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Architect Tony Robins leans in close to inspect a kitchen cabinet that carpenter Ben Scott is finishing.

The mitre - the 45-degree-angle edge - has to fit just so and, like so many other projects in Mr. Robins' 30-year Vancouver-based career, God is in the details.

Of course, it's helpful that the architect, builders, sanders and table saws are all in the same place. For this is no ordinary building site. It's the headquarters of Mr. Robins' newly minted company Preform Construction, which is producing rather extraordinary prefab houses, 10 units at a time.

Here, at a 20,000-square-foot manufacturing plant in an industrial area of Surrey, B.C., chosen for its proximity to river barges for easy transport, Mr. Robins' simple yet sophisticated vision of modular prefabs is unfolding at an impressive rate: roughly two months from start to finish for a basic unit.

"We've had over a 130 inquiries already," says the architect, who recently revealed his design for a 500-square-foot unit in a palette of steel, glass and wood to an enthusiastic audience at a B.C. home show in Vancouver.

While his Japanese-style minimalism and industrial aesthetic - exemplified by the Robins-designed restaurant Watermark on Vancouver's Kits Beach - appeals, he admits that his inspiration for the prefabs was born of an innate sense of practicality. While designing a house for a remote site near Tofino, he realized that prefabs would be one way of reducing the costs of barging in equipment, workers and materials.

And his timing was perfect. In these recessionary times, there is a renewed interest in cost-effective prefabs. Mr. Robins' units also feature the appealing equation of pragmatic equals green equals smart design.

"It worked out that practical considerations that were to our advantage in terms of cost-cutting also turned out to be very green solutions," Mr. Robins says.

Using local suppliers, for instance, means there is less cost and a smaller footprint for materials, as does the use of recycled woods. A green roof helps increase insulation and reduce energy consumption, and a warmboard in-floor heating system runs at a lower temperature than normal. And since Mr. Robins had to maximize space in the small, 500-square-foot base units, he designed 10-foot-high ceilings and extensive glazing to create a sense of light and openness. He also lowered the bathroom ceiling to create storage and a mechanical space that was just the right size for an instantaneous water heater.

The prefab's many smart features are also inherently green. A monitoring system, for instance, allows owners to control heating and electrical systems remotely by computer.

But before Mr. Robins can design a unit for a client, there are some initial practical considerations. Getting the shipping company to drive the road to the site, for example, is key, to make sure there aren't any obstacles to transporting the house from the barge to the site.

The next step is to work with the client to determine exactly what they want. For the basic units, there is an array of choices to be made among materials, appliances and finishes that affect price and style.

Inquiries have come in as to whether these units could be converted into float homes or laneway housing, but for now most of them are intended for more remote, vacation home type sites.

But this is merely Mr. Robins' prêt-à-porter collection. His couture items are his custom-designed range of prefabs. At work on four large custom designed homes destined for Tofino, the Gulf Islands and the Sunshine Coast, Mr. Robins' design prowess shines through his technique. The prix de Rome award winner responds organically to specific sites with great effect.

A home for a jewellery designer overlooking a 100-foot cliff on Pender Island is a simple yet elegant paean to the power of landscape. Its Japanese proportions and extensive glazing make it a small jewel in itself, reflecting and embracing the sea and sky.

A 6,000-square-foot home destined for Tofino, with its elongated rectangular lines, speaks to both the ruggedness and beauty of its surroundings, its steel columns and local recycled cedar siding softened by a glass-sided infinity pool.

It's hard to believe these are prefabs at all, and that they originate here in this unassuming factory. But Mr. Robins' love of craft, attention to detail and precision make this an ideal arrangement. The relationship between builder and architect is unusually intimate and especially satisfying.

"There was a moment," recalls Mr. Robins wistfully, "when we finished the first unit and Mike [Dykstra, his principal builder] and I just stood there looking at it. It was a perfectly made piece that we'd overseen from start to finish, working together. We couldn't stop smiling."

More prefab

Additional photos of Mr. Robins' homes can be seen at globeandmail.com

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