In pictures: Modern prefab houses from Canadian makers
Toronto-based company MEKA started by turning shipping containers into houses. Now their products - including this ALP320 - are built from scratch and shipped.
MEKA has sent units abroad, including this one in Los Angeles, Calif., where it can withstand earthquakes. “We're still taking a timber frame building, and tightening up with a steel belt,” says MEKA’s Jason Halter. “That allows us to pick it up and ship it as if it's a shipping container, but it also makes it stronger.”
The Solo40, by Altius Architecture, was on display at the Interior Design Show this year. It is made in Canada with more than 90 per cent Canadian components. "In the factory you get better quality - you're working indoors, and at our factory we get held to a much higher standard," says Altius's Graham Smith.Greg van Riel
The 480-square foot unit can travel down major highways, and like other prefab houses it arrives more or less finished - reducing the costs and uncertainty of building in remote areas.Greg van Riel
With both companies, tightly designed interiors make the most of compact “LEGO blocks” such as this MEKA unit.Mark Parsons