Houzz Tour: Making Prefab Work for All
Architect Michelle Kaufmann: Green Homes Should be Accessible to Everyone
Architect and designer Michelle Kaufmann has always been interested in creating smarter ways for building and living. A respect for the earth and a craving for intelligent innovation is at the forefront of her impressive architectural career.
To many, the Oakland-based architect is considered to be the leader of the movement of prefabricated green homes in the United States. Kaufmann believes that today everyone wants to live an eco-friendly life — it's about whether or not the designs that are available make green living affordable and easy. In the United States' construction industry, this is one of the primary problems with prefabricated homes. Although many of these homes offer a greener lifestyle in the long run, their building cost is currently the same as a site-built home. For most consumers, there's no incentive to try a modular house.
Kaufmann believes that although there is a significant learning curve in prefab buildings today, the construction industry absolutely has the capability to create smart and innovative homes, as long as architects and factories learn to collaborate. Many of Kaufmann's custom prefabricated homes — such as this beautiful house in Santa Barbara, Calif. — are wonderful examples of the potential that prefab architecture has, and the way this industry can revolutionize green living. Read on for Kaufmann's insight on a topic that remains confusing for many consumers today.
More: What's Up With Prefab?
To many, the Oakland-based architect is considered to be the leader of the movement of prefabricated green homes in the United States. Kaufmann believes that today everyone wants to live an eco-friendly life — it's about whether or not the designs that are available make green living affordable and easy. In the United States' construction industry, this is one of the primary problems with prefabricated homes. Although many of these homes offer a greener lifestyle in the long run, their building cost is currently the same as a site-built home. For most consumers, there's no incentive to try a modular house.
Kaufmann believes that although there is a significant learning curve in prefab buildings today, the construction industry absolutely has the capability to create smart and innovative homes, as long as architects and factories learn to collaborate. Many of Kaufmann's custom prefabricated homes — such as this beautiful house in Santa Barbara, Calif. — are wonderful examples of the potential that prefab architecture has, and the way this industry can revolutionize green living. Read on for Kaufmann's insight on a topic that remains confusing for many consumers today.
More: What's Up With Prefab?
VB: Why did this family opt for a prefab home?
MK: Well, they actually didn't want a prefab home per se. Mainly they wanted a really well-designed home that lives lightly on the earth, collaborates with the environment, and had as many outdoor rooms as indoor rooms. They contacted me mainly for the design aesthetic, and the prefabrication was just a means to an end.
MK: Well, they actually didn't want a prefab home per se. Mainly they wanted a really well-designed home that lives lightly on the earth, collaborates with the environment, and had as many outdoor rooms as indoor rooms. They contacted me mainly for the design aesthetic, and the prefabrication was just a means to an end.
VB: What requirements did they have for this house? Was it difficult to fulfill those requirements with the limitations of a pre-fab?
MK: Prefabrication wasn’t difficult for fulfilling the requirements. We designed the modules to offset from one another as a way to create an H-shape plan and 2 courtyards that the home connects with. The boundary between the interior and exterior are also blurred through NanaWall glass doors that allow the house to open up completely to the gardens.
MK: Prefabrication wasn’t difficult for fulfilling the requirements. We designed the modules to offset from one another as a way to create an H-shape plan and 2 courtyards that the home connects with. The boundary between the interior and exterior are also blurred through NanaWall glass doors that allow the house to open up completely to the gardens.
MK: The design process was interesting. The site is in downtown Santa Barbara, which has a strong historic fabric. We wanted to respect that fabric, but still have the home be modern. So we came up with a modern interpretation of the Mission-style clay roofs through the corrugated Corten steel siding on the exterior walls.
The velvety finish and texture is quite similar to the tile roofs in color and scale, and we accented with a salvaged Ipe wood for a warm and natural look.
The velvety finish and texture is quite similar to the tile roofs in color and scale, and we accented with a salvaged Ipe wood for a warm and natural look.
VB: Were there any compromises in this project because of the construction process?
MK: Nothing! Although the modules have maximum dimensions based on what can go down the road, they essentially are like lego blocks that you can put together to create wide spaces, and stack them for multiple stories. You can make almost any configuration you can imagine.
MK: Nothing! Although the modules have maximum dimensions based on what can go down the road, they essentially are like lego blocks that you can put together to create wide spaces, and stack them for multiple stories. You can make almost any configuration you can imagine.
VB: Why should people consider prefab if it still costs just as much as a site-built home?
MK: There are so many benefits to utilizing off-site technology for construction. Due to precision cutting and storage capacity, modular construction can achieve 50 to 75 percent less waste than site-built construction — with a higher level of quality control and significantly less carbon emissions. Because the construction happens in a controlled factory environment, the problems with moisture and mildew that can occur with site-built construction [exposed to rain or snow] won't happen.
MK: There are so many benefits to utilizing off-site technology for construction. Due to precision cutting and storage capacity, modular construction can achieve 50 to 75 percent less waste than site-built construction — with a higher level of quality control and significantly less carbon emissions. Because the construction happens in a controlled factory environment, the problems with moisture and mildew that can occur with site-built construction [exposed to rain or snow] won't happen.
VB: How can a pre-fab home be more eco-friendly than a site built home?
MK: Now don’t get me wrong, not all factories/companies build the best way, but the ones that do (like Blazer Industries in Oregon, for example) create homes that are so much better, in half the time, with 50 to 75 percent less waste, and less carbon emissions. With the right design, the green technologies can be pre-packaged, and you can end up with a home that creates its own energy, uses one-third the water and is made with healthy finishes and systems. You can end up with a home where you have lower energy bills, lower water bills, and many years of a healthy environment for you and your family.
MK: Now don’t get me wrong, not all factories/companies build the best way, but the ones that do (like Blazer Industries in Oregon, for example) create homes that are so much better, in half the time, with 50 to 75 percent less waste, and less carbon emissions. With the right design, the green technologies can be pre-packaged, and you can end up with a home that creates its own energy, uses one-third the water and is made with healthy finishes and systems. You can end up with a home where you have lower energy bills, lower water bills, and many years of a healthy environment for you and your family.
MK: One of the main reasons I have been so dedicated to off-site technology exploration is that we need green homes to be accessible to everyone! If green homes are only accessible to a few elite, we are never going to get there. It is no longer a question of if people want a sustainable home or not. They do. However, the green homes cannot cost anymore than a non-green home, cannot take any more time, and have to be easy. These are the three main aspects that our work at Michelle Kaufmann Studio is trying to address. And off-site technology helps with that.
VB: Do you think that there are aspects of prefab homes that make them better investments than site-built homes?
MK: When you build a home that goes down the road, you have to make it super solid. It basically goes through the worst earthquake of its life before it even gets to the site, so we have to design them to be really strong. This means you have a sturdy home that will last you a lifetime.
MK: When you build a home that goes down the road, you have to make it super solid. It basically goes through the worst earthquake of its life before it even gets to the site, so we have to design them to be really strong. This means you have a sturdy home that will last you a lifetime.
VB: How do you think the European prefab market is different from the US pre-fab market, and why?
MK: In places like Japan and Sweden, they are so far ahead of us in using technology and innovation in construction as a way to bring good design to the masses. In countries like those, if you are doing a high-end home, you want it built in a controlled environment with precision cutting and high quality control, so you have it built in a factory. In the US, we are decades behind them, mostly due to a misconception that prefabrication is substandard because people get all types of prefab confused with trailer homes. Trailer homes are “manufactured,” which is very different than “modular."
MK: In places like Japan and Sweden, they are so far ahead of us in using technology and innovation in construction as a way to bring good design to the masses. In countries like those, if you are doing a high-end home, you want it built in a controlled environment with precision cutting and high quality control, so you have it built in a factory. In the US, we are decades behind them, mostly due to a misconception that prefabrication is substandard because people get all types of prefab confused with trailer homes. Trailer homes are “manufactured,” which is very different than “modular."
MK: Manufactured means that something is built to a HUD code and is not typically considered real estate and requires special zoning. Modular, however, is built to site-built code, but still made in a controlled environment. Modular is considered real estate and is appraised against another custom home (site built or whatever), so modular and manufactured are very, very different.
VB: Why do you think there's such a significant learning curve in the prefab industry?
MK: The people who have been working in the factories for decades have the knowledge about technology, however, they have been working on a high-volume, low-margin business model which requires repetition and volume. To date, many in the U.S. have been doing low-quality design. However, they have the capability to do thoughtful design with smart materials and systems.
MK: The people who have been working in the factories for decades have the knowledge about technology, however, they have been working on a high-volume, low-margin business model which requires repetition and volume. To date, many in the U.S. have been doing low-quality design. However, they have the capability to do thoughtful design with smart materials and systems.
MK: But it is important that we as architects make sure to understand the factory process and experience it, so the designs maximize the efficiencies from the production process, rather than try to force the factory to build something we have come up with that might not have anything to do with the fabrication process. The best results are from a true collaboration between the architects and the factory gurus. The great thing about us being so far behind in the U.S. is that it is an extremely exciting time for us to innovate. There is so much room for improvement, and as designers, those are the areas we want to work in — the ones where we can really make a difference.
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What's Up With Prefab?
A Sleek Prefab Warms Up
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Kaufmann designed a custom, three bedroom-plus-studio for the family, incorporating eco-friendly methods throughout the entire process. For example, rather than demolishing their original home the family opted to have the structure taken apart by hand, and as many pieces as possible were salvaged.