The innovative Philly-based architectural firm, Kieran Timberlake, has created a vision in prefabricated home design, the Loblolly House.

Integrated into its environment, readily assembled and disassembled by a wrench – is this the future of prefabricated designer housing?  The Loblolly residence (Loblolly Pines proliferate in the forest surrounding the home) is composed entirely of off-site fabricated elements and ready-made components.  The Taylors Island, Maryland residence, situated between the forest and the saltmeadow marsh of the bay, sits atop tree timbers that reduce ground disruption and assimilate the structure into the surrounding forest.  The building’s aluminum scaffold system and array of connectors provide both the structural frame and the means to connect building components, with only the aid of a wrench.

The off-site fabricated floor and ceiling panels are called “smart cartridges.”  They distribute radiant heat, hot and cold water, waste water, ventilation, and electricity throughout the home.  Fully integrated, pre-made, bathroom and mechanical room modules are placed into position.  Exterior wall panels containing:  structure, insulation, windows, interior finishes and the exterior wood rain screen complete the home’s exterior.  An adjustable glazed system with two layers comprises the residence’s west wall — interior accordion-style folding glass doors and exterior polycarbonate-clad hangar doors that provide an adjustable awning as well as weather and storm protection.

The home can be disassembled by wrench, moved, recycled or stored in the same manner it was constructed.  An innovative, sustainable concept indeed.