Photo Friday - FlatPak House

Inspired by the Minnesota State Fair's EcoHouse, this week's Photo Friday installment is about the FlatPak House at the Walker / Minneapolis Art Sculpture Garden. It's plaque reads:

FlatPak is a modular prefabricated system for architecture designed by Minneapolis-based Lazor Office. This one-story, one-room version of FlatPak was originally commissioned as a display space and has been modified to serve as a visitor center and education area

Short and sweet. So let's talk a little bit more about what a FlatPak house is.

FlatPak is a pre-engineered modular home design system. Using a "menu" of components, the FlatPak system allows home builders to create a variety of unique custom layout designs. In fact, because everything from concrete to glass can be chosen by the future-owner, each FlatPak is an unique custom home.

At the same time, these custom designed houses have the environmental benefits of being sustainable. FlatPak plans start with the foundations designed specially to prevent further damage to the earth. Plans end with eco-friendly finishes and accents. This sustainability, coupled with an endless combination of components to create the home, are making FlatPak more and more popular. FlatPak homes have began to pop up across the nation and are now available in Canada.

The "menu" options for these homes are so vast, there are ways to construct them pretty much anywhere, like on a river bluff or by the lake or just a regular city lot and the homes are suitable for any climate.

And like Minnesota State Fair EcoHouse, FlatPaks are homegrown. Minnesota architect Charles Lazor is their creator. Like any custom built home, the price of a FlatPak house varies depending on a number of factors but are comparable to other custom homes - averaging between $200 to $300 per square foot.

The FlatPak pictured here is a very small and basic version that only contains two 8' by 8' component sections. Custom versions can contain as many as you want. To see more photos of the things you can see at the Walker / Minneapolis Art Sculpture Garden, visit the Barker & Hedges Flickr Page.

On a related note, tune in next week to hear about some quasi-custom homes with upscale accents for reasonable prices in Blaine!