photo by Lee Celano
Its unfortunate that it takes a disaster like Hurricane Katrina to convince people of the efficiency of modular building. Nevertheless, that’s what’s happening in the Gulf Coast right now - as no other form of traditional stick building seems to be up to the crucial task of quickly rebuilding homes and the lives of victims. Of the thousands of homes damaged and destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, only a fraction have been replaced.
The price of building materials has skyrocketed, and the services of even mediocre contractors can be hard to come by. This is why cheap housing that can be put together in a matter of days are becoming so appealing. First the Katrina Cottage took the region by storm, and now all sorts of building companies are going modular down in the Gulf state region, including Mississippi’s Safeway Homes, which has already has built 250 houses in the region, and can erect up to 3 houses a day. The New York Times has a great article on the growing modular movement down south.
If you scroll to the bottom of the Safeway homes page you’ll find a video about modular homes in the south. Naturally Inhabitat readers won’t find much of interest aesthtically, but there are a few worthy bits in the piece.