desert prefab

a few days back we talked about the slick looking rocio romero prefabs, well this desert prefab by marmol radziner is certainly no less attractive. this prefab, however, doesn’t carry the traditional kit-of-parts look that many others do. the desert house, as marmol radziner refers to it as, is an elegantly low-slung prefab in the california desert. sitting on a five-acre site, desert house takes full advantage of the powerful desert sun. 100% of the energy needed by the house is generated by photovoltaic solar cells on site. other environmentally conscious design decisions include, green and energy efficient materials, intelligent sunshading on the south and west elevations, and the use of covered outdoor living space to establish a buffer zone between the harsh desert sun and the interior living spaces.

in plan the house is “L” shaped meaning that this prefab’s architecture begins to claim exterior land surrounding the house as its own. This exterior space takes the form of a fire pit and swimming pool (i would wager a guess that the swimming pool also provides for a little passive cooling as well) for social ineraction/gatherings. in the colder months concrete floors help provide thermal masses in an attempt to passively heat the house. mostly, however, i am drawn to the elegant aesthetics of the desert house; i have a really affinity for these sculptural landscapes created by the architecture.