Modular Houses Get Boost from Katrina

Lee Celano for The New York Times

Blogs are agog about modular homes finding a place in the recovery of the Gulf coast from Katrina; the New York Times covered it earlier this week, with this picture of a vinyl clad house ridiculously perched up on stilts. We have always made the case that modular homes can be built better, more quickly and with less waste than conventional homes; I have also toured a factory near Austin where I was almost run over by a house, chain driven down the assembly line, with electricians running after it to try and get the wiring done; they are not always better quality than stick built. Like any inexpensive house it can have vinyl windows, vinyl flooring and vinyl siding, all materials we would prefer to never use again. Being modular doesn't keep it from having no proportion, banal design or fake shutters when real ones would be useful. Somehow, even if it is factory built, strong and windproof, this picture makes me queasy. ::New York Times and ::Inhabitat