The world of prefab and modular homes.
 Entries tagged as 'Marmol Radziner'

Reminder: Marmol Radziner open house this Sunday

Just a reminder:

There will be a info_smallMarmol Radziner Open House in Venice, CA this Sunday, October 12, from 2pm - 5pm. Free but reservation required.

Next week you can hear firm principal Leo Marmol, FAIA. Wednesday, October 15, 6pm - 8pm ($22).

Related Posts:
   1. Upcoming Marmol Radziner events (Sep 09, 2008)
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Photo tour of the new Marmol Radziner Palms House

Link to Photo tour of the new Marmol Radziner Palms House
ttp://www.coochicoos.com

Design blog coochicoos shared some photos from his weekend visit to info_smallMarmol Radziner's Palms House.

Related Posts:
   1. Hollywood Hybrid by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 11, 2009)
   2. The Skyline Series by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 02, 2009)
   3. Marmol Radziner's Palms House (Aug 08, 2008)
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Marmol Radziner's Palms House

The Marmol Radziner blog has lots of news about their recently completed Palms House.

The home's specs:

  • 2,800 sf
  • 3 bedrooms
  • 2.5 bathrooms
  • living/dining, kitchen, office

KTLA, a TV station out of LA, visited the house last week and filed a number of video reports (hosted by a slightly overbearing correspondent). One is seen above. A couple others:

Back in June (sorry we missed this!), the home was featured on Planet Green Channel's Renovation Nation:

Our episode highlights the green features of prefab building and follows the Palms House as it traveled through our factory.

Be on the lookout for a re-run in your area.

Related Posts:
   1. Hollywood Hybrid by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 11, 2009)
   2. The Skyline Series by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 02, 2009)
   3. Photo tour of the new Marmol Radziner Palms House (Sep 18, 2008)
   4. This week: Marmol install, Chile, and BURST (Jun 28, 2008)
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Marmol Radziner monograph released

Link to Marmol Radziner monograph released
papress.com

info_smallMarmol Radziner + Associates released a new monograph last month. Written by firm principles Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner, the book also features a foreword by Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New Yorker. From publisher Princeton Architectural Press:

If you design some of the most stylish and beautiful modern houses in the Los Angeles area, including many for celebrity clients, how do you ensure that the projects are built to the standards you, and your patrons, demand? If you're the highly sought-after firm of Marmol Radziner + Associates, you do what an increasing number of practices are doing: become your own contractor, building your projects with the same rigor and beauty with which they were designed, and, in the process, remake your firm into one of the most visible and successful design-build firms in the country....

[The book] explains in detail how this pioneering design-build firm — one of the few led by architects — has managed to integrate building–installation, construction, and fabrication into one seamless design process.

Keep an eye on the Marmol Radziner blog for announcements of book signings.

Listed at $40.00, the book is on sale at Amazon for $26.40.

See also: our page of prefab books.

subtitle: Between Architecture and Construction
author: Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner
release date: July 2008
list price: $40.00
details: 176 pages, Hardcover
publisher: Princeton Architecture Press

Related Posts:
   1. Hollywood Hybrid by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 11, 2009)
   2. Marmol Radziner Prefab writes a blog (Feb 20, 2008)
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This week: Marmol install, Chile, and BURST

The LA Times featured the above video (3:03, following a short advertisement) of the install of the info_smallMarmol Radziner prefab in Venice, CA that we mentioned last week.

Jetson Green enjoyed the video:

It's fun ... because you can see Ron Radziner's enthusiasm bubble inside as he explains one of his company's newest creations. These guys are having fun, you can just tell.

Inhabitat's Prefab Friday took a look at La Reserva:

This stunning prefab in Colina, Chile, is the work of Santiago-based architect Sebastián Irarrázaval. Despite its unique form, it is not meant as a custom design but rather a housing solution that can take shape repeatedly. Constructed of concrete, steel and timber, the 120 square meter structure (1290 sq ft) lives large with a simple geometric that is at ease with the surrounding landscape.

Plenty Magazine's blog covered the info_smallBURST* models that will be a part of the upcoming Home Delivery exhibition at MoMA:

“Everyone thinks prefab is just a big chunk of house you dump on a site and then you bolt it down,” says [designer] Gauthier. “Ours is a little bit more like an Ikea project. It’s thousands of pieces that can all be handled and stitched together on site.” Though the interior of the Burst*008 house will be modified to respond to the constraints of New York City and the MoMA’s specific building requirements, the structure will share many attributes with its Australian seaside counterpart.

Related Posts:
   1. The Skyline Series by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 02, 2009)
   2. Marmol Radziner's Palms House (Aug 08, 2008)
   3. This week: historical, Flatpak, LVL tour, and more (Jun 21, 2008)
   4. BURST*003 from SYSTEMarchitects (Jan 11, 2008)
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This week: historical, Flatpak, LVL tour, and more

Link to This week: historical, Flatpak, LVL tour, and more
http://andreasangelidakis.blogspot.com/2008/06/tube-prefabby-guy-dessauges.html

Treehugger covered an historical, and quite unconventional, prefab:

Around 1960, Swiss artist Guy Dessauges wondered why we were so square. "The vault resists pressure much larger than the flat ceiling. For the same quality of materials. I wondered why we could not use the cylinder to build a home. The only problem was the diameter of the cylinder. It was necessary to have a diameter large enough to install two floors. The idea crystallized in ten minutes."*

*translated quote from Treehugger

Inhabitat's Prefab Friday loved the photos of the info_smallFlatpak House we've seen before.

The LVL home tour received some good coverage this week. The blog "the girl in the green dress" wrote:

the lvl open house in maine was a success with about 100 people visiting my friend jim's house.

She also took some photos that were picked up by Jetson Green and Materialicio.us.

Curbed LA provided a photo update of a Marmol Radziner home going up in Venice, CA:

last we heard, the home, which belongs to firm founder Leo Marmol, will be done in about a month.

Related Posts:
   1. Sausalito, CA FlatPak for sale (Jun 26, 2009)
   2. This week: Marmol install, Chile, and BURST (Jun 28, 2008)
   3. Tour a Rocio Romero LVL Home on June 14th in Maine (May 27, 2008)
   4. Flatpak house in Aspen (Mar 14, 2008)
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Dwell on Design 2008 recap

Link to Dwell on Design 2008 recap
dwell.com

We weren't able to attend this year's Dwell on Design show in LA, so we'll just do a recap from afar.

Dwell's student blogger Jose Garcia interviewed Michelle Kaufmann.

Curbed LA gave a rundown of the prefab neighborhood with a slideshow and commentary.

Marmol Radziner shared some details on their blog. They rolled out the new Rincon 5 at the show:

The 660 square foot Rincon 5 is the largest of our new series of single module accessory buildings. The Rincon 5 is designed to be used as a guest house, office, or vacation retreat.

Apartment Therapy posted their thoughts, with a slideshow.

One of the most popular (and cramped) exhibits was the 1000 sq. ft. HOM shotgun style pre-fab house. Personally our favourite of the homes showcased.

We'll cover HOM in more detail soon. Until then, Jetson Green provided some info:

Of the three models that HOM plans for production, the (smaller) 1000 sf design was exhibited throughout the weekend in LA. HOM designs cost in the $200 psf range, which calculates to approximately $200,000 for a 1000 sf house....

One interesting aspect of these manufactured homes is that they're characterized under the federal HUD code for manufactured housing. Similar to the modern designs we see with miniHome, HOM homes have an axle and wheels that are disguised by skirting and decking.

(For reference: our info_smallminiHome page.)

This year's prefab exhibitors:

Absent from the show, but present last year:

If you visited the show, please leave your impressions in a comment!

Related Posts:
   1. Dwell on Design 2009 at the end of June (Jun 19, 2009)
   2. Dwell on Design bringing an entire neighborhood of prefab homes to LA June 5-8; get in FREE (May 23, 2008)
   3. Dwell on Design recap (Sep 24, 2007)
   4. Dwell on Design preview (Sep 12, 2007)
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Dwell on Design bringing an entire neighborhood of prefab homes to LA June 5-8; get in FREE

Link to Dwell on Design bringing an entire neighborhood of prefab homes to LA June 5-8; get in FREE
http://www.dwell.com/peopleplaces/conferences/14292127.html

Dwell Magazine's third Dwell On Design conference and exhibition is coming to the Los Angeles Convention Center June 5-8.

June 5th and 6th will feature conference sessions on a wide range of topics. On June 6 Michael Sylvester of fabprefab will host a session on "Systems Building and Prefab." Speakers include:

The public exhibition opens June 7th (emphasis added):

Everything you ever wanted to know about modern design in one very big place: 200+ exhibitors, an entire neighborhood of full-scale pre-fab structures completely landscaped and furnished by Dwell. Plus you'll get hands-on, actionable advice and information from architects, designers and other trade professionals.

Prefab companies that are listed as exhibiting include:

If you're interested in attending, you can register for the exhibition FREE; just enter the code "BDODEC".

where: Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA
when: Conference: June 5-6, 2008; Exhibition: June 7-8, 2008
sponsor: Dwell Magazine
registration: $25 for exhibition only (FREE with the code "BDODEC"), $349 for full conference and exhibition

Related Posts:
   1. Dwell on Design 2009 at the end of June (Jun 19, 2009)
   2. Dwell on Design 2008 recap (Jun 11, 2008)
   3. This week: Taliesin, Joshua Tree, mkSolaire and more (Jun 07, 2008)
   4. Dwell on Design recap (Sep 24, 2007)
   5. Dwell on Design Conference (Aug 15, 2007)
   6. Dwell Magazine, Dwell Homes (Apr 17, 2007)
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This week: Milan, German prefab, Marmol Radziner and more

Link to This week: Milan, German prefab, Marmol Radziner and more
http://www.dwell.com/daily/blog/18148519.html

The Dwell blog reported on prefabs at the Milan Furniture Fair.

Contemporist covered the Huf Haus, a kit company in Germany:

...you can choose to put these post and beam homes together yourself, or Huf Haus will manage the whole project for you.

Curbed LA reports on info_smallMarmol Radziner:

The firm, known for its high-end prefab homes (such as their Desert Hot Springs prototype), will launch a new line of prefab models that will be priced 20-25 percent less than their existing line.

Apartment Therapy Re-Nest sang praises for info_smallMKD and shared a slideshow of Michelle Kaufmann's info_smallGlidehouse.

Inhabitat's Prefab Friday shared the info_smallWings prefab from info_smallJenesys Building Systems:

Wings is taking off in great prefab form.

Related Posts:
   1. The Skyline Series by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 02, 2009)
   2. Jenesys Building System's E Cube (Jun 27, 2007)
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Marmol Radziner home installed in Santa Cruz, California

Link to Marmol Radziner home installed in Santa Cruz, California
(http://www.scsextra.com/story.php?sid=66690

The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports:

Technology entrepreneur Philippe Kahn has taken home construction, environmental stewardship and style to a new level.

Kahn ... had his new home near the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor trucked in from Los Angeles.

The prefabricated house was delivered last week in 18 pieces, each wrapped in white plastic and stored in the harbor parking lot. By today, the pieces, made of steel and glass, will be fit together like a puzzle to make a 3,200-square-foot, three-bedroom home on Fairview Place....

Kahn's home was constructed by Marmol Radziner, a Los Angeles architectural firm that specializes in custom, green modern homes built with prefabricated technologies.

Read the full article for more details and additional photos.

author: Shanna McCord
publication: Santa Cruz Sentinel
length: 500 words
publication date: March 17, 2008

Related Posts:
   1. The Skyline Series by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 02, 2009)
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Tour the Marmol Radziner Desert House before it's sold

Link to Tour the Marmol Radziner Desert House before it's sold
md-d.com

From Apartment Therapy:

If you're heading out to the desert for Modernism Week and are curious about prefabs, you've got a chance to see a drop dead gorgeous one.... The Desert Prefab house has been called possibly the most beautiful prefabricated building this side of the Pacific, and it's for sale!

More detail on the house from the LA Times:

It is the house that won new respect for factory-built prefab housing: Leo Marmol's sleek, solar-powered, steel-and-glass Desert House in Desert Hot Springs, Calif. It has been Marmol's weekend house since he built it in 2005, but it is now listed for sale for $1.85 million....

The L-shaped house is the prototype for Marmol Radziner Prefab, an architecture and design firm based in Los Angeles. Framed with recycled steel, it features teak cabinets, concrete floors tinted the color of desert sand and glass walls. It consists of 10 modules in all -- four house modules and six deck modules, to encourage outdoor living. The three-bedroom house features a guest wing with studio space, partially shaded decks, a swimming pool and sweeping mountain views.

And a sales pitch from the real estate listing:

First Offering: The Desert House, 2005. Art, architecture and environmental awareness have been forged together in Marmol-Radziner's custom prototype for their burgeoning prefab division.... From the two-parcel, nearly 7.5 acre site on which the main house, guest house, studio and nearly 2,400 square feet of outdoor decks reside, broad panoramic vistas across the pool capture the all encompassing desert floor sweeping out to towering Mount San Jacinto and San Gorgonio.

Here's the rundown on the tours:

what: tours of info_smallMarmol Radziner's Desert Prefab
where: 14875 McCarger Rd., Desert Hot Springs, CA
date: Saturday, March 1, 2008
time: 1pm-4pm

...on the sale:

what: info_smallMarmol Radziner's Desert Prefab
where: Desert Hot Springs, CA
price: $1.85m ($881/sf)
br: 3
size: 2,100 sf
features: Recycled steel framing, highly energy-efficient glass, and solar-assisted power

...on the LA Times article:

author: Peter Viles
length: 450 words
publication date: January 23, 2008

Related Posts:
   1. The Skyline Series by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 02, 2009)
   2. Marmol Radziner Prefab writes a blog (Feb 20, 2008)
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Marmol Radziner Prefab writes a blog

Link to Marmol Radziner Prefab writes a blog
marmolradzinerprefab.com

info_smallMarmol Radziner have a launched a blog:

We hope to post regularly on a range of topics, including the various projects that we currently have in design and production, events around the country, or just interesting articles and ideas that influence what we do.

In the coming months, we’ll be blogging a lot about the Venice House (a.k.a. California House 6). This house is currently in our factory and will be delivered to a small, urban lot this spring. We designed [the] house to respond to the narrow, infill site by having the home look inwards towards small, private courtyard spaces. This allowed us to maintain an open, bright feeling that connects indoor and outdoor spaces despite the small lot.

A recent post discussed putting a concrete floor in a prefab house:

We loved how the concrete floors in the Desert House looked, but we shied away from using them in our first few projects that we produced in our own factory. The Desert House’s concrete were so beautiful, but also so heavy, which made the installation quite challenging...

We'll keep track of any big updates over at the new blog, but be sure to check it out for yourselves.

Related Posts:
   1. The Skyline Series by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 02, 2009)
   2. Marmol Radziner monograph released (Aug 06, 2008)
   3. Tour the Marmol Radziner Desert House before it's sold (Feb 21, 2008)
   4. Marmol Radziner videos (Aug 17, 2007)
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WIRED on small prefab

Link to WIRED on small prefab
wired.com

WIRED published an annotated slideshow of small prefabs last week:

The world is getting hotter and more crowded every day, and modular, prefab housing is just what the doctor ordered. When you go small, it's not just about energy efficiency and carbon footprints -- it's also about being strange, cool and beautiful. We've chosen our favorite houses that meld style with globally conscious living. Enjoy.

Models included:
•  info_smallweeHouse
•  info_smallModern Cabana
•  info_smallMarmol Radziner Prefab
•  info_smallmicro compact home

Treehugger summarized:

Some are real and some are vaporware; all have been around the block a few times. And of course, the comments include "why are these so expensive?"

author: Rob Beschizza
publication: WIRED
length: 12 slides

Related Posts:
   1. LA Times on mini prefabs (Jun 18, 2009)
   2. The m-ch (micro compact home) (Jan 10, 2008)
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This week: year in review, Sea Train and more

Link to This week: year in review, Sea Train and more
inhabitat.com

The Good Human's Prefab Wednesday posted a recap of 2007.

Inhabitat's Prefab Friday covered the German 'Option House':

Option is a fully functional, light-filled dwelling that delivers low-impact living in just 70 square meters [753 sf] of elegant and understated space.

Haute*Nature discussed the Sea Train House by info_smallOffice of Mobile Design:

...an amazing example of how you can change the natural environment...

Jetson Green showed a video of a not-yet-built container home:

Looks pretty cool, but let's see if it gets made...

G Living TV says a info_smallMarmol Radziner Prefab is coming to Venice, CA:

Slated to begin production early next year, the exact location of the house is being kept secret. All we have at this stage are some specs: three bedrooms and 2,800 interior square footage with a 750 square foot deck.

Related Posts:
   1. This week: straw bales, green mobile homes, and more (Jan 20, 2008)
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Videos: Marmol Radziner and SG Blocks

Some new videos of prefab homes have come across my radar in the past few weeks.

info_smallMarmol Radziner released a video of the installation of the Nevada House 1, an 11,000 square foot megahome in the Nevada desert.

SG Blocks has two videos at YouTube, including an interview on the Art Fennel Report:

Another shows the construction of a home with SG Blocks containers:

Related Posts:
   1. Hollywood Hybrid by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 11, 2009)
   2. The Skyline Series by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 02, 2009)
   3. CNN: SG Blocks (Jun 15, 2009)
   4. Sexy Prefab (Mar 29, 2007)
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This week: Modern Shed and the Marmol factory

Link to This week: Modern Shed and the Marmol factory
modern-shed.com

Materialicio.us posted about the large Dwelling Sheds offered by info_smallModern Shed.

The Good Human's Prefab Wednesday included a YouTube video (3:38) of the info_smallMarmol Radziner factory in Los Angeles. (That video and others also appears on the Marmol Radziner site, as we discovered in August.)

Inhabitat's Prefab Friday took a break this week.

Related Posts:
   1. The Skyline Series by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 02, 2009)
   2. LA Times on mini prefabs (Jun 18, 2009)
   3. Marmol Radziner videos (Aug 17, 2007)
   4. Modern sheds, cabanas, and studios (Apr 16, 2007)
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New York Post on modular

Link to New York Post on modular
re4a.com

The New York Post recently wrote about prefab and modular companies, focusing on one couple's info_smallResolution: 4-designed home in NY:

"From start to finish, it'll take only a year to design and build Philip and Ganade's modular home. The couple had their first meeting [with Res: 4] in April....

In January, construction will start at a factory in Scranton, Pa. It'll take just two weeks to build their home, which will be delivered via two trucks to the couple's land in Palenville, N.Y., by February. Putting up the home will take two to three months, so Philip and Ganade should be spending weekends in the country by May.

Specializing in modular and panelized architecture, Resolution: 4 has two N.Y.C. prefab homes planned, which is notable given the delivery and design limitations of erecting an urban home."

The article went on to discuss other prefab designers, including info_smallMarmol Radziner:
"All of the company's homes are built in a 65,000-square-foot factory near downtown Los Angeles, in a space big enough for three assembly lines of mods. When NYP Home recently stopped by, different mods of an 8,500-square-foot home for a Las Vegas client were being worked on in various sections of the factory. In one area, workers installed windows; in another area, cabinets were being added...."

And info_smallRocio Romero:

"....a local contractor can finish the home, with costs averaging about $120 to $195 a square foot. But some customers go the ultimate DIY route: According to Romero, a couple from Virginia built the entire home themselves, except for the foundation and roof. The total amount spent: $85 a square foot, plus the cost of the kit...."

The article ended with a comment on the resale value of prefabs:

"One New York-based hedge fund manager told NYP Home that he's "100 percent sure" he could re-sell his Hamptons prefab home for the same price a neighboring home might sell for - and make a substantial profit."

Read the full article for more details on Resolution: 4 and these other prefab designers.

Subtitle: Modular homes are stylish and affordable
Author: Dakota Smith
Publication: New York Post
Length: 1,000 words
Date: October 4, 2007

Related Posts:
   1. Resolution: 4 in East Hampton (Sep 17, 2007)
   2. Sexy Prefab (Mar 29, 2007)
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This week: XtremeHomes visit, JoT, Lot-ek, and more

Link to This week: XtremeHomes visit, JoT, Lot-ek, and more
homebysunset.com

Home by sunset visited the info_smallXtremeHomes factory and reported back:

"We saw the fully installed folding glass panels, which are called Nanawalls...three sides of the living-dining room. They silently glide away to unite inside and outside: this is how to live large in a small space."

The Good Human's Prefab Wednesday covered the JoT House:

"I love this house. [Its] sleek modern lines, affordability and 'green-ness' make it a good option for those looking for a modern prefab house."

Inhabitat's Prefab Friday featured a video of design firm info_smallLOT-EK speaking about their shipping container architecture.

The LA Investor's Real Estate Blog discussed two prefab projects, the WIRED LivingHome and info_smallMarmol Radziner Prefab.

Architecture.mnp loves A Prefab Project too.

Related Posts:
   1. A Prefab Project budget (Aug 20, 2007)
   2. XtremeHomes: modular building the green way (Aug 10, 2007)
   3. The mkLotus show house (Jul 19, 2007)
   4. LivingHomes gets WIRED ... for $4 million (Jul 02, 2007)
   5. This week: Japanese prefab, SIPs, and the greenness of big homes (Apr 14, 2007)
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Marmol Radziner videos

Link to Marmol Radziner videos
marmolradzinerprefab.com

info_smallMarmol Radziner Prefab has added a videos page to their website. The videos feature some quirky footage of their factory and process set to music, and speaking engagements by Leo Marmol.

Marmol Radziner will be displaying at this year's Dwell on Design conference.

Related Posts:
   1. Podcast features Marmol Radziner and Blu Homes (Aug 14, 2009)
   2. Hollywood Hybrid by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 11, 2009)
   3. The Skyline Series by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 02, 2009)
   4. Marmol Radziner Prefab writes a blog (Feb 20, 2008)
   5. This week: Modern Shed and the Marmol factory (Oct 20, 2007)
   6. Some Assembly Required at LAMOCA (May 03, 2007)
   7. Sexy Prefab (Mar 29, 2007)
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This week: Marmol Radziner, prefab love, and Sundance

Link to This week: Marmol Radziner, prefab love, and Sundance
marmolradzinerprefab.com

The Good Human's Prefab Wednesday enjoys the designs from info_smallMarmol Radziner Prefab, but wants something affordable:

"I would really like to see an affordable, attractive and modern prefab house come on to the market. As much as I love all these designs, the price just puts it outside the realm of possibility for us and most other people."

A blog called cobalt_blue praises prefab and the info_smallLV Series from info_smallRocio Romero:

"Years ago, I had no concept of the words 'prefab housing' meant. I thought that it was a fancy euphemism for what we call a trailer home, or doublewide. This is until I had heard the words 'Rocio Romero' and the 'LV Home' mentioned in an article."
Read the whole thing (875 words).

Collin Dunn unleashes the snark (and wild exaggeration, e.g. "99.99%") on Treehugger's blog at the Sundance Channel, with several links to prefab coverage on Treehugger.com.

Inhabitat's Prefab Friday covers the info_smallperrinepod, which we'll look at in more detail shortly.

Related Posts:
   1. The Skyline Series by Marmol Radziner Prefab (Jul 02, 2009)
   2. 35 homes and counting (Apr 11, 2007)
   3. Sexy Prefab (Mar 29, 2007)
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1960s prefab: the Industrialized House

Link to 1960s prefab: the Industrialized House

Back in 1960, designers George Nelson & Co. "threw out the old-fashioned and inefficient ideas inherent in many of [the day's] conventional houses." The design took advantage of the growing modern movement. One can easily see parallels with today's prefab ideals:

"They concentrated their thinking on greatly improved performance, mass production materials, extreme flexibility and a minimum of building parts..."

The Industrialized House featured:
• small modular cubes, combined with "extender units"
• "assembly-line built and put together quickly on site"
• lightweight anodized aluminum
• a screwjack leveling system for uneven ground
• easily disassembled and moved to another site
• translucent plastic tops

Large homes would be formed by assembling a number of the cubes in large groupings, with air space between:

"... to provide the utmost in privacy and quiet ... Nelson's solution was to separate the rooms and join them by corridors made of the smaller extender units. Since the cube house offers complete design freedom, it can be perfectly adjusted to the building site to provide the desired seclusion and quiet."

While the Industrialized House never caught on, similar structural systems shows up in more recent prefabs, like the info_smallkitHAUS or the steel-framed modules of info_smallMarmol Radziner.

(Hat tip: Science and Mechanics Magazine (out-of-print) via Modern Mechanix via Materialicio.us)

Related Posts:
   1. Historic Prefab: Sears Homes (Jul 26, 2007)
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Some Assembly Required in Virginia

Link to Some Assembly Required in Virginia
walkerart.org

The Some Assembly Required exhibit by the Walker Art Center will be opening at the Virginia Center for Architecture on June 15. (Hat tip: a post on Richmond Magazine's blog).

Tour locations to date:
  Walker Art Center
  Minneapolis, Minnesota
  December 8, 2005-March 26, 2006

  Vancouver Art Gallery
  Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  April 29- September 4, 2006

  Yale School of Architecture
  New Haven, Connecticut
  October 27, 2006- February 2, 2007

  The Museum of Contemporary Art, Pacific Design Center
  Los Angeles, California
  February 28- May 20, 2007
  (our coverage links to a video report)

what: Some Assembly Required Exhibit
when: June 15 - September 30, 2007
who: Black Barn by Pinc House, Desert House by info_smallMarmol Radziner, FlatPak by info_smallLazor Office, info_smallLV Series Homes by info_smallRocio Romero, Mountain Retreat by info_smallResolution 4: Architecture, info_smallSunset Breezehouse by info_smallMichelle Kaufmann Designs, Turbulence House by Stephen Holl, and the info_smallweeHouse by info_smallAlchemy Architects

Related Posts:
   1. Some Assembly Required at LAMOCA (May 03, 2007)
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Some Assembly Required at LAMOCA

Link to Some Assembly Required at LAMOCA
walkerart.org

The Some Assembly Required show organized earlier this year by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, is now on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art at the Pacific Design Center in LA:

"...the exhibition features eight modern modular house projects that have recently been realized. The designs address a range of approaches to prefabrication, including off-site construction, customized sections that are assembled on-site, and kits with plans and parts from which a house can be constructed."

Ecorazzi says "...you can see scale models of prefab homes, pictures, and samples of materials. Architects Marmol Radziner Prefab, Lazor, and Alchemy Architects are showcased..."

On Blogcritics, LX.TV files a video report about the show, featuring an interview with Leo Marmol of info_smallMarmol Radziner.

where: MOCA at the Pacific Design Center in Los Angeles
when: February 28 - May 20, 2007

Related Posts:
   1. Marmol Radziner videos (Aug 17, 2007)
   2. Some Assembly Required in Virginia (Jun 01, 2007)
   3. Michelle Kaufmann Designs (Apr 27, 2007)
   4. Lazor Office's FlatPak House (Apr 19, 2007)
   5. Sexy Prefab (Mar 29, 2007)
   6. Itsy Bitsy weeHouse (Mar 26, 2007)
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CA Boom roundup 2: "that one"

Link to CA Boom roundup 2:
www.hivemodular.com

I spoke briefly with the info_smallOMD/Jennifer Siegal folks. They had some great product literature, offering a little more insight into their product (vs. their lame website). I saw a couple go into the booth ask for "that one" and point to a rendering on the wall. They've got interest, and some quality products to offer.

info_smallLivingHomes and info_smallMarmol Radziner have great (if pricey!) products. Both Steve Glenn (CEO of LivingHomes) and someone from Marmol Radziner (I didn't get there in time to catch his name) were speaking at a prefab forum yesterday. Marmol Radziner hightlights the design aspect of its product, while LivingHomes emphasizes its greenness and LEED certification. The design of each is largely custom and aimed at those where budget is not really a concern, but you do get what you pay for.

The info_smallSander Architects booth was crowded, so I didn't get much facetime there. I heard Whitney Sander talk at the prefab forum. He fielded some strange questions, like one from a potential buyer wondering how the info_smallHybrid House's steel framing would hold up in wildfire-prone areas (answer: steel framing is better than wood framing). He also got in some good points about the resale value of a prefab home, especially one with some inherit design value.

My favorite discussion was with Marc Asmus of info_smallHive Modular. Before the show I wasn't really won over by their "dual style" approach (modern and traditional versions of each floorplan, like the above). After speaking with Marc, I gained a better appreciation for the approach and their reasoning behind it. He was slightly frustrated that they weren't getting more inquiries into their traditional style options. Modernist prefab was definitely the star of the show, but the ability to offer a product in two different styles should win them more consumers.

And one more to come...

what: exhibitors at CA Boom
when: last weekend

Related Posts:
   1. CA Boom V coming soon: March 14-16 (Mar 05, 2008)
   2. CA Boom roundup 3: the eccentrics (Apr 03, 2007)
   3. CA Boom roundup 1: confusion and flux (Apr 02, 2007)
   4. Prefab Zone at CA Boom 4 (Mar 26, 2007)
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Sexy Prefab

Link to Sexy Prefab
www.marmolradzinerprefab.com

The sprawling prefab prototype that info_smallMarmol Radziner built in the California desert shows the design potential of modernist prefab. It is the sexy rock star of the modernist prefab movement and has been getting its share of attention.

That prototype provided the basis for the info_smallfive models they offer on their website. A simple 1 bedroom, 660 sf model costs $212k, while a 2,650 sf model with 3 bedrooms runs $781k. All models feature floor-to-ceiling windows, a tube steel structure, SIP walls, flat roofs, and wood or metal siding.

Houses are constructed at Marmol Radziner's factory in Vernon, California. Work completed at the factory includes electrical and mechanical systems, cabinets, and all finishes. Standard amenities include Sub-Zero and Bosch appliances, Hansgrohe and Kohler plumbing fixtures, teak or walnut cabinets, and CaesarStone countertops. One would be hard-pressed to find higher quality fixtures in a prefab house.

The models boast several green features: solar panels, tankless water heaters, ample overhangs on windows, and a recycled steel structure. Check out their website to see a full list of amenities and visit their configurator to see how different options affect the price.

The expanses of glass in the desert prototype show that these models do well in open spaces. However, the long list of custom prefabs that are currently in process shows that Marmol Radziner is up for tackling any site.

style: modern
price: $212,000 - $781,000
size: 660sf - 2,650sf for the standard models
br: 1 - 3 bedrooms
how: complete modules delivered to site
timeline: unknown

Related Posts:
   1. Videos: Marmol Radziner and SG Blocks (Dec 24, 2007)
   2. New York Post on modular (Oct 19, 2007)
   3. Marmol Radziner videos (Aug 17, 2007)
   4. This week: Marmol Radziner, prefab love, and Sundance (Aug 11, 2007)
   5. Some Assembly Required at LAMOCA (May 03, 2007)
   6. Prefab Zone at CA Boom 4 (Mar 26, 2007)
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