The bamboo cabinets and sub-floor heating aren’t the only reasons this isn’t your average vacation home.
From the slag concrete foundation to the cantilevered metal roof, the prefabricated home erected between Maple Falls and Glacier Thursday was designed with sustainability in mind.
The 1,800-square-foot structure is the first cabin available from Method Homes, a Seattlebased startup committed to “down-to-earth prefab.”
While prefab housing has long been plagued by the “less style, lesser quality” stigma, cofounder Mark Rylant is quick to point out that this cabin is no double-wide.
The Bellingham resident paired with Seattle architectural firm Balance Associates for a rustic, modern design that’s as much function as fashion. Built in Method’s Ferndale production facility in less than two months, the “Method Cabin” is the first in what the company hopes to be a line of residential prefab designs.
“We really wanted to bring innovation to green building,” said Rylant, who has worked in site-built construction for 12 years. “There are just so many benefits.”
Rylant said the home is engineered to withstand 175 pounds of snow weight, in addition to high winds in coastal areas. The cabin model, which also can be reconfigured to 800 or 2,000 feet, will cost buyers somewhere around $300,000.
Co-founder Brian Abramson said Method focuses as much on its homes’ performance as
the green products used to construct them.
In addition to green features like nontoxic paint and sustainably forested lumber, the cabin also offers solar wiring options and enhanced insulation to ensure that the home is energy efficient.
By its nature, prefab cuts down on waste, construction time and potentially delaying factors like weather, Abramson said.
Method is in the process of seeking gold certification for the homes under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System — the second most environmentally sound classification available.
“Sustainability is here to stay,” he said. “It’s important for people to have healthy, energy-efficient homes.”