Over the summer, Resolution: 4 Architecture contracted with Carolina Building Systems for the manufacture of the Dwell Home. As everyone gears up for production, we wanted to update you on the exciting prefab projects being undertaken by some of our other Dwell Home architects and designers.
In August, Konyk Architecture received a commission to build their first UP! House, on a 25-acre lot near Kalispell, Montana. "The project is exciting," says Craig Konyk. "No speed limits and no building permit required for residential construction! And this will be our first test-drive of the model. We can't wait to take it out for a spin!" In addition, the firm has discovered a Delaware-based steel building company with an assembly plant in Salt Lake City that recently developed a new residential line of steel prefab homes and is interested in fabricating the UP! House. Konyk has received numerous inquiries from all around the country as well as Canada and Singapore, including one from an editor of BOMB magazine, who is trying to convince DUMBO developer David Walentas to build an UP! House on the roof of one of his buildings. www.konyk.net
Marmol+Radziner is in the process of designing two steel-frame prefab homes in California, one near Desert Hot Springs and one in Rustic Canyon in Los Angeles. The two sites pose very different problems; one will be a second home in the desert, the other will be a primary residence in the city. For the desert house, M + R is interested in incorporating sustainable technologies into the design of the home, and for the city house, they're exploring how to create a two-story residence on a compact urban site. "In both cases," says architect Ronald Radziner, "we're very excited about exploring the relationship between interior and exterior space." www.marmol-radziner.com
After receiving over 2,000 inquiries for her prefab LV Home, designer Rocio Romero began production of the home as a kit house in a manufacturing facility in Perryville, Missouri. The first American LV was erected in Perryville as well. In late summer, design and construction began for a new kit house, known as Fish Camp. www.rocioromero.com
Jennifer Siegal's firm, the Office of Mobile Design, is building its first prototype Portable House, for a client in San Diego, California. OMD has also launched a new company that will specialize in mass-customized constructions including the swellhouse, which was designed for the Dwell Home Invitational. Siegal has met with 13 clients who are interested in modular building with OMD, and hopes to sign contracts with a number of them by the end of the year. As Siegal says, "I have been on my toes!" www.designmobile.com
And Dwell Homeowner Nathan Wieler has set up the company Wieler, Inc. to bring architect-designed modern homes and communities to home buyers in North Carolina and other parts of the U.S. The company plans to begin selling homes in January 2004. www.wielerhomes.com.