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The draw of prefab cabin kits and modular home designs is clear—they cost less than the traditional design & build process, can be completed by a handful of builders in a fraction of the time without heavy machinery, are efficient in energy consumption and layout, and stand out in a world of McMansions and subdevelopments. Australia’s Ecokit checks all these boxes.
Though in production since 2018, the emerging manufacturer of prefab homes, cabins, and barns just this past month introduced four new modern cabin kits of particular interest to design-driven folks like you and me. Mixing straight and angled walls with gable or mono-pitch roofs, the new designs find inspiration in classic A-Frame, rural barns, and Mid-Century urban homes.
With prices based on floorpan—of which there are dozens to choose from—and the package of services that come with it, the modular structures range from $45k USD for a barebones one bedroom kit up to $475,000 for a four bedroom, four bath home entirely built on site by Ecokit. (A 10% discount is offered to the first Ecokit project in new countries and states—good news for us in North America.)
Regardless of design, each is constructed of FSC certified wood, feature energy efficient components like double-glazed windows and super-insulated walls and ceilings, and ship flat packed. And if you live in a region prone to wildfires, Ecokit designs feature BAL 40 bushfire resistance rating, created to resist windborne embers and smaller secondary fire exposure.
Led by an all-women team from the Czech Republic, Ecokit has embraced its new home country and its immediate needs as a region experiencing the brutal affects of the global climate crisis more than others. Here Ecokits’ sustainable, adaptable designs have caught on, offering unique—and more cost efficient—alternatives to the typical Australian home, weekend cabin, and rural barn.
Ecokit is currently manufacturing in Australia and Europe, and can ship to both Canada and the USA.
Published 05-19-2020
Updated 12-07-2020
