Prefab houses aren’t exactly a thrilling proposition to architects, but with urbanization in full swing, there is a great need for nice, quickly-constructed prefab houses. The good thing is that the architects behind these houses are finding ways to build prefab homes that produce clean energy, maximize sunlight, and do away with complete homogeny.
An example of this updated approach to prefab houses comes from Örebro, Sweden, where Street Monkey Architects have created a row of homes featuring angled roofs that slant downwards to capture maximum sunlight on rooftop solar panels. The sleek modern homes were constructed offsite as six separate modules that include walls, bathrooms, and kitchen; facades were added once the modules were transported on site.
In a clever move to create replicability without visual homogeny, Street Monkey Architects clad the east-west facing facades in white plaster and the north-south facades in steel or steel with a wooden lattice overlay. That same subtle customization is found on the roofs, which are designed to capture as much sunlight as possible. All of the solar panels are designed to face south, which meant the corner lot orientation of the row houses required two different designs.
Homes facing north-south have asymmetrical, mirrored roofs, while east-west facing homes have a sawtooth pattern. These design choices together inject some personality into what could have otherwise been a row of exceedingly cookie-cutter abodes.
