We just caught wind of a beautiful new prefab that takes an innovative approach towards its own structural life-cycle. The Canada based Énóvo House features a sleek modular assembly that’s designed to evolve as the needs of its inhabitants change. Its elegant, angular structure makes excellent use of materials to maximize square footage, and its versatile design is able to adapt to any type of terrain and any climate condition.
The Énóvo house packs an exceptional array of green building strategies into an eminently configurable prefab that prides itself upon it ability to integrate with its environment. According to the website “Énóvo is an intelligent house that breathes comfort by perfectly molding itself to the desires of its owner. With its ready-to-assemble modular structures the house not only respectfully melts into its environment but also adapts to the lifestyle, the needs and the evolution of those living in it.”
The prefab is composed of locally sourced, environmentally friendly materials and is meticulously constructed to eliminate on-site waste. It’s topped with a thriving green roof that provides excellent insulation against heat and cold while serving as a rainwater recycling and filtration system.
Inside, glazed panoramic windows surround an interior courtyard to provide ample day lighting. Solar shades help with climate control, and passive heating is provided via radiant flooring. Removable wall panels provide a plethora of material and color options, and the home’s modular construction makes upgrades and renovations a snap.
The Énóvo website states that its name stems “from the Cheyenne language and signifies ‘’your home’: in homage to the Amerindian peoples’ profound respect for nature.” Construction is currently in progress due north of Montreal, and we can’t wait to see the finished product.
+ Énóvo
Via Jetson Green
Now this is one I would buy!
Self-fab is what many people desire in these economically challenged times. This design seems to use an extruded aluminum post and beam skeletal structure with panelized infill. Fine. So why not take it all the way and make it available as a ‘kit of parts’ which can be self-fabbed ? I’m waiting for the day when we can go to our local Big Box store (ie: ‘Lowes’ or ‘Home Depot’) and buy the components for our houses as off the shelf components. This design appears to go half-way there. Going all the way… which is to say making available a ‘Housing Design SYSTEM’ that’s a kit of parts… is where things will go soon.
BTW… how is the cold dealt with in these hollow extruded aluminum posts ? Are they foam filled ?
Are these extruded aluminum posts and beams the same as those developed by ‘modularhousingsystem.com’ ?(add the: http://www. at the head and your active !)
Looks like they will have issues with thermal bridging in cold (Canada?) climates- and some issues with lateral loads with the all glass ends and super-thin profiles! Looks like vapourfab to me – or at least something that hasn\’t seen a visit to the engineer\’s yet. Under \’technical information\’ there is nothing technical or informative – and only a phone number – why waste our time? Nice rendering though, but no floorplans? No pricing? Hello! Provide the basics please!
FINALLY!!!!!!!
A great prefab home design that is available to Canadians (and by Canadians to boot),no longer will i have to relocate to the united states in order to enjoy a decent prefab house.The masterpieces by Roccio Romero,Craig Konyk ,H-HAUS or the Modernist Modular Homes.com for example are great prefab modernist designs witch are unavailable to us RUBES here in Canada.
Toronto’s Royal Homes have put out a couple of hideous prefab models witch should have never left their drawing board because they where nothing more than a violent assault on the senses and good taste.
I hope the good people at enovo homes will get the project off the ground soon and their innovative product won’t just be another canadian non-starter .
P.S.:does anybody know what as happened to the Brio54 home people,their website is off line.
Am I missing something here? It seems like this whole article tries to lead us to the belief that it can be assembled anywhere, claims to be green, and then says, \”The prefab is composed of locally sourced, environmentally friendly materials…\” Just a note, but it\’s only \”locally sourced\” if the buyer happens to live near wherever the prefab parts are made. Or if I have missed it totally and these prefab parts are made by the buyer, then I\’d LOVE to see the spec that accounts for all of the variations in locally available, environmentally friendly building material.
Overall it looks interesting, but this reads more like a PR piece than anything else. And when 1+1 doesn\’t add up to 2 in any case, it makes me wonder if it adds up anywhere in the project or if someone just has a really good grasp on the green buzz words of the day.
I visited this house this past winter when it was on display at the Montreal Home Show. It is truly a great concept and the layout was smart. However, it seemed to be lacking in detail. As was listed previous, they seem to be stuck on the PR w/out a fully realized product. I’d give them two years to get the bugs out.