Archive for the ‘ Prefab Home ’ Category

BURST*008 at MOMA

Written by admin
Posted October 20, 2008 at 8:50 pm

prefab, jerry edmiston, douglas gautheir, gauthier architects, system architects, moma prefab, moma home delivery, burst*003, burst, sustainable building, computer modeling housing

Imagine if your house came delivered to you in over a 1,000 precisely-cut jigsaw-like pieces. This is the idea that New York-based, Jeremey Edmiston of System Architects and Douglas Gauthier of Gauthier Architect had for NYC Museum of Modern Art’s Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling exhibition, when they created BURST*008. Combining architecture and technology, the home was computer-designed and its pieces milled to the exact dimensions to fit together like a 3-D puzzle. The pieces were then flat-packed onto a truck and shipped to MoMA’s West Lot, where it was assembled on site, held together by an insulated skin.

prefab, jerry edmiston, douglas gautheir, gauthier architects, system architects, moma prefab, moma home delivery, burst*008, burst, sustainable building, computer modeling housing BURST*003 on MoMA’s West Lot

The model for BURST*008 is unlike other prefab homes because it does not come to the site as an almost completed unit. It is also unique in its formulation of the design of the home. The architects created the BURST homes with the use of computer modeling. A house is computer-drafted based on a set of formulas, client specific needs, and site conditions. The computer program spits out a house design and explodes it into individual pieces.

Then, these 1,000+, non-identical, pieces are laser cut from SIPs or plywood, in such a way to minimize wasted material, and then flat-packed and shipped to the site. Upon arrival, pieces are unloaded, and like an accordion, stretched apart to form the skeleton of the house. The exterior of the house and interior pieces are built in accordingly.

The BURST*008 is actually a later version of the BURST*003, created as a summer home for a family in Australia. The original Burst home cost $250,00 for 1500 square feet, and as Edmiston says, “Prefab isn’t about saving money; it is about controlling risk.” Which seems to be a fair argument, in light of recent criticism.

You may have read an interesting article recently posted on Jetson Green about prefab and affordability. The article, by Chad Ludeman, developer of the 100K LEED House, says that prefab is not the best way to deliver affordable modern design. The BURST homes seem to agree with this line of thinking: they are clearly not about affordability, but about systematizing the process of designing homes based on specific rules.

Still on display at the Home Delivery Exhibition, BURST*008 is one of 5 prefab homes on display on MOMA’s West Lot until October 20, 2008. The homes, constructed specifically for MoMA by 5 architecture teams, are part of an exhibit that explores the history of prefabricated housing from 1833 to the present. Presenting some thought-provoking material, the exhibit, including BURST*008, is a must-see for any architect or designer.

+ System Architects

+ Gauthier Architect

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Filed under: Prefab Home

The Lifepod: Yurt of the Future for the Modern Nomad

Written by admin
Posted at 8:33 pm

prefab housing, kyu che, kyu che lifepod, mongolian yurt, modern yurt, sustainable architecture, mobile prefab

If the idea of escape seems all the more enticing now that the rest of the world is caught in the back-to-school rush, here’s another amazing prefab remedy for your wanderlust. Escape to the beach, the mountains or the trees in San Francisco-based Kyu Che’s sustainable Lifepod. Loosely based on the traditional Mongolian ger (or ‘yurt’ as the Russian translation goes), the Lifepod is at once organic and high-tech. Built to be highly portable, the Lifepod is a fully functioning, off-the-grid mini capsule for modern nomadic living.

prefab housing, kyu che, kyu che lifepod, mongolian yurt, modern yurt, sustainable architecture, mobile prefab

Originally conceived in 1997, Lifepods are constructed using the most advanced 21st century automotive, aeronautic, nautical and RV technologies. Inspired by roaming mammals, the futuristic prefabs are designed as ‘quadrupedal fuselages’ with footings that can adjust to the contours of their environs, rather than disfiguring the landscape to fit to the house. All the modular pieces fit into a 40 ft container and can be shipped anywhere around the world. Using state-of-the-art technology, you and your Lifepod can roam the world un-tethered and off-the-grid.

Should your inner nomad be perfectly content with a zen staycation, Kyu Che also offers a Lifepod capsule that can be fitted with minimalist screen or glass doors and used as a sculptural garden retreat, tea house, or sanctuary from the madness of daily life.

prefab housing, kyu che, kyu che lifepod, mongolian yurt, modern yurt, sustainable architecture, mobile prefab