa even won the title of Best in Finland in 2020! Two courses were designed by Canadian golf course architect Thomas McBroom and are set in the most pristine environment between a natural forest and a lake.

5. Hüga

6. Casa R

Think of this cabin as a safehouse for when you are facing harsh weather conditions. Casa R is perched in the Andes Mountains in Southern Chile giving views of the vast parklands and nature reserves. It is the ideal destination to be immersed in nature but the area is also known for its extreme climatic conditions and that is exactly what Casa R’s design aims to guard against – nothing can stand between you and a cozy night at your cabin in the woods! Felipe Lagos is a Chilean architect of the Santiago–based studio TuCroquis who has previously designed many local homes that take the rapidly changing weather into account. Casa R is an extension of that range, it is a modular holiday cabin residing in the middle of a lush forested site.

7. The Falcon House

8. AUAR

AUAR comprises a modular timber building method that designs prefabricated, custom homes based on a given site’s conditions and landscape, and the buyer’s lifestyle and home preferences. Relying on robotics and custom automation methods from ABB Robotics, AUAR redefines what homebuilding can look like in the 21st century. Through AUAR, individual timber building blocks, chosen for the building materials renewability, are robotically prefabricated and stacked together to form tiny dwelling units.

9. Pi House

This prefab dwelling comes flat-packed in multiple boxes and can be assembled in 45 days without the help of heavy machinery. It uses extrusion-die aluminum framing that’s anchored with rebar to the ground or a poured concrete foundation. Just like a Lego set, there is a network of steel doughnuts that spans lengths of up to 30 feet to support the structure. The aluminum studs link seamlessly to joists and the exterior cladding is clipped onto the frame. It’s a method that could be extended to 45 feet which makes it modular and easier to expand in case the home belongs to a growing family. Pi House can be shipped anywhere, the system allows it to be the perfect structure for single-family homes as well as larger projects like social housing.

10. Stilt Studio

Bali-based architect Alexis Dornier has created small prefabricated homes on stilts called Stilt Studio. These homes can be set up and erected without causing any substantial damage to the surrounding landscape. Dornier says, “The reality here (in Bali) is that we often find leasehold plots with a limited amount of years. This situation calls for us to tread lightly through prefab ‘PropTech’ structures that could be packed up and re-erected someplace else.” He aims at building the homes from cross-laminated timber, hence making them environmentally friendly as well.

The post Top 10 prefab architectural designs of 2021 first appeared on Yanko Design.