PREFAB PLACE Houses

PREFAB PLACE Houses
by Bridgette Steffen

This stunning home in Kirkland, Wash. is one in a series of prefabricated homes called PLACE Houses designed by architect Heather Johnston. The home’s diverse use of sustainably-sourced materials and low-impact energy harvesting — in addition to its fresh, contemporary look — won the series a spot as one of the Top 6 Prefab Designs in the April 2006 issue of Wallpaper magazine. Built with SIP panels, this 2,800 square-foot model home was constructed on-site and has almost every green amenity you can imagine. This PLACE House has the look of a custom-built home, but can be ordered and built as though it were part of a “ready-to-wear” line — making for an easy, streamlined package.

Heather has designed five different versions for the PLACE House series — all of which can be seen on the PLACE Houses website and range from a 470-square-foot studio to a 2,600-square-foot, 3 bedroom home. Each house uses SIP panel construction and takes advantage of sustainable strategies such as rainwater collection, solar passive design, eco-friendly materials, low-VOC paints and cabinetry. PLACE homes are only available in the Northwest right now, but expect to see them sprouting up around the country soon!

This particular 4-bedroom house is a modified L model - big enough for 3 children and yet not too big either. In the backyard, a beautiful pool is heated with solar hot-water panels from the roof. Both pervious concrete and grass pavers are used instead of traditional concrete to improve water filtration on the site. A rainwater catchment system collects water with the help of a butterfly roof, similar to mK’s prefab designs.

Inside the home, antique and vintage furniture creates a chic and comfortable home. Recycled aluminum chairs with custom fabrics from Emeco are paired with a dining table equipped with wheels — allowing the entire dining experience to move outdoors. The beautiful green couch is a vintage 1973 sofa designed by Michael Ducaroy, while the leather chairs were made in the 1950s by Paulo Mendes da Rocha and were found at Design Within Reach. The downstairs floor is concrete, while the upstairs is cork flooring. To improve the passive solar design of the home, a large fir tree was felled, but was then milled, dried and used to complete windowsills, stair treads and the top of the dining table.

Make sure to check out all of the designs for these fabulous prefabs. The fresh look of these homes, combined with sustainable materials and contemporary design, is sure to make these homes popular in the future.

+ PLACE Houses

via Jetson Green

photos courtesy of Metropolitan Home