Prefab homes in Australia continue to garner significant attention both inside the construction industry and homeowners. The Australian Financial Reviewtouts these low-energy, high performance buildings as the future of affordable and sustainable homes. In this post, we’ll take a look at 14 of the best prefab home builders in Australia, as outlined by Dwelland Renew.
1. Modscape
Modscape has been in the business of prefab houses for more than a decade. As one would expect from an acclaimed builder, Modscape’s work is tailored to each client’s needs. They offer fully-kitted homes (including landscaping and renewable energy and water systems) along with module-only services.
Headquarters: 430 Francis Street, Brooklyn, Victoria, 3012
2. Ecoliv Buildings
Ecoliv Buildings was founded in the late 2000s. The company built its first modular house display in 2009 and has since demonstrated a commitment to locally-sourced and sustainable residential architecture. They claim to be the only prefab home builder to offer a 10,000-liter water tank and 1.8kw solar power system as part of their residences.
Headquarters: 332 White Road, Wonthaggi, Victoria, 3995
3. Prebuilt
Since launching in 2003, Prebuilt has shifted much of its focus to commercial construction. The residential still comprises about 40% of their overall work, however, the aptly-named Prebuilt offers both custom and pre-designed modular homes.
At the helm of Prebuilt is Rob Colquhoun, whose extensive background in the construction industry includes management work at international giant Lendlease.
Headquarters: 33 Garden Street, Kilsyth, Victoria, 3137
4. Archiblox
Despite being one of the younger companies on this list (established in 2012), Archiblox has grown quickly. While the company does offer custom design services, Archiblox also offers a very substantial range of existing designs and floor plans.
They offer two palettes as part of their standard services: Light and Dark. The Luxe Palette allows clients to choose from upgraded materials for a more custom look.
Headquarters: 5/151 Barkly Avenue, Burnley, Victoria, 3121
5. Arkit
Arkit was one of the 2019 winners of the Sustainability Award from Architecture & Design Magazine. The company combines panelized and modular construction. In addition to full homes, they offer design-build services for sustainable additions and renovations.
They adhere to the tenets of Passive House construction, which is aimed at producing residences that are as much as 90 per cent more efficient than traditional homes.
Headquarters: Sunshine North, Melbourne
6. Habitech Systems
Habitech boasts it can get a home weather secure in a matter of weeks compared to months for a traditional house. Habitech uses composite magnesium oxide/timber boards that are certified for carrying loads and enduring pressure from winds. These and other components help Habitech homes achieve as much as a 70 per cent reduction in energy for heating and cooling when compared to a 6 Star-rated home.
Headquarters: East Melbourne, Victoria
7. CarbonLite
CarbonLite produces its own wall, floor, and roof material known as PANELlite. They tout this material’s ability to increase home efficiency by as much as 90 per cent over traditional home paneling. According to the company, this is comparable to European Passivhaus standards.
If even Habitch’s typical lock-up phase of a few weeks isn’t fast enough for you, you’ll be impressed to note that CarbonLite can typically achieve lock-up within a single day.
Headquarters: Thomastown, Victoria
8. Ehabitat
Ehabitat is one of the smaller modular construction companies on this list. Ehabitat uses a patented system in their prefab houses that the company says allows for endless layout design possibilities. Ehabitat works on residential projects of all types, from small homes to large family properties. Each home is based on the Eframe, a system of numbered elements that are bolted together on-site.
Headquarters: Melbourne, Victoria
9. Ecoshelta
Ecoshelta describes its current offerings as the result of more than 30 years of evolution by architect Stephen Sainsbury. The structures began as humble Japanese-joined timber pavilions to the modern and elaborate steel and wood modular houses the company offers today.
Ecoshelta’s designs are centered around the Ecoshelta Pod, which can be linked together to form a residence of a desired size and are capable of withstanding extreme conditions, according to the company. Ecoshelta’s prefab tough pods and e.pods can be “easily transported and erected anywhere, in as little as a day.”
Headquarters: Rozelle, NSW
10. MAAP House
MAAP House offers architect-designed flat-pack homes with contemporary stylings. Steel frames, 2.7-meter ceilings, and AWS Vantage windows all come standard with their designs. As one would expect from a premier modular construction company, designs are flexible and can be joined together to produce a custom design.
Headquarters: Tomago, NSW,
11. MODE Homes
MODE Homes, a finalist for the “Innovation of the Year” Sustainability Award, features a patented process that allows homeowners to customise the design of their modular home. MODE Homes uses a folding system that allows the largely-completed homes to be transported easily from the factory to the installation site.
Headquarters: Blacktown, NSW
12. Fairweather Homes
Fairweather Homes is truly a veteran in Australia’s prefabrication home space. Founded in 1982, Fairweather Homes’ modular home designs are in partnership with MODUS Architects, which relies on their system to customize designs. The company has built more than 450 modular residences throughout Australia, offering a hard-to-beat level of expertise.
Headquarters: Melbourne, Victoria
13. Strine Environments
Strine Environments is another veteran of prefab home construction, with 30 years of experience. In addition to design and construction, Strine Environments offers precast that is not only sustainable but resistant to bushfires.
Headquarters: Queanbeyan, NSW
14. Valley Workshop
Valley Workshop is led by father-daughter team Warren French and Penelope Haley. French has more than 30 years of experience in residential and commercial construction. He became an accredited architect in 1996. Valley Workshop’s prefab homes are made using Tasmanian hardwood skin and internal grilles.
Headquarters: Westbury, Tasmania
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