Marmol Radziner Launches Affordable New Locomo Prefab!

4 thoughts on “Marmol Radziner Launches Affordable New Locomo Prefab!”

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  George N July 17, 2010 at 11:34 am

  I agree that real world solutions are hard to come by. Building homes has become a bloated beast of a supply chain, that if not managed efficiently, results in homes being out of reach for most families. The biggest problem is that with each house, there are too many people wanting to make large profits not proportional to the amount of work they provide. The only reason people can afford cars, is because the industry has invested trillions in engineering and research development, and has relatively slim profit margins (3-5%) for each car. The housing industry, however, pads 50% or more in profit margins to a house. LABhaus is selling houses on the forefront of sustainable technology affordable to middle class families. They have partnered with the company I work for which has been building prefab homes for 22 years and are selling modern houses with SIP construction for around $150 per square foot including the site work. They have partnered with other builders around the country to make these homes available. I have never seen anything this high spec, for such a low price / sq ft. http://www.labhaus.com/new-jersey-custom/

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  TJ June 29, 2010 at 1:01 pm

  While I agree, suburbia is the monster problem that still needs to be addressed and resolved. I feel that this project helps call attention to the issue. And to be honest, the so called sustainable no sayers (even the sustainable extremists) need to wake up and realize that true sustainability is something that needs to be relearned, and that will take time. Expecting an instant 180 u-turn is NAIVE. 100+ years of american culture is not likely to make a 180 u-turn. So again I view this project is a step in the right direction. Full sustainability is a mile long walk and we need to encourage every step towards the end goal. Yes the first "green" homes are more expensive and financially unsustainable (especially when considering how much energy goes into making and then spending a dollar) but they are necessary to help break the chains of conventional design, conventional governing, and conventional thought. Anytime you break with the conventional norm, you can sadly expect higher costs and substantial resistance, especially from the older generations, (Sorry Mom and Dad, but you are just are not as open minded as you used to be back in the 70s)

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  kristiantheconqueror June 28, 2010 at 1:27 am

  This building is the child of a culture that is unsustainable, environmentally unfriendly and backwards. This house is a suburban home, true it may be a passive structure designed to consume the minimum amount of energy possible and survive off-grid, but it is still a suburban home. Suburbia is the disease, and this house is just a tiny bandage on a festering sore which oozes forth a puss of conspicuous consumption and environmental destruction. Remember, the land is a limited resource, and every acre, every inch which is mowed under for the benefit of another subdivision is, no matter how friendly the houses may be, another acre, another inch which will not contribute to the natural environment that sustains this planet and everything upon it. It is not just the house, but the manicured lawns that surround it, the roads that lead to it, the super-markets that feed it, everything takes up the space otherwise occupied by the greenest and most environmentally friendly thing on the planet: the natural environment.

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  Anonymous June 25, 2010 at 9:39 pm

  On what planet is $200,000 to $700,000 an affordable single family home? Less boutique designs and posturing architects, more real world solutions.