Modular modern housing comes to Denver

Mention modular housing, and it is almost impossible not to conjure up images of dusty trailer home parks in your head. That, or those ugly wide-load cheapos that you sometimes have to wind around on the interstate.

If so, it is time to change your perceptions a bit. Upscale modern design is attempting to reinvent the prefabricated home.

All you have to do is pick up a copy of Dwell magazine or find urban design blogs, and you will find a new renaissance of design pushing modern, greener prefabricated homes.

Denver is now joining the trend

This morning on the radio, Colorado Matters profiled a new townhouse project in Northwest Denver that will be prefabricated before getting placed on a foundation. Known for her Glidehouse concept home, Oakland, CA architect Michelle Kauffman is working with a local developer to build the Marycrest Townhomes near Regis University.

I have seen many of these concepts on paper and in photos. Design-wise, they are like any other home. There are better and worse designs. The concept itself, however, has a ton of potential, especially as a solution to quality and environmental concerns involved in construction today.

I look forward to seeing a modern modular home in real life. I have honestly been underwhelmed by the many of the floorplans I have seen on paper up until now. Having built homes though, I am fully aware that what you see in a blueprint is often very different than the feeling you actually get walking into a fully realized house.

Do we really stand at the forefront of a revolution in home design that will change the way we live?

The proof as always will be in the final product.

I look forward to seeing what they come up with here.

To hear the Colorado Matters interview online click HERE. KCFR will also be replaying it on-air tonight at 7:00 PM.