For reasons ranging from the aesthetic to the economic, we believe that prefabricated architecture is a terrific—and feasible—option for home building in the 21st century. And Dwell wants to help realize its true potential.

To that end, Dwell has issued a unique challenge to ten architects and designers: Design an innovative prefabricated house for $175,000, one that bucks the status quo and embraces all the benefits—aesthetic, environmental, economic, technologic—that prefab construction has to offer.

In April, Dwell will receive submissions. Then, working with a team of advisors, we’ll select the winning design for the Dwell Home. In our spring and summer issues, we’ll update you on the progress of the Dwell Home. All ten designs will be published in the magazine in late summer, and construction of the winning home is slated to begin in late 2003.

The winning design will be built as the Dwell Home prototype for our willing guinea pigs, Nathan Wieler and Ingrid Tung, on a scenic site they’ve purchased just outside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. In the spring of 2004, we’ll present the finished product in our pages.

The ultimate goal of the Dwell Home Design Invitational, apart from providing Nathan and Ingrid a great place to live, is to put a well-designed, affordable modern house into production by 2004. We hope to change the way people think about prefab—and are excited to share this new venture with our readers.