J Mayer H and Fernando Romero launch designs for prefabricated houses
Fernando Romero and Jürgen Mayer H have become the latest architects to contribute to Revolution Precrafted, a prefabricated building service that already offers designs by Zaha Hadid, Sou Fujimoto and Kengo Kuma (+ slideshow).
Mexico City-based Romero and Berlin architect Mayer H have both designed compact homes for the company, which was launched by developer and art collector Robbie Antonio to make high-end architecture more accessible.
Romero's design, named The Nest Pod, is the most unusual of the two new designs. Elliptical in plan, it is intended to be manufactured more like a car or an aeroplane than a house, according to the designer.
The main floor level is set above ground – a move to prevent the building impacting too much on the landscape beneath it.
Inside, curved rooms are organised around a north-south axis. They include two living spaces – one for lounging and one for dining – and a pair of bedrooms, creating a total floor area of 95 square metres.
"The Nest Pod is a pre-crafted home that belongs both to architecture and product design worlds," explained the FR-EE founder, whose best-known designs include the anvil-shaped Museo Soumaya in Mexico City.
"We live in a world where mobility became a very important asset, and this house is designed for a new generation of people that can live simultaneously in different parts of the world," he said.
"It is an innovative prefabricated house, which is intelligently suited for any environment or location. Its elliptical shape allows the building to harmoniously relate to any context."
Mayer H's design meanwhile has a more straightforward rectilinear plan. Its rooms are encased by glass, while an opaque outer structure frames a series of terraces, and also provides shade.
Broad diagonal columns support the overhanging roof, which prompted the name The Diago Home.
"The Diago Home is a comfortable home with large covered terraces," said a statement from the architect, who works under the studio name J Mayer H and previously completed the revamp of Seville's Plaza de la Encarnacíon.
"Floor and ceiling undulate around the enclosed rooms, offering a flexible floor plan with generous outdoor areas," he added.
Indoor and outdoor curtains will be included, according to the architect, so residents can maintain their privacy.
Revolution Precrafted launched during Design Miami 2015, offering prefabricated homes and pavilions by 30 notable architects and designers, also including Tom Dixon, Marcel Wanders, Ron Arad and SelgasCano.
The company aims to harness the benefits of prefabrication, which include low construction costs and build times, to make aspirational architecture more collectible.
"The core appeal of prefabricated structures is the freedom from location and construction constraints; however, the result is often monotonous, homogenous design," said the company during the launch.
"Revolution Precrafted Properties reinvent this model by creating unique, high-design spaces that transcend geographic borders and excite the senses."
Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher unveiled their design for the company at the Design Miami fair – a dining pavilion shaped like an open clam shell.