Of course prefabrication hasn’t stood still. There’s a new generation ready to inspire. This is the award-winning Desert House - erected in just one day, it’s a cool update on West Coast Modernism and it’s also full of eco features that wouldn’t be out of place in any new self build project.
Power is produced by the solar panels on the roof, there’s a naturally ventilated cooling system, and the concrete floor that stores heat in the day releases it during the cold desert nights. Triple glazed windows reduce the heat loss, while blocking harmful UV rays during the day.
While steel framed houses are no longer unusual, what’s innovative here is the use recycled steel beams which, like the Stahl House, allow for huge expanses of glazing.
If you’re thinking this is style over substance you’re very wrong. Finished with rich walnut combined with scratch and heat resistant quartz derived Ceasarstone, the Desert House has both elegance and functionality.
The main benefit for prefabs is that decisions are made before it’s built, so there’s no spiraling budget or hidden costs. And of course, the mass production factory environment allows for better efficiency in both production and sustainability, meaning cheaper, better houses for all of us.
What’s the future of kit houses?
The fact is that the problems that kit houses address are only getting worse. Construction costs rocketing. Sustainability issues are becoming more significant for all of us. Prefabrication is here to stay whether we like it or not, we have to embrace this technology rather than rebutting it.
We need to take prefabs more seriously in Britain because they’re cheaper, they are built more quickly, and they have less of an environmental impact. Whether like the Huf House you choose from a series of designs, or like the Desert House you create something unique, the kit house has come of age.
