This modern prefab cabin, called the BlueSky MOD, is one of a few examples of affordable green modular homes currently available today (see these books for more examples). It was designed by Todd Saunders, an architect born and trained in Canada and currently working in Norway. The company that sells the homes, also called BlueSky MOD, is run Hy Rosenberg and Richard Stark, who are based in Toronto.
They say “We believe the foundations of a great vacation home are aesthetic appeal and ecological responsibility…It’s an experiment in simplicity of design, construction techniques and relationship to nature”. The basic package costs $127,000 CAD (this does not include land, foundations, electricity, plumbing or furniture).
The home is truly modular, and is divided into two main parts: a “main sleeping cabin”, which has a living area and a bedroom, and a cabana that contains a bathroom, composting toilet and a wood burning sauna by Finn-Tastic. The home is built using local and non-toxic, recycled materials. The interior is lined with Columbia Forest Products EcoColor panels, which is composed of strawboard — an alternative to formaldehyde-laden particleboard. It has a cedar ceiling and Floorworks sustainable wood laminate flooring.
The main sleeping cabin size is 12′ by 24′, the auxiliary cabin size is 8′ by 16′, and the breezeway between the two modules is 8′ by 16′. The total deck space occupied by the two cabins is 16′ by 40′.
Home page: BlueSky Mod. More pictures here.
If this retreat were $50,000.00 to $60,000.00 i could see it, but at this price it’s a bit much for a glorified one room cabin retreat. And of course, where would you cook the meals? hummm…cute but not for me.
..actually the wood is cedar and not at all FSC, i met these guys, asked them all about it in person. they want to one day use certified wood. also theres some freaky chemicals used in the grass panels.
..and personally i could get land and an earthship (built for me) for $125,000
i still think it gets ‘A’ for effort for the most of the trimmings and fixings (some imports are not necesary, i.e. woodstoves) and some are iffy on their content, like the fiberboard (gets a ‘+’ cause it uses cellulose, gets two ‘- -‘s because it’s sprayed with PVDF flourinated polymers (c2c? hardly)
then, what’s the main framing and panels made of? “Wood” (kinda vague) believe me, they may *want* to use FSC, but when they do, it will be on the website with all the other technical information.
as for price… lets start with being realistic, you will want some place to cook/prepare food, so at the very least you will want the aditional 8×16 room (so it’s not $125K) but beyond that, say you did want some single room out in the woods.. so at $125K you are talking almost $450/sqft
for that price I can get a 2800 sqft custom yurt (same peopel sell 500sqft on 2 floors for $28K) ….or TWO 60’ domes (5000 sqft) with all the fixins….
What kind of price would you think was affordable?
I think all the materials are from green sources, e.g. FSC certified.
um, $125K for one room + bathroom (no kitchen) are you sure it’s affordable?
and composting toilets and flooring aside, are you sure it’s green? are the walls even forest certified??