The LivingHomes YB1

Project Details

Project Description

FROM THE ARCHITECTS:

The LivingHomes YB1 is the first line of homes from a collaboration between fuseproject and LivingHomes, built to showcase design, quality of workmanship, flexibility and sustainability.

The structural system of YB1 allows for a wide range of internal layouts. It is based on a 4’ grid that is full height, allowing the homeowner to pick full height windows, clearstory or rigid walls all around the building. This allows for shaping light, privacy and cost needs very precisely. A unique feature of YB1 is that it allows for multiple roofline options: the home can be designed with a standard 8’ ceiling height and flat roof, a 10’ ceiling with a clearstory running the entire building, or a pitched roof that provides climate adaptability, neighborhood style integration, or adds a loft addition.

By using helical piles, pillars that are screwed into the ground upon which a structure can be built, construction of the homes can include a foundation, but it is not required. Pricing will have a range based on size, configuration, appliances and materials. Upon order, the home takes a few weeks for manufacturing and one day for installation with all electrical, plumbing, lighting, HVAC and appliances built in.

The design is cost-efficient and adheres to LivingHomes’ high environmental efficient standards, using materials like wood slats paneling, concrete and stucco panels. The model options are also responsive to climate. Flat roofs that allow for solar panels can be incorporated, which work well in southern regions; likewise, the design of pitch roofs assimilate well in colder areas and mountain regions. YB1 homes offer a wide range of creative building configurations — modules for full kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms and bedrooms (or offices) will be available, and because of the flexible features, they can accommodate different sites, design interests and lifestyle preferences.

Design Statement
When governor Jerry Brown signed a law that made Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) legal in California, it started a revolution in the ways that homeowners, builders and city planners think of small living. Homeowners applications for these small backyard buildings skyrocketed after this regulatory reform. The goal of the legislation is to increase housing stock in a region that has a very low density and a great need of housing, and as a result is not affordable. In a recent New York Times report on California housing, a majority of the land in San Francisco and Los Angeles is 90 percent composed of single family homes. ADUs could greatly increase the housing stock in those zones.

fuseproject and I have been thinking about affordable and efficient living in the last few years, most notably in our work with ORI, a robotic furniture company that transforms junior studios into a multi-functional livable home. For me, the next frontier of design is to think of the entire home as a product that a homeowner can shape to their needs in terms of size, usage and aesthetic.

Steve Glenn, the founder and CEO of Plant Prefab, approached me to design a prefab system with Plant’s Design Studio, LivingHomes, to cover a range of consumer needs and price ranges. The first model, the LivingHome YB1 is a system that allows customization of every structure from a layout, size (250 - 1200 sqft), roofline (pitched or flat roof), window size and location, and external material standpoint.

The YB1, the first homes from our collaboration, is designed to showcase the design, quality of workmanship, flexibility and sustainability that LivingHomes is known for. It is available immediately at livinghomes.net and plantprefab.com , and upon order takes about 6-8 weeks for manufacturing and 1 day for installation with all electrical, plumbing, lighting, HVAC and appliances built in.

Following the launch of the YB1, LivingHomes and I will focus on additional prefabs in this line -- sub-$100,000 homes that cover a range of consumer needs and price ranges. We will take advantage of robotic manufacturing techniques and construction technology that PlantPrefab is developing to provide a range of prefabricated home solutions with technology and manufacturing that fulfill functional, aesthetic and affordability needs for a fast-growing housing segment driven by consumers that seek new living solutions.

This first foray into prefabricated and efficient living is, for me, an opportunity to think systematically about buildings, rather than as a one-size fits all solution. People want to shape their living environment and adapt it to their backyard’s light and privacy constraints. The structural system of YB1 allows for a wide range of internal layouts. It is based on a 4’ grid that is full height, allowing the homeowner to pick full height windows, clearstory or rigid walls all around the building. This allows for shaping light, privacy and cost needs very precisely. A unique feature of YB1 is to allow for multiple roofline options: the home can be designed with standard an 8’ ceiling height and flat roof, a 10’ ceiling with a clearstory running the entire building, or a pitched roof that provides climate adaptability, neighborhood style integration, or adds a loft addition.

The environmental and economic benefits to investing in an ADU are very compelling. Prefab ADUs save materials and are more efficient to build and construct compared to traditional construction, which is often disruptive to neighbors and energy inefficient. Equally as important is that they can be built in a very short time and at a lower cost.

The adaptability, affordability and sustainable elements of the YB1 system make it a stand-out in the market. YB1 homes offer a wide range of creative building configurations -- modules for full kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms and bedrooms (or offices) will be available, and because of the flexible features, they can accommodate different sites, design interests and lifestyle preferences. Additionally, the homes can be built at any size, as the design is such that the size of the homes can range from 250 to 1,200 square feet.

The design is cost-efficient and adheres to LivingHomes high environmental efficient standards, using materials like wood slats paneling, concrete and stucco panels. The model options are also responsive to climate. For example, flat roofs that allow for solar panels can be incorporated, which work well in southern regions; likewise, the design of pitch roofs assimilate well in colder areas and mountain regions.

By using helical piles, pillars that are screwed into the ground upon which a structure can be built, construction of the homes can include a foundation, but it is not required. In time, we’ll have version of the YB line that will be available for less than $100,000, which is a more affordable line of prefabricated homes industrywide. Pricing will have a range based on size, configuration, appliances and materials.

We are anticipating that the prefabricated ADU market will grow substantially in the next decade as consumers seek additional housing solutions for their relatives and cities seek to increase rental housing stock by making the process of adding small homes to existing properties more convenient. Together, our goal is to respond to this trend in a novel way, building inspired living environments that are as creatively designed as they are groundbreakingly functional, and to make it attainable for urban dwellers of the future.

Project Credits
Project: The LivingHomes YB1
Design: Fuseproject, Yves Behar, CEO
Production: PlantPrefab for LivingHomes, Steve Glenn, founder and CEO