What is prefab?

Prefab is anything that is manufactured off-site and shipped in. A lightbulb is prefab. The term causes confusion in the context of prefab homes because it has become a catch-all that can encompass many approaches. For example, prefab could be a module (or glorified trailer home) manufactured offsite and towed to your site. It could be a home manufactured offsite in panels that then get shipped to your site where they are snapped together.

For the HYBRID HOUSE we use established steel frame manufacturers to produce the frame, or bones, of your house offsite. These then arrive at your site on a flatbed truck and fit together like an erector set. Since we are able to take advantage of long-standing cost competitiveness in the industry, our system provides you with extraordinary savings and allows a budget of any size to go much further. Right now, other systems still need to ramp up their volume to the point where these kinds of savings will be possible.

What does the word "custom" mean?

Other prefab methods take advantage of the potential time savings of prefab but create great limitations in design. Our system, because it is a hybrid, allows us to use the word "custom" in a way that does not merely mean you get a choice in how many modules to plug together, or, as the term has come to mean, in a choice of flooring or a countertop. None of our projects resembles any other. We have done a house, for example, with a great room that has a thirty foot ceiling - an impossibility in other systems. Even more exciting, this was for a first home with an extremely tight budget. We have also designed and built many of our projects on steep hillsides, which is difficult or impossible with other systems.

Why is prefab considered eco-friendly?

Prefab has the added benefit of being eco-friendly, as off-site fabrication reduces wasted material, as well as reducing waste energy in fabrication. A large part of our practice is devoted to implementing and researching green materials and environmentally-friendly design. We start with the HYBRID HOUSE and continue with every detail it takes to finish your home.

We have designed part prefab, all custom™ homes in every budget range, from urban homes to 10,000sf country retreats. The key is that you will get a custom home designed for you using prefab components. Whether you hope to create your first home*, or you want to take the finishes of a high-end residence to a whole new level we only ask that you come to us with a passion for modern design.

> see some of our HYBRID HOUSE projects

*2,000sf minimum: our system begins to realize its substantial savings at this size.