With an idea like this, you're going to win some prizes.  Morris Architects took home first prize, as well as $10,000, in the second annual Radical Innovation in Hospitality Awards, which was sponsored by the John Hardy Group and Hospitality Design magazine.  Some of the other entries were also unique, but this Oil Rig Hotel and Spa is particularly innovative.  To understand the innovation behind the adaptive reuse, a background understanding of oil rigs is necessary. 

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Taliesin Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture graduate and undergraduate students have been blogging on PrairieMod about their project to build a small modern home on the grounds of Taliesin West.  Now, the Mod.Fab is complete, and it’s a compelling demonstration of passive and active environmental control systems, water catchment, top-tier insulation, a gray water system, native landscaping, and a solar power system.

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This is the Cowboy by Form & Forest, a company planning to launch on February 19th with a full set of flat pack prefab cabins.  One of their first designs is the Cowboy — it's perfectly small at 635 square feet and comes with a kitchen, dining room, living room, bedroom, bathroom, laundry, and covered porch.  With designs commissioned from D'Arcy Jones Design, Form & Forest plans to launch other cabins in various sizes up to about 1559 square feet.  The cabins are shipped flat as pre-assembled panels, and Form & Forest anticipates this will save time and waste in the construction process. 

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I find this off-the-grid cabin in Northern Ontario to be quite interesting.  It’s a 1,000 square foot retreat that practically hovers out on the water.  Molly’s Cabin is located a few hours north of Toronto in a place called Pointe au Baril.  Outfitted out with a bedroom, living room, library nook, kitchen, dining room, and small loft, the L-shaped floor plan intermixes the interior and exterior.  Can you imagine how serene it would be to chill and fish and sleep in a place that sits gingerly on the edge of the water like this?

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We've been watching the prefab scene as close as anyone, and it seems the recreational variety is honestly taking hold.  This company, Cottage in a Day, provides factory-built, energy-efficient, green homes.  They currently provide roughly four models, which, not counting the included decks, range in size from 182 – 375 square feet or more.  The homes are made in Traverse City, Michigan and built with locally sourced materials (except the bamboo).  And the idea is that they can be put up quite quickly, assuming the concrete pier foundation is ready to go.

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