Modern Prefabs in California

Twenty-two 12-foot-wide steel-frame modules were combined to form nine to 14-foot-high rooms that were stacked and bolted together. Ten deck modules added more than 4,700 square feet of sheltered outdoor space.

Embedded in the desert, this Marmol Radziner–designed prefab home for a Las Vegas casino executive features a James Turrell pyramidal Skyspace structure.

The house’s slatted, anodized aluminum canopies and indoor-outdoor spaces flow into one another. The resin Opal lounge and Square Cube table, with pillows and cushions covered in Sunbrella fabrics, and the teak and powder-coated cast aluminum Silver Dining swivel rocker, are all from the Veneman Collections.

The iT House was designed by Linda Taalman and Alan Koch of Taalman Koch Architects. The minimalist desert escape has an industrial aesthetic, and it pushes the envelope in terms of green design—the owners even decided to forgo air conditioning. The home’s sustainable building strategies include: large doors and operable windows for cross-ventilation, overhangs for shade, and solar panels to harness the power of the sun.

Simpatico Homes founder Seth Krubiner has lived in the prefab company’s nearly net-zero prototype since it was customized and lifted onsite in 2011.

Krubiner (here, with girlfriend Kylie Gordon) furnished the house with finds from Craigslist and eBay, such as the 1970s Milo Baughman dining table and Norman Cherner chairs.

During the 1950s and ’60s, Eichler built more than 11,000 architect-designed modern homes in California. Seth Krubiner, Simpatico’s founder, lived in one during his youth and remained smitten with its mixture of everyman affordability and mid-century cool.

Make sure your kitchen fits seamlessly with the rest of your home. A good entertaining space should have a look that's consistent with the overall design, so use finishings, colors, and other elements that compliment the rest of the space.

Rural and urban sensibilities mix indoors. The double-height living room nods to the loft-like spaces the family was accustomed to in Seattle; rough-hewn wood boards appeal to their "wabi sabi" taste in design.

Solar panels catch the sun's energy; wide expanses of open doors and windows provide cross-ventilation; and strategic overhangs shade against the desert's endless heat.

Linda Taalman and Alan Koch built a home by Joshua Tree National Park, where temperatures can span from 32 degrees to over 100. The two opted for a glass enclosure with raw industrial style and green design that allowed them to live lightly on the land. iT House has floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the landscape, a suspended fireplace by Fire Orb for cold nights, and an abundance of spaces that open up to the outdoors.

Clad in Western red cedar siding and punctuated with floor-to-ceiling windows, this minimalist two-bedroom home boasts sunrise views over the Sonoma hills.

The Wedge is among the new cabin designs that will eventually be integrated into California State Parks.

Alan Koch stands with Oleana in the north-side entry court. The tree-stump table is one of several examples of the home's raw and hand-hewn details, which offset the cool steel structure. On the glass is a graphic by artists Sarah Morris and Liam Gillick.

When Abbie and Bill Burton hired Marmol Radziner to design their prefab weekend home, their two requests were “simple-simple, replaceable materials,” says Abbie—such as concrete floors (poured offsite in Marmol Radziner's factory) and metal panel siding—and “the ability to be indoors or outdoors with ease.” Deep overhangs provide shade and protection from rain, so the Burtons can leave their doors open year-round and hang out on their 70-foot-long deck even in inclement weather. They visit the house once a month, usually for a week at a time, with Vinnie and Stella, their rescue Bernese Mountain dogs. Their two adult children occasionally join them. The couple hopes to one day retire here.

In need of more room for their growing brood, Eric and Emma Gimon, with Luc, Paul, baby Louise, and their dog, Nefi, asked for a private space to accompany the house designed for Eric’s great-aunt.

With a sleek prototype in Emeryville, California, under its belt, Simpatico Homes sets out to redefine prefab's cost—and footprint. Photo by Jake Stangel.