michelle kaufmann designs

Photo by John Swain

Construction homes in a factory offers so many advantages over traditional on-site construction that it’s sometimes hard for us here at MKD to understand why the industry as a whole still clings to the stick-built model. Factory construction is faster, cost-saving, less wasteful by 50 to 70 percent, and results in better quality homes. Within the controlled environment of the factory we can precision cut every piece of wood that goes into a home, store leftover material for use in the next house coming down the line, and install everything from finishes to cabinetry to electrical systems before the home is shipped out to its site. That’s exactly what we were able to do with this custom Sunset Breezehouse that will be open to the public this Saturday in Santa Barbara. One of the really exciting things about building this home was that we we were also able to install its solar panels in the factory.

MKD President Paul Warner (right) installing the PV panels in pouring rain

With this home and any home we design to have a flat or butterfly roof, solar panels can actually be installed in our factory. In the case of this custom Sunset Breezehouse, MKD’s own President, Paul Warner, did the installation. Not only that, he did it over the course of a single day and in pouring rain since the module had already been moved outside the factory in preparation for shipping. This is proof positive that installing PV panels is not as complicated as some people may think since, as Paul noted, “If an architect can do it in one day, then it can’t be that hard for anyone else.” Now, because the home is located in beautiful Santa Barbara where the sun shines 9 out of 10 days year round, the PV panels provide it with ample off the grid solar power. So as you walk through the home on Saturday, it won’t be just the glass doors and windows letting the sunshine into this gorgeous green house!