Thailand-based modular home designer Site-Specific has announced that they are expanding their line and have even formed a new company specifically devoted to prefab homes for the Thai Market. The first home in their new line is the MDL 5.5×6, a home inspired by the shipping container but modified to make it more practical and livable. Made from recycled materials, the one bedroom prefab home is modern, simple, and totally affordable.
You may remember Site-Specific from their modular green home made from 4 shipping containers and prefab modules. With all of their designs, sustainability is not just about the materials used, but also about encouraging a more sustainable lifestyle. This new prefab model is a modest one-bedroom home, with a living room, bathroom, and an outdoor kitchenette and patio. Even though its only 34 sq meters (395 sq ft), it seems plenty big enough for one person or a couple, even in the US, and is a good start to a simpler, lower impact lifestyle. And the fact that it only costs 60,000 Thai Baht (about US $18,000), makes it an incredibly affordable option.
The design for the home was originally inspired by shipping container architecture, but it updates the concept by expanding the dimensions, making it wider and taller than a standard container. Re-appropriated or recycled steel elements are used to build the structure and the exterior is made from compressed wood shavings and recycled milk bottles for a super low-maintenance and durable cladding. Three different roof options are offered for the practical little prefab, but it is unfortunately only available in Thailand right now.
+ Site-Specific
Cool – prefab certainly seems to promise greater affordability, and this is cheaper than others I’ve heard of, but I wonder how it compares with other options in Thailand, for pricing vs features & quality?
Thailand’s surprisingly doing something out of character here. Aren’t they supposed to be ones that, like Indonesia, contribute to such tremendeous decline of global forest density? Anyway, the idea here is brilliant. But it begs asking why this innovation hadn’t been initiated and introduced to a more mainstream field? It’s not unlike the debate on oil and alternative fuels. I feel like the politics is the blame for all the undoing.
Elizabeth Sorgen, B.A.
Owner / Broker-Realtor®
License #: 01405736
http://www.SorgenInternational.com
Residential, Commercial, Investments