Most of us have seen a prefabricated or modular home rolling by on the highway. Those cookie cutter buildings are not exactly the stuff of housing dreams. But those style-less buildings are a far cry from today’s luxury prefab homes, many of which are designed by cutting-edge architects and have become something of a trend in the southern California desert vacation home.

By using green building materials and aiming to be energy efficient, such homes are also being touted as sustainable alternatives to traditional site-built homes.

Prefab homes are characterized by being produced either wholly or partially off-site, then shipped to the home lot to be assembled. For a second-home owner building their vacation retreat from afar, especially one who is taken by ultra-modern architecture, this might be better value than hiring an architect and builder on-site. Still, prefab doesn’t necessarily mean inexpensive; square foot prices on some of today’s prefabricated luxury homes can run into the hundreds.

Prefab homes are being touted as an environmentally sound option for a number of reasons. Because they’re produced off-site, there’s less of an environmental footprint at the housing site, meaning less damage to natural areas surrounding the residence, and it’s also been argued that less waste is produced with prefab homes than at typical construction sites. Architects may even have greater access to environmentally friendly materials, like bamboo flooring and solar panels, because they can buy in bulk. Prefab homes have even been proposed as a good option for rebuilding efforts in New Orleans, due to the ease of mass production and installation.

Prefab homes are also catching the eye of the art world. An upcoming exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York this July will feature the designs of five prefab architects chosen from a pool of 400 proposals submitted to the museum. In response to the exhibit, the Guardian published an article about whether prefab’s eco-friendly claims are up to snuff. Writer Clay Risen points to the “over-engineering” of prefab homes, the need to transport homes with cranes and trucks and the reality that many architects may not be using eco-friendly materials as reasons the “prefab is eco-friendly” mantra may not yet be fully realized.

Nevertheless, there are a host of architects concentrating on prefab designs that will no doubt appeal to the second home owner. The next logical step? A major developer taking the luxury prefab plunge.

LivingHomes

The first Living Home designed by Ray Kappe, was the first residence in the country to receive a coveted LEED certification. Kappe’s four Living Home models range from 1,000 to 4,000 square feet and start at $350,000 with some houses topping $650,000. The homes feature photovoltaic solar panels, a grey water system, FSC-certified wood and radiant heating. Last fall, the company partnered with Wired Magazine to produce the Wired Living Home, which was designed to combine green living with high tech amenities and modern design. The home is open to the public in Brentwood, CA.

Michelle Kaufmann Designs

Kaufmann follows five “eco principles” when designing her homes and communities: smart design, eco-friendly materials, energy efficiency, water conservation and healthy environment. Her homes, which range from the high-performance Glidehouse to the urban MKLoft, run from $250 to $275 per square foot; a custom home starts at $400 a square foot. Her MKSolaire home, which features a “living roof” and solar electric generation system, will be built at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry for the upcoming exhibit The Smart Home: Green and Wired, beginning this May.