Designed for all generations but with an eye to the aging population, the new prefabricated house that Japanese clothing and design brand Muji has launched in 2020 is called “Yō no Ie House” (“simple house”). The structure is configured as a large functional open space on a single 80sqm level plus a 20sqm outdoor patio. The choice of wood cladding is inspired by the principles of sustainability and is intended to instil an sense of tranquility.
20 prefab houses not to miss
Small, large, cheap, expensive, in the woods or by the sea; we have compiled a list of the most beautiful prefabricated homes that have appeared in Domusweb over the past years. With one common denominator: practicality.
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- La redazione di Domus
- 03 August 2021
Yō no Ie House by Muji
Hotel Sacromonte by MAPA Architects
In this project for a hotel in Uruguay, each 60sqm unit is divided into a main area, oriented towards the landscape and containing the sleeping and living spaces, and a service area with bathroom, fireplace and kitchen. Only the walls are built on site with local materials, but the metal and prefabricated structure is produced in Montevideo in about ten weeks and then assembled on site.
Vida Modular by Set Ideas
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
photo Gonzalo Viramonte
Built with standard materials available on the local market, these small prefabs designed by argentinian studio Set Ideas, stand on three modules of 3x4, 4x6, 3x8, 4x12 metres which can be recombined at will. The modules can function as a home, an office and a shed in nature, adapting to the specifics of the contexts.
Yellow House by Alejandro Soffia
This house raised above the ground in the Chilean forests, designed by architect Alejandro Soffia, is a wooden structure that minimises its footprint and it is designed using prefabricated panels measuring 122x244 cm to facilitate construction and reduce energy impact. On the outside, the house is clad in corrugated yellow metal sheets, thus giving the house its name.
Diogene by Renzo Piano
On the occasion of Art Basel 2013, Renzo Piano designed this completely self-sufficient living prototype on the Vitra Campus, in the green area in front of the VitraHaus. It is not a finished product, but an experimental apparatus designed to test the potential of a tiny house. With a surface area of 2.40 x 2.96 metres, it can be loaded onto a truck fully assembled and furnished and transported to any location.
House on the roof by Studio Wood
Studio Wood designed a modular structure on the roof of a 366 square metre house in New Delhi, India. They opted for the reuse of container walls. The exoskeleton consists of metal beams covered with lightened steel panels. The construction process began with a grid of beams placed on the roof to raise the floor off the ground. This project is a multifunctional house: it can be used as a studio during the day and as a place for entertainment at night. The space is divided into three zones: a completely outdoor one, a semi-open porch and a closed room.
Shelters for Hotel Bjornson by Ark-Shelter
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ArkShelter’s units - modular and prefabricated - are a building prototype widely experimented by the studio, which wants to propose a new way of living in contact with nature: they have in fact been placed in different contexts, from fields to lakes and forests. The individual units are blocks of 75sqm each and are composed of two modules, to be connected or separated as needed by a sliding wall.
Gomos by Summary
“Each of these modules is built entirely in the factory. Its design allows easy transport and fast assembly. Flexible and modifiable, it simplifies construction for everyone.” This is how the architecture firm Summary presented Gomos at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2016. These prefabricated modules, already equipped with installations and insulation, cover an area of 45sqm each and are assembled on site through a simple interlocking system.
Shifting Nests by BLA Design Group
Shifting Nests is a project of small, low-cost sustainable houses that could be used to transform empty car parks into inhabited community gardens. They are a prefabricated housing solution “composed of plywood, metal cladding and corrugated polycarbonate on a series of frames”, with areas for resting, bathing, cooking, living and dining.
Tiny Home Project by IKEA
Recycled materials, Swedish furniture and pine wood panels from sustainably grown trees. These tiny 17sqm dwellings are powered by solar energy, with low energy light bulbs and equipped with a compostable toilet. On sale from $47,500, Ikea’s units on wheels are perfect for the nomadic living.
Hejimans One by Moodbuilders Architecture
Heijmans One is a completely independent mobile home with a bathroom, kitchen, storage room, sleeping area and living room, whose interior is characterised by its spaciousness, brightness, use of natural materials and connection to the surrounding landscape. A perfect solution for individuals looking for affordable, comprehensive and quality accommodation.
Trailer (Equivalent # 2) by Invisible Studio
This small dwelling is made of materials from construction site waste and non-cured timber sourced locally. The structure is designed to be transported by motorway and as a temporary or permanent accommodation: almost like a caravan - it includes connections for electricity and water supply.
Shelter by Vipp
55sqm of living space to be placed wherever you want: this is Vipp’s prefabricated shelter. A simple structural steel grid supports the two levels of the space: kitchen and bathroom on the first level and bedroom on the second. All this is topped off by large sliding walls that allow the house to open and close at will.
Tiny Home by Lehrer Architects LA
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Created as housing for the homeless in Los Angeles, these small 4sqm houses provide self-contained, air-conditioned space for residents and are produced in different shades of bright colours to differentiate the residences and add visual richness.
Skåpet Mountain Lodges by KOKO Architects
Prefabricated modules as a mountain lodge for hiking around the fjords: the Skåpet Mountain Lodges consist of a different units that include a main building, separated living modules, a bathroom, a warehouse and a sauna, all built in the factory and transported directly to the site.
Casa GG by Alventosa Morell Arquitectes
Alventosa Morell Arquitectes has designed a 112sqm house made up of six independent prefabricated wooden modules, with no need for site work, flexible enough to adapt to the morphology of the site. The interstitial spaces between the modules give the interior a flexible use that adapts to the needs of each family.
Casa Molina by Soler Orozco Arquitectos
This 160sqm house was entirely built in a factory and assembled on site. Only the doors, windows, sanitary fittings, accessories and finishing touches were not fitted in the factory. In fact, the 7.2 metre by 2.4 metre modules are the standard size of a freight truck platform and can therefore be entirely transported. The building includes two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a common terrace.
YEEZY Home by Kanye West
In 2017, American rapper Kanye West launched the first ultra-minimalist prefabricated home with his Yeezy brand. YEEZY Home is in fact a proposal for low-priced concrete houses among with a luxurious central area opening towards the sky, a homage to the Roman peristylium and the Zen garden.
Casa Avalon by ArchiBlox
This 106sqm house has an interior composed of two bedrooms, an open kitchen, a dining room with a living area and a storage room. The residence has numerous green solutions, such as the roof garden which avoids the waste of rainwater and thermally insulates the house. Designed in 2 months, and entirely pre-fabricated, this house was assembled in just 6 weeks.
Immerso by Fabio Vignolo and Francesca Turnaturi
Photo Marco Rostagno
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Courtesy FVA
Courtesy FVA
This camping structure is made entirely of interlocking birch panels and it is the ease with which it can be assembled that makes it an excellent accommodation for mountain lovers. An innovative, nomadic and stylish prefabricated model that is easy to assemble and has the same environmental impact as a tent.