P.A.T.H. Prefab Homes - Prefabricated, Net-Zero, and Sustainable

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.

Several P.A.T.H. models combine an all-glass façade at the living room area with fully insulated timber-frame panels in the bedrooms and bathrooms. It is also the mid-range price option between the wood and glass structures. While the website only shows the prices in Euros per square meter, here’s the translation into USD per square foot, at today’s exchange rate:

Wood

Cornice: $269.42

Flat Roof: $241.55

Double Pitch Roof: $241.55

Double Pitch Roof with Cantilever: $250.84

Combined

Cornice: $288

Flat Roof: $260.13

Double Pitch Roof: $260.13

Double Pitch Roof with Cantilever: $269.42 

Glass

Cornice: $418.06

Flat Roof: $371.61

Double Pitch Roof: $371.61

Double Pitch Roof with Cantilever: $380.90 

Home Advisor reports that the average cost per square foot to build a home comes in around $150 per square foot—quite a bit less than the P.A.T.H. homes. So is it worth it?  Julien Selz thinks so. Selz recently toured one of the P.A.T.H. models and is discussing with Riko to build the home (in France). “We first searched the Internet for our future home based on criteria related to ecology and innovation in housing,” Selz says. “Quite quickly, we came across photos of the P.A.T.H. by Starck with Riko homes. We were won over by the innovative design and concept.”

Selz and his family were intrigued by the all-glass and mixed-shell options. “When you walk in the house, you are quickly seduced by this vision of continuity and synthesis between the interior habitat and the external environment,” he says. “Finally, our choice was for a mixed P.A.T.H. home shell for the elegance and balance of glass and wood. The P.A.T.H. home is more than an architectural adventure, unique in its design and efficient in its undeniable technological characteristics,” enthuses Selz. “It is a mindset, a lifestyle, with a strong sense of belonging to a greater and timeless environment infused with a positive idea of living together.”