The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 51

The situation: Bonnie and Michael Kelly needed extra space for their son and daughter to do homework and hang out with friends. The problem: To hire an architect and build the kind of addition that the Agoura Hills couple wanted would have cost six figures. The solution: The couple bought two 9- by 13-foot prefabricated buildings, which were assembled days after being delivered on flatbed trucks. was instant says Bonnie Kelly, who like her husband, a biotechnology executive, be more satisfied with their $80,000 investment. In recent years, prefab construction has generated plenty of buzz in magazines such as Dwell and at exhibitions such as one at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The original promise of prefab decades ago was savings of time and money that could be passed along to consumers in the form of inexpensive housing. But because most of the premier manufacturers todayspecial- ize in custom homes that can cost $250 a square footand up, prefab has been far more popular in design blogs and at home expos than with actual buyers. One exception has been scaled-down prefab construction not entire houses but stand-alone additions. According to Casper Mork-Ulnes, cofounder of San Francisco manufacturer Modern Cabana: prefab modules make sense for anyone who might need a home office, a guest house, a meditation or yoga space or a cigar room that can open to the Modern Cabana is one of several companies poised to thrive while weak real estate values force homeowners to stay put rather than trade up. Some prefab manufacturers produce utilitarian buildings; others, more stylish ones.

All provide extra living space. KitHaus, among the most fashion- forward of the bunch, is based in Van Nuys and sold through Design Within Reach. Modern-Shed, located in Seattle, has sold half of its 140 prefab buildings in California, where interest in contemporary architecture abounds. West Coast has always been more says Ryan Smith, owner of Modern- Shed. modern aesthetic, which pretty much began in L.A., is a huge Though some areas in California do not require permits for these so-called accessory buildings if they are less than 120 square feet, in Los Angeles Countysuch permits are required for all habitable structures with electrical and plumbing.

But once permit issues have beenresolved, a kit appeal can go beyond a functional, attractive space. The buildings can be assembled in days, which means afamily have to relocate during construction or live with contractors traipsing through. And the buildings can be disassembled and moved. used to live in Boston and still have a house in Bonnie Kelly says. we thought these buildings would add value to the house here when we sell.

But if we move back to the East Coast, take them with When the Kellys decided to add space for their kids, they opted for sleek units from KitHaus. Each structure sports an aluminum frame and walls, sliding glass doors, operable windows and luxe options such as a deck, louvers and canopies made of sustainable ipewood. Each can hold six kids during sleepovers, and if the Kellys put in the swimming pool been considering, the buildings could double as pool houses. Playrooms and pool houses are all well and good, but prefab buildings also serve as home offices. For film producer Warren Ostergardand his wife, Kate, a prefab building makes it possible to separate or combine work and play as needed.

With a child on the way, the Ostergards converted a bedroom in their Highland Park bungalow into a nursery, which meant their home office and guest room had to go elsewhere. So they bought a 12- by 16-foot kit building from Modern-Shed. Less than a week after it arrived, the couple had an office with cement-board siding pre- painted to match the color and trim of their house. They wired their shed for custom workstations, wireless Internet, a flat-panel TV and surround sound, plus addeda dog door. They paid $25,000, or about half what an office addition would have cost.

able to walk out of the house to go to work because a separate says Kate Ostergard, marketing director for a travel website. great for us and for anyone staying overnight who want to be in the Another benefit of prefab buildings is that not susceptible to the project creep and cost overruns that often send remodeling budgets spiraling out of control. Because homeowners select materials and features from a predetermined list of options, they know exactly what be getting and how much be paying. So when urban planner Maya Dunne of Laguna Beach lost her job to downsizing and turned to freelancing, she and her husband, law professor John Dombrink, abandoned plans for an extensive master bedroom addition and renovation. Instead, they bought a 10- by 12-foot cedar structure from Modern Cabana to serve as her office.

a good solution for when things happen and your situation Dunne says. a way to accommodate the For $22,000 plus permit fees Dunne got a cabana featuring double French doors and four full-length fixed windows that give it the airy feel of agarden pavilion. She incorporated eco-friendly upgrades such as recycled-denim insulation and bamboo flooring. this office, I could balance affordability with Dunne says. have to sacrifice my Why not just get a room? Prefabricated modules are a fast and easy way to add space.

Emily Young WORKSPACE: Kate Ostergard and her dogs Max, in the foreground, and Bella relax at her home office, a kit building from Modern-Shed. able to walk out of the house to go to she says. Ken Hively Los Angeles Times Al Seib Los Angeles Times Al Seib Los Angeles Times KID ZONE: The Kelly two KitHaus playrooms provide ample space for Mara, 12, and Jared, 9. Features include sliding glass doors, a deck and louvers, and each holds six kids during sleepovers. we move back to the East Coast, take them with mom Bonnie says.

Ken Hively Los Angeles Times E4 DESIGN tem cut cost and construction time because it was based on standardized panels, each about 3 feet, 4 inches wide and 8 feet, 4 inches tall. The panels were built on a wood frame and covered with quarter-inch waterproof Douglas fir plywood on both sides. This basic building unit formed the walls, the floor, the ceiling and the roof. Other panels were fitted with doors and windows. In General Burbank factory formally the Lockheed plant for the P-80 Shooting Star fighter jet heating, ventilation and electrical components also were manufactured.

At the core of the design were three built-in metal a sort of Chinese puzzle that locked the panels together. A hammer tightened the wedge; no nails or screws were needed. The connector was a precisely engineered technological solution, one that Wachsmann patented. The design opened up endless variations. Rooms could be made practically any size, in multiples of 3 foot4.

Panel has standardized not the house, but its Wachsmann would declare in company documents. The panels provided not only flexibility in floor plan but also greater shear resistance, which made the houses more resilient in an earthquake. The original interiors featured blond birch or red mahogany paneled walls that were simply lacquered. Flooring was hardwood or cork, countertops were Formica. Full-length picture windows and glass louvered were touted in the promotional material.

Exteriors were finished with redwood siding. It all may sound remarkably contemporary, but there was little that looked fashionable when residential architects Thorne and Howard bought their General Panel house in the Mount Olympus area in 2005. first reaction was no way to save the house, but there was something intriguing about Howard says. let it go, but it was also a little intimidating to think about what it would take to make the house Structurally the house remained sound, but much was in disrepair. Electrical outlets were jury-rigged, walls lacked insulation, surprisingly little aluminum framing supported the windows and the heating vents and tiles had asbestos.

one was interested in preserving the Howard says. we bought it, we felt it would end up getting torn Thorne says the panel system excited them, but they feel beholden to it if it had been a Neutra or have the he said. a preciousness to it, but there was a different responsibility and that freed us up to maintain the logic of the house with the upgrades and Thorne and Howard bought the three-bedroom, two-bath house from the family of the original owner, architect Rudy Wolf, a German who first worked as a draftsman for the Murphy Door Bed Co. in New York before becoming right- hand production man, serving as General chief designer and then director of quality control. Wolf later designed houses and commercial buildings in Los Angeles, including several large projects for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the late 1960s and other medical buildings through the 1980s.

After living in the house for years, Wolf decided to modify the floor plan, and he hired architect William Merzbach to make the changes based on plan. Like Wachsmann, Wolf and Merzbach were natives of Frankfurt, where they had seen early examples of prefabricated housing. was many years older than me and was my tutor when we lived in Merzbach says, adding that they worked together at the General Panel factory on Victory Boulevard too. For the Wolf house, Merzbach converted the garage into a bedroom and bathroom, added a bedroom patio and built a new carport. As with most prefab housing efforts of the era, General Panel did not achieve critical mass and eventually it failed.

Tens of thousands of General Panel homes had been planned, but when the company entered bankruptcy and was liquidated in 1952, only about 200 homes had been built in Southern California. company did not succeed for two Merzbach says. electrical boxes, conduits and wiring were contained within the panels, and the electrical workers union did not like this since work was done more cheaply in the factory than in the field by electricians. The other reason had to do with prejudices, because sounded like it was done on the Today, perceptions of prefab housing have improved dramatically, especially as environmentally responsible design moves into the mainstream. Modern manufacturers tout reduced construction waste and fast installation, among other benefits.

And for better or for worse, prefab is no longer synonymous with the word or even the phrase Thorne and from-the- ground-up restoration is almost complete after nearly two years of work. Hard to believea crew of six men put together a typical General Panel house in just two days. Look for a follow-up story on Thorne and completed house later this year in Home. Historic home, panel by panel Prefab, from Photographs by Spencer Weiner Los Angeles Times PREFABULOUS: Ben Thorne in his backyard. The modular homes were intended to cut costs and construction time.

The restoration by Thorne and Eliza Howard has taken nearly two years. Problems in the world of prefab Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne reports on the shutdown of key players in modern prefab design and explains why good intentions going far enough. PAGE D1.