PreFab Reality Check

As a huge fan of the new wave of PreFab, my head has filled with visions of finding an affordable housing solution here in San Francisco. Like most people, we are hopeful for the promise that PreFab offers. Realistically, however, none of the major players in the new green PreFab market have yet had the economies of scale needed in order to bring the costs down to where they should be. As Michelle Kaufmann, architect of the brilliant GlideHouse said to me, "We are not yet producing houses the way we produce cars, at 4000 units a day." (paraphrasing) That is ultimately the promise and exciting part of PreFab - high end design at mass production prices.

Another visionary and well executed green PreFab company, LivingHomes headed by the evangelistic Steve Glenn has been getting some great press recently, especially now that their gorgeous model home is now complete. Going beyond the hype and marketing press releases, it was nice to see this article discuss some of the realities of PreFab.

One of the more sharp tongued excerpts:
In the regions where the market is expensive enough to make prefab such an enticing option - LA, the Bay Area, Seattle, Boston or Washington, D.C., for example - most of the remaining vacant lots are steep or inaccessible... On a lot like that, a pricey foundation, retaining walls or other site work is often required, cutting into the potential savings that draw customers to modular design in the first place.

Having had numerous discussions with both Steve Glenn and Michelle Kaufmann, I have full faith in their vision - it is just too attractive not to. Hopefully, this initial hurdle and issue of SCALE can be overcome quickly. There is no reason they could not bring the costs for each of their beautiful designs in under $100/square foot.

In a place like San Francisco, with ranges of $300-500/square foot, these PreFab's could offer some exciting alternatives.