The LA Times' Christopher Hawthorne reports that Michelle Kaufmann Designs is one of the most recent victims of the troubled economy. Michelle Kaufmann attracted a lot of attention with her line of prefab homes including the Glidehouse. Read more about how the boom and bust made it impossible for her firm to survive.
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so no more pimped out doublewides? i think this might not be a bad thing for the prefab crowd. i really think it needs to move away from the trailer mentality.
Word..
word word. The firm was, however, excellent at attaining media coverage. They offered some valuable lessons about how to market one's firm and the architectural product.
I find this really surprising actually. She was one of the most recognizable names in the pre-fab world and she sure knew how to market herself. I know many people not of the "architecture world" who love her homes so she definitely had a market. Just not now I guess....
her website still seems pretty alive, with news of 2009 shows and all...
Michelle describes the closing of her office on her personal blog:
http://blog.michellekaufmann.com/?p=2147
I like her stuff personally, althougth part of me has a problem with offering "spec" plans, even if I like the design.
A few things:
1. Almost all prefab home loans used to be financed by Behr Stearns.
2. Lots of prefab companies that are even more bottom-line oriented have been going out of business.
3. While I applaud what she's done and thing that the future of construction is in prefabrication, her particular business model (design/build residential modular) is, from experience, a VERY difficult one to keep afloat. You have to keep the factory "fed" as it has very high overhead, which means the jobs have to get lined up perfectly.
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