Modern Pre-Fab Design – Kaufmann Creates Prefabricated Homes

When architect Michelle Kaufmann moved to the Bay Area to join her husband last year, they were beset with the frustration of trying to find a home that they could afford and was eco-friendly. After six months of looking at $600,000 fixer-uppers, Michelle decided to take matters into her own hands.

She designed a prefabricated, modern style home that had all the green features that the couple considered important, and could be constructed to the strict San Francisco building codes including seismic requirements and energy efficiency. The first Glidehouse will be available for touring May 15-16 at Sunset Magazine’s Celebration Weekend 2004 in Menlo Park.

The current real estate market demonstrated to us that there are very few options available to people like ourselves and our friends for a new type of housing alternative, said Kaufmann. We want to do for pre-fabricated homes what Ikea has done for furniture and Volkswagen has done for cars which translates to intelligent design at affordable prices.

The old trailer park myth of pre-fab homes is history, since most homes in today’s marketplace are at least partially pre-fabricated. Our designs are smart and modern, our workmanship is of the highest quality, we are totally energy efficient and sustainable and every home is built to local codes. It’s time that people have an alternative for home ownership. We think it’s the Glidehouse.

The Glidehouse offers an affordable, low-maintenance, well-designed green housing alternative, in four different sizes – 952 sf for a 1-bedroom, 1,344 sf for a 2-bedroom, 1,566 sf for a 3-bedroom and a 4-bedroom, 2,016 sf courtyard version.

It can be configured to either fit on an open lot with views, with glass walls that open onto the landscape. Or, it can adjust to a more dense, urban lot, which would feature glass walls that open onto two private courtyards, insuring privacy from neighbors.

With Glidehouse, the work is done at a factory, to local code, and delivered within six months of receipt of the down payment, Kaufmann continued. It’s very user and environmentally friendly and gives the homeowner exactly what they want.

And, a hidden bonus is that it’s virtually waste free. Statistics tell us that 30% of materials of homes built on-site is wasted, while there is 100% efficiency of materials used for pre-fabricated homes.

Designed to maximize organized storage, the configuration of the Glidehouse reduces clutter and increases the feeling of living ‘clean’ and ‘light,’ through the simple construction of a bar on one side for flexible storage of media, literature, clothing and cooking objects.

The storage bar allows living spaces to remain clear and uncluttered, said Kaufmann. The opposite wall has gliding glass doors which offer maximum views and blurs the boundary between interior and exterior.

This kind of clean strategy offers flexibility for people who want to customize the storage bar components to make the Glidehouse suitable to their specific needs. It can either be used for storage or to increase the living area.

In addition to its clean living and flexibility, the Glidehouse is also designed to collaborate with nature through a design that is based on basic sustainable design principals. The house is planned as a series of shallow buildings to allow maximum natural ventilation.

Through the use of the gliding glass wall and the operable clerestory windows, located on the opposite side above the storage bar, breezes are maximized and indirect lighting minimizes the need for electric lighting. Depending on the location, the house can either have solar panels, a wind generator or a hybrid system.

In some cases, homeowners can hook up with their local utility to sell stored energy and then buy it back on cloudy days.

Through sustainable design and solar, geothermal or wind generator equipment, Glidehouse can reduce, and sometimes eliminate, utility bills, said Kaufmann. Since the Glidehouse is not dependent on a local utility for all its power, it widens the range of potential building sites.

The factory cost of the Glidehouse is approximately $120/sf, considerably less than on-site construction. It arrives as an 90% completed pre-fabricated home in two truckloads, complete with exterior and interior finishes, plumbing fixtures and all lighting and electrical. The site work, including foundation and landscaping, can either be completed by a contractor or the homeowner.

The Glidehouse expands homeownership possibilities appreciably, especially when you look at the options that are currently available,said Kaufmann. You can either buy an existing home, purchase a new home designed by a developer or hire an architect to design your dream home.

Most people don’t have the time or the money for the last option, since it involves the lengthy process of design, permitting, code compliance measures and inspections.

With Glidehouse, you can have an architect designed home, customize it as desired but not have all the hassles of on-site construction. It’s an ideal option in today’s real estate market.

Also see; modular home floor plans.

About The Author:

Sally Daniels is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.home-n-house-plans.com. The best place to find new home plans, home designs & houseplans is on the Internet.