"In the late 1960s, designer Jens Risom sought an affordable vacation home for his family on Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island. Now some 45 years later, the prefab cottage still exists to serve the needs of the growing Risom brood." dwell

Carved out of shipping containers, these LEGO-like, stackable apartments offer all the amenities of home. Or more, since they are bigger, and brighter, than the typical Manhattan studio. It’s the FEMA trailer of the future, built with the Dwell reader in mind. — New York Observer

Big news out of Madrid: Team Rhône-Alpes’ Canopea House has won the 2012 Solar Decathlon Europe! At the forefront of the competition since winning the Architecture and Operations prizes, this compact home is topped with a 10,7 kW array of photovoltaic panels that produce enough energy for both floors and a mini EV. — Inhabitat

So far, Broad has built 16 structures in China, plus another in Cancun....The company is in the process of franchising this technology to partners in India, Brazil, and Russia. What it’s selling is the world’s first standardized skyscraper, and with it, Zhang aims to turn Broad into the McDonald’s of the sustainable building industry. — Wired

Affordability, along with a minimalist aesthetic, were the reasons she decided on a prefab house — points on which Mr. Buryk, who had years before remodeled a 100-year-old house in Portland, Ore., wholeheartedly agreed. “I, similar to Zoe, was coming from a place of not wanting to do that again,” he said.

But it wasn’t quite as affordable as they had hoped. The house cost $260,000 to build, from start to finish (the kit itself was $47,000) — nearly $100,000 more than they’d expected. — nytimes.com

Swedish furniture company IKEA, has collaborated with Oregon architectural firm Ideabox, to launch its first line of prefabricated houses in the U.S., named the “Aktiv.” The IKEA-themed dwelling is a one-bedroom home centered around space-saving furniture and products. The hip and modern house was outfitted taking into consideration the demands from Pacific-Northwest homeowners, and is designed to be eco-friendly. — psfk.com

Lindal Cedar Homes has just launched their Lindal Architects Collaborative, an innovative new prefab home collection featuring designs from the world's leading architects. The line, which will feature prefab systems designed by 12 architects, will not only make modern design more accessible, but will make architecture previously reserved for the more affluent financially accessible to the masses. — www.Inhabitat.com

Prefabricated shells meant for building Bangkok's elevated skyway have become home for flood refugees. — cnn.com

The 2011 Solar Decathlon is heating up as 20 teams of students from around the world construct stunning, energy-efficient homes at the National Mall’s West Potomac Park in Washington, D.C. The competition officially opens on September 23rd, but Inhabitat offers a first look at each of this year's solar-powered homes. — Inhabitat

"To complement the minimal styling of the Kohler Numi toilet, Marmol Radziner created an urban, sleek environment to convey the brand image of Numi as one that reinforces the leadership position of Kohler in the luxury living space.

Marmol Radziner designed a modular prefab gallery to showcase a series of Numi display models, utilizing a dark color palette of gray lacquer, ipe decking and gray carpeting to capture a mood of mystique and desire" — Ron Radziner, design principal, Marmol Radziner