Jennifer Siegal’s Swellhouse was conceived in the belief that rethinking the power of prefab housing technologies can bring mass customization and individual choice together in an affordable and sustainable home that a great number of people could attain. The design is based on OMD’s signature S modular structure, which recognizes the economy of movement and allows “form to follow necessity.” Individual components are assembled in a factory and trucked to the site, where the independent S’s can be bolted together quickly. All electrical, plumbing, and information technologies are hidden within the walls.

The materials were selected for their performance and environmental benefits. The Ecology Sun System (ECOSS) glass panels—each a sandwich of sheet glass with acrylic plastic bars and aluminum louvers—reduce solar heat gain, while fiber cement-board panels produce a rain screen and water barrier and also allow airflow between walls and the cladding. Sliding panels throughout the house form flexible areas like interior courtyards or exterior decks. The Swellhouse floor plan aims to promote a simple and elegant flow between
the activities of everyday life and, according to Siegal, “aligns itself with the early modernist belief that good design with environmental sensitivity through sustainable technology will be available for the masses at low costs.”