Modular kit housing
Gorgeous designs, poor usability and high expense
Building homes from kits has been popular as early as the late 1800s when Sears Roebuck & Co sold and shipped plans and materials to any point in the country served by a rail line. The company was a large contributor to the growth of the Arts & Crafts architectural movement in the United States.
Today there are any number of design companies that specialize in modular housing and standalone room design. I was flipping through an architecture magazine when I saw an ad for kitHAUS, a Los Angeles-based company that will ship structures as small as 9×13 feet (117 square feet)—just small enough to allow you to build a designer-quality spare room while barely skirting the threshold requiring a building permit in most municipalities. This is a point the company’s marketing materials drive home—and it is a considerate design requirement, given what most homeowners know about getting their towns to do much of anything.
The company’s Website promotes four different room designs, all small—and all suitable for combining in various configurations to build a bigger structure if that’s what is desired. The prices are fairly reasonable, considering the aesthetic, starting at around $30k for the smallest model and going up from there. (The sky is probably the limit on potential cost).
However, that pricetag is still out of reach for most people, who will be limited to shopping at Home Depot and Lowe’s for pre-built particle board shedding. These retailers are hardly bastions of forward-thinking design.
kitHAUS modules bring usability issues, too. The company claims someone with considerable handyman skills and about five similarly inclined friends can put one of the structures together in a single weekend, but they seem to strongly advise against it, instead suggesting one of their approved crews would be a better choice. (Incidentally, that would add at least another $6,000 to the cost of the smallest structure.) I wonder if there are other modular kit purveyors out there who have figured out how to offer a great design aesthetic and functionality that won’t break the bank and don’t require a skilled crew for assembly?
kitHAUSes designs are gorgeous. They inspired a conversation with a friend about the possibilities of a workout room, a crafts area, a spare office, a play house (for somebody’s spoiled brats). Knowing me, my 9×13 room would serve as the prettiest skin I’ve ever had on a rented junk storage facility—with the convenience of backyard accessibility.
All said, these are amazing designs. But when will someone come up with a beautiful, idiot-proof kit that two or three semi-skilled people can put together? I’ll be waiting anxiously.
Talk about Modular kit housing
Michael Beavers
Michael has served as a strategy director for Organic in San Francisco and IQ Interactive in Atlanta.
While he is a digital strategist by training, he has an appreciation for empathetic design of all stripes, from interfaces to devices, controls, public architecture, urban design, transportation, and land use.
His peer-reviewed journal, http://www.physicalinterface.com, is a new community of everyday design enthusiasts from technology, user experience design, architecture, human factors, New Urbanism, product design and academia.
Read more about Michael Beavers.
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Interesting. I haven’t seen DIY modular kits like this one, but I am smitten with the concept of modular homes. In fact, my last blog post was about modular homes. I’m secretly hoping (okay, not so secretly) that I can convince my significant other that modular housing is a viable solution for us when we combine households. I think there are some very affordable, very livable options, and throwing in a DIY element makes the concept even more intriguing. If you find that beautiful, idiot-proof kit, please share!
I definitely will! Thanks for your comments.
I’m curious, what are you looking for in a modular structure? What’s important to you? Is it design, layout, ease of assembly, cost? None of those? Something else?
I am most interested in the ability to design a home that fits my needs and desires at a reasonable cost. I’ve always found modular homes so attractive because they allow you to “build” a house from the ground (or basement) up, without the hassles associated with traditional home building. I also typically think “modern home” when I think about modular homes. So design and aesthetics certainly play a part as well.
I’ve never considered DIY for a modular structure and have always assumed a crew would be part of the deal, and I’m honestly not sure I would want to build my own structure if I actually planned to live in it. A guest studio or office could be nice candidates for a DIY structure, though.
I have this daydreamy fantasy of building an awesome modular home for me and the SO and building my mom, who must be close by, a smaller matching home on the same lot.
I think the biggest challenge in Atlanta would be finding a suitable lot. But I’m always keeping my eyes open. :)
Interesting. I would also want a crew if I were building a complete home, but would like to be able to assemble a freestanding extra room myself. I would definitely do a kitHAUS product if the price was cheaper and the pieces went together as easily as, say, the most complex piece of IKEA furniture. Mechanically speaking, of course.
Hi beav, New World home offers modular housing with classically inspired design—so there’s even stuff out there fo rthsoe who crave a greek revival. not my personal aesthetice, but would for the minimal mod strucutres to get too carried a way and have neigbhorhoods turn into a sort of “after work” cube farms. THe hook is not just the convenience/quick factor of the build, but also i guess the modular consusturc is supposed to be green….. and we all not it’s not easy to be….
I definately believe that affordability of a well designed, modern structure comes through sweat equity. Our new kit homes are eco-friendly, modern, and easy to build with each building component light enough for one or two people to easily carry and install. You can check out the Noble Homes at www.noble-home.net. Our “gallery” page has links to owners’ blogs. I’d be interested in what you think!