Taliesin Students Build Prefab Mod Sustainable Home In The Desert




T A L I E S I N . M O D . F A B TM

The Taliesin Mod.FabTM is an example of simple, elegant, and sustainable living in the desert. The one-bedroom, 600-square-foot prototype residence relies on panelized construction to allow for speed and economy on site or in a factory.



It can be connected to utilities or be "unplugged," relying on low-consumption fixtures, rainwater harvesting, greywater re-use, natural ventilation, solar orientation, and photovoltaics to reduce energy and water use. The structure is dimensioned and engineered to be transportable via roadway.








above photos, copyright 2009 Bill Timmerman

The protoype:



The floorplan:

Construction in progress:







above images of the building in progress, courtesy of Nick Mancusi, Ada Rose Williams, Christian Butler, Jeff Graham and Ryan Hewson from the Prairie Mod Blog

The Taliesin Mod.FabTM was designed and built by graduate and undergraduate students at the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture with the faculty guidance of Michael P. Johnson and Jennifer Siegal, project manager Christian Butler, recent M.Arch graduate, and assistant project manager Nick Mancusi, current BAS student.

Student participants in design and construction (alphabetical): Dakotah Apostolou, Ebbie Azimi, Thai Blackburn, Christian Butler, Jillian Brooks, Emil Crystal, Michael DesBarres, Daniel Dillow, Dave Frazee, Jeff Graham, Ryan Hewson, Erik Krautbauer, Nick Mancusi, Marietta Pagkalou, Lauren Rybinski, Andrea Tejada, Maya Ward-Karet, Hui Ee Wong, Todd Lehmenkuler, Russell Mahoney, Simon DeAguerro, Taryn Seymour

To see all the companies involved in this project, go to the bottom of the page here.

The structure can be visited on the student-led Taliesin West Desert Shelter Tour, Saturdays at 1:30, mid-November through mid-April.