Early this month, Blu Homes announced the launch of their new product line dubbed Origin. As you can see below, Origin is built using Blu's folding technology, which allows the company to ship homes nationally, and then unfold them to widths up to 17-20 feet. It's an interesting take on factory-built construction. And Blu just delivered four Origins to the new late night talk show Lopez Tonight in Burbank, California.
There's been a lot of talk of the i-House ever since Clayton Homes announced its launch in about January of this year. The home is contemporary, affordable, and energy efficient. Landowners Bob and Melinda bought a 37-acre swath of land in 2006, hoping to someday build a home on it and live the good country life. They're 95 miles from Louisville in western Kentucky and had an i-House delivered just about a month ago.
This video of Blu Homes recently hit the Innovation Economy column of The Boston Globe. In This New House, columnist Scott Kirsner gives us a look at the folding prefab technology that Blu Homes uses for homes built in their Littleton, Massachusetts factory. The folding style of construction presents an interesting new wrinkle to prefab construction, and Blu is able to save transportation costs by shipping more house and less air.
This is the Idea House by Broadway Malyan for Sime Darby Property, one of the largest property developers in Malaysia. The home was designed as an attempt to become the first carbon zero residence in South East Asia. The home would be prefabricated in modules to save on labor costs, speed up the construction process, and make deconstruction of the home easy at the end of its useful life. Some other green aspects of the home design include:
Hive Modular, a Minneapolis-based company that sells modular, contemporary homes, recently sent us photos of this X-Line prefab in Vadnais Heights, Minnesota. The X-Line 003 features an exterior of fiber cement, steel, and locally harvested cedar, while the interior features stylish modern elements. Pay particular attention to the translucent polycarbonate walls by Polygal, the red IKEA kitchen, and the custom tables from Eastvold Custom Woodworks.
Michelle Kaufmann is continuing her work on a modern green home in Northern California. Located on a constrained lot, the 1,550 square-foot home will be prefabricated -- as currently planned -- with two modules. And although the home will be a lot smaller than the average new construction home in this country, Michelle Kaufmann Studio has designed it to feel bigger.
We’ve mentioned Ideabox several times over the years, and their new offering, the Fortino, has to be one my favorites. The Fortino was on display at the Seattle Home Show 2, although, unfortunately, there was a huge pole at the show obstructing photos. You’ll have to imagine the Fortino in a well-manicured, xeriscaped setting on the lot of your choosing. Something like 30,000 people saw the Fortino in Seattle, and Jim Russell, founder of Ideabox, tells me the response was incredible.
Since we first mentioned Stillwater Dwellings in March, the new company has been extremely busy. Not only have they lined up plans to build green prefabs in Portland (Or.), Santa Barbara (Ca.), and Healdsburg (Ca.), but they've recently completed their first prefab home in Bend, Oregon. The company was kind enough to send us a few photos of the inside and outside, and the modern home is just stunning.
Several months ago, we mentioned news that Studio Daniel Libeskind designed a modern prefab with the prototype of the prefab under construction in Datteln, Germany. That home, more precisely a visitor center with conference rooms for the time being, was celebrated in an inauguration ceremony on September 29, 2009. The Villa, a first in the Libeskind Signature Series of homes, is super efficient and uses minimal energy, despite its size.
Hot on the heels of acquiring Michelle Kaufmann Designs, Blu Homes has now announced the completion of their first home in Colorado. Homeowners Michael and Nikki Fischer have moved into their custom Blu | Chalet, and they seem to love it (watch video below). With a blend of smart design and energy efficient products, energy costs for the Fischer Chalet are expected to be about 30-50% less than a similar, traditionally constructed home.
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