Houses

Rich and I have been looking into houses around Verona, WI (a suburb of Madison) in anticipation of his starting a job there and me (possibly) getting a job at the same company. Unfortunately, the area consists mostly of subdivisions. I don't like subdivisions. Something about sending three big boxes with cream-colored siding through the copier (on collate, of course) and then slapping on rules like "no tables on the driveway" would drive me nuts. Today I've been looking up some news articles and ran into these prefab houses, to which I was introduced in a couple of lectures back in my architecture days.
Here's a picture of the Glide House:
I like the 3- and 4-bedroom models...
Houses by hive are a bunch uglier in pictures, but we could pick exterior colors and finishes to make it look less campus-y and industrial. Plus, their c-line works great for bigger lots by putting two modules (between 16' and 18' wide and as long as a truck allows, I guess) next to each other to make a more traditional house.
Clever Homes also has this "kit" home available - they're construction is much more traditional, except that the walls are built and shipped in panels to add quality and efficiency. The house would be shipped just as the name suggests - in a kit - and it would be assembled on-site.
The Flatpak House is the last of the ones I like - it also seems the "easiest" and most cutomizable since you can really do whatever you want with the 8' sections.
Possibly the biggest plus is that most of the houses are "green" - being prefab means less waste (since factories make less error and don't need as much "wiggle room" in measurements), most of the houses I've looked at have some form of efficient design (like passive solar design or design for optimal breeze to travel through the building), and they're just plain small, which means less space to clean, heat, cool, maintain, and fill with junk. Plus, I've always preferred small houses. And they look cool. Maybe it's time to start looking into lots. Or to go home and have dinner.