An Urban Nest: A Kansas City Prefab Home
(Page 2 of 4)
September/October 2008
By Carol Crupper
For privacy and warmth, windows are smaller in the bedrooms, which occupy the rear of the house. The master bedroom sits on the north end. In front of it, a secondary room is divided by a moveable bookshelf. “The bookshelf is nice because we can customize the size of the middle bedroom to fit our changing needs,” Leah says.
Before the birth of their son, Myles, the couple configured the space as one big room. Now it’s divided into a small office area and medium-size bedroom for Myles. Tiny clothes, books and toys fill cubicles in the sunny nursery. Decorative sheets of translucent Polygal pull light into the interior, adding to the cheerful feel.
The homeowners also love that the architects focused on eco-friendly building materials, including energy-efficient windows and appliances, recessed lighting with fluorescent lamps, recycled materials and recycled cellulose insulation. But, says Leah, “I think the bamboo flooring is our favorite aspect because it’s just so darn pretty.”
Pretty and eco-friendly is a winning combination for the couple. “We were very impressed with the forward thinking of the students and their sensitivity toward the environment,” Leah says. “It’s wonderful to live in a beautiful home while simultaneously being conscientious of the planet. Unfortunately, these two things sometimes seem mutually exclusive.”
Urban revival
To some, this strikingly modern home in the heart of a 1920s neighborhood might look like a punk rocker at a senior center. But that doesn’t worry the man behind its design. “I believe in diversity,” says architect Dan Rockhill, the J.L. Constant Distinguished Professor of Architecture who founded and oversees the Studio 804 program. Rockhill sees modern, well-designed, environmentally conscious homes inspiring natural neighborhood transitions.
Studio 804 students designed and built the 1,200-square-foot house over the course of five months. Over the past decade, the nonprofit studio has worked with communities to develop homes for single-family lots in less-affluent localities.
Leah and Kenny, both bartenders, fit the profile that the studio aims to attract: urban hipsters willing to commit to inner-city neighborhoods. Young people who reject suburban living prefer something different—“the edgier, the better,” Rockhill says. “And, as a result, we stumbled onto a market.” Today, Studio 804 boasts a waiting list of potential buyers.
Housing for real people
Leah and Kenny’s house, called Modular3, is the studio’s third foray into prefabrication. Like its predecessors, it has garnered architectural acclaim and international interest, including a specially created Judges’ Award from Residential Architect’s annual design competition (student projects usually are not awarded, but the judges wanted to honor the Mod3).