The Lido Seaside Home Is an Instance of Modular Housing With Type

It is 20 years since Allison Arieff and Bryan Burkhart revealed “Prefab,” the guide that began the trendy prefab craze. In her position as editor of Dwell Journal, she ran the Dwell Home Competitorsreceived by New York-based Decision 4: Structure (res4), which has been constructing one of the best in trendy modular ever since.

We now have not proven a lot of their work in the previous few years—right here was the final—as many are massive second houses, and readers will ask, “Why is that this on Treehugger?” The standard reply is that there’s much less waste, larger accuracy and precision throughout development, and there usually are not a bunch of tradespeople driving huge pickup vans for miles day-after-day to get to the job website. It’s a greener strategy to construct.

Once I was within the modular enterprise again in 2002, we by no means used the phrase “double-wide”—that is trailer park speak. To at the present time, most modular builders attempt to disguise the truth that they’re constructed out of packing containers. Have a look at the houses from the corporate I labored withand you’d by no means know that they’re modular as a result of they’re making an attempt so arduous to make them appear to be regular homes.

Decision 4: Structure, then again, revels in it and is pleased with the field. This makes their designs extra environment friendly to construct and possibly extra energy-efficient as a result of there are often fewer jogs and bumps. They may fortunately name the Lido Seaside Home II a double-wide comprised of 4 packing containers.

The Lido Seaside Home is on Treehugger as a result of it’s such a superb instance of the advantages of modular development. The architects describe it: “Sitting on a flag lot on the nook of Lido Seaside, this 2,625 sq. ft. prefab house serves as a summer time home for a professor / author and her household. The house makes an attempt to determine a relationship to the encompassing dunes and seashore whereas nonetheless being referential to its cozy neighborhood.”

The 4 packing containers sit on a poured concrete base, raised up a stage, seemingly anticipating flooding as water ranges rise. you enter from the outside stairs into what they name a “dump zone” with entry to a giant flex room, whereas two bedrooms will be closed off.

The dwelling areas are on the highest flooring:

“The second flooring rises simply over the sand dunes to take full benefit of the unobstructed views of the Atlantic Ocean. Full peak sliding glass doorways open to 2 screened porches on the corners of the house permitting for a seamless transition between inside and exterior. {A partially} site-built workplace protrudes previous the footprint of the remainder of the house to supply direct views to the seashore. With a backyard, out of doors fire-pit, and 360º views of the seashore and surrounding neighborhood, the roof deck is ideal place for enjoyable and entertaining friends.”

I’ve at all times been keen on upside-down homes with the bedrooms down and the dwelling areas up. For those who have been constructing on-site, it meant that you simply had all these bed room partitions supporting the second flooring, which you would span with a roof and get huge open areas with minimal construction.

There isn’t any structural profit in any respect in modular design. Right here, they’re doing it for the view. It’s uncommon to see it in what is basically a three-story home; it’s a huge climb, however will probably be value it whenever you get there.

Once I was on this enterprise, the only and most economical homes we bought have been the straightforward four-box designs the place each field was as huge as you would placed on a truck, all about the identical dimensions, popping out at about 2,600 sq. toes; this was the candy spot that maximized effectivity of the system.

Twenty years in the past, you would by no means get this sort of high quality out of a modular manufacturing facility; they have been set as much as do economical homes within the nation the place folks could not discover trades and needed to economize. The modular revolution got here with the conclusion that you would truly get increased high quality and end within the manufacturing facility than you would on website. That is why they’re so stunning, and no one does it higher than Decision 4.

It would not be Treehugger if I did not complain about one thing, so how about not placing fuel stoves on islands with hanging exhaust hoods?