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P.A.T.H. Prefab Homes - Prefabricated, Net-Zero, and Sustainable
Prefab, net-zero, and sustainable: all describe the houses of our future. A series of Prefabricated Accessible Technological Homes (P.A.T.H.) has been developed by globally renowned French creator Philippe Starck in collaboration with the Slovenian building company Riko. This line of prefabricated homes utilizes Starck’s design expertise to seamlessly integrate a range of more sustainable technologies, so homes produce more energy than they consume.
Philippe Starck is well-known for his prolific work across all domains, from everyday products (furniture, perfume, smartphone, electric bike), to architecture(hotels, restaurants) and naval and spatial engineering (mega yachts, habitation module for private space tourism). He’s also the central figure behind the concept of democratic design, the idea that, according to Starck, “aims to increase quality in every respect—cultural, qualitative, technological—to lower the price and to share it with as many people as possible.”In 1992, he conceived the idea of a prefab kit house with Les 3 Suisses, a mail-to-order French company. The idea was a bit ahead of its time to be commercially successful. Still, the idea of developing a high-tech adjustable prefabricated house remained with Starck for the next 15 years.
After years of research, the official collaboration between Philippe Starck and Riko, one of the leading European manufacturers of prefabricated wooden buildings, began in 2009. Starck had long sought a partner to develop his vision of an industrial, reliable, and intelligent living solution for current and future generations. “P.A.T.H. is a reliable and intelligent solution for us, our children, the children of our children facing the challenges of ecology, economy, and energy,” Starck explains.
Riko is a European leader in sustainable and low-energy wood construction. The company combines modern technologies with a centuries-long local tradition of wood-crafting. Riko’s experience in sustainable construction systems attracted Philippe Starck, and the idea of P.A.T.H. homes by Starck with Riko began.
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P.A.T.H.’s glass shell, supported by a high-quality steel frame, “incorporates an elegant and highly efficient floor-to-ceiling aluminum-glass façade by high-quality German window manufacturer Schüco,” Kumelj says, to bring abundant natural light, while keeping thermal losses to a minimum. Triple pane glass filled with krypton and argon gas ensures the thermal transmittance factor of glass (Ug) to be as low as 0.5 W/m2K. Integrated electrically operated Venetian blinds further reduce thermal losses while providing privacy when needed. “The transparent façade creates a luminous and comfortable living space, while seamlessly merging the home’s interior with the exterior surroundings,” Kumelj says.
The Starck with Riko website has an easy-to-use house configurator, which allows you to configure your design from 34 different models. The various options will enable the homeowner to choose the floor plan (one or two stories, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, parking spots) and the structure type (wood, glass, or a combination of wood and glass). Next, you get to choose from among four roof types: cornice, flat, double-pitched, or double-pitched with cantilever.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
