Manufacturing and Mutation: Pre-fab Design: Adaptability in Commercial Pre-fab

I have been doing an investigation of current prefab housing companies to see how they compare in regards to adaptability. Most companies I have looked at have several housing models to choose from, and you are able to customize these models in a minor way. Some have two floor plan options to choose from, and most have customizable finishes. However, the overall design does not appear to be very adaptable.

Link to Kieran Timberlake model home configuration. The website lets you select custom options and live updates the price of the home - much like the concept of the dell computer as they described in Prefabricating Architecture. Much like dell, the base model that is selected cannot be changed, the house is the house and you can decide what finish you want, and which appliances.

In regards to adaptability, selecting a house layout out of a number of predesigned models does not seem to me to give the user enough of an input into the design of their house. Or at least would not give me (granted from the perspective of a designer) as much appeal. When I look at houses or apartments, I am more intrigued by the character of a house, or the cultural context of its location. In taking away the concept of site, it makes me wonder what is important. For me it would be in the ability for the house to reflect some of who I am, through how I would intend to renovate it, or how I would create the layout. The ability to interact with my house is important in the sense that I could have a large impact on how I use it. Just having the ability to change the finishes does not do this for me - finishes don't change how I act within my house, they change the appearance of it.

Two clear paths for creating this interaction seem apparent at first glance. One is being able to alter the house on my own after I purchase it to make it uniquely suited to me, and the second is having (enough) control of the layout during the design process to create my impact to house I will use the house.

I have found some precedents that allow for more customization in the design process (albeit sacrificing some of the economics through this process). The two strongest are Homb Prefab and FlatPak. Both of these companies have created modular building pieces that can be combined to create custom layouts.

Homb relies on a triangular prism as a module, which is connected and stacked to other triangular prisms to develop a unique layout suited to site and user needs. The triangles are assembled into travel modules in the factory and then shipped to the site.

Onsite Construction of 3,900 sqft home in Portland, OR

Interior of Portland, OR home

Rendering of 2,100 sqft home in New Orleans, LA

Modular Plan of New Orleans home

Proposal for multifamily Homb housing

Graphic plan of multi-family housing showing triangular modules

FlatPak is organized based on the concept of a one story, 8' wall section. These sections are customizable with a range of surface materials (glass, opaque panels, etc) and start to dictate how each part of the house is used and how the user wants it to connect to the site.