This $299K Prefab Cabin Could Be Coming to the Woods Near You
In Mallorytown, Ontario, is a new home that looks nothing like its neighbors. In fact, the modular cabin, a departure from the area’s stick-built gable residences with its boxy, lofted plan and shed-style roof, doesn’t look like many prefabs of its same size. But it does seem right at home in the woods, which is where Jackson Wyatt wants to build more of them.
"Because they are self-sustaining and don’t need to rely on city-based infrastructure, they can thrive in remote areas," says the founder and CEO of Canadian startup CABN.
Prefab builder CABN’s first built example is the SON.DER a 752-foot one-bedroom in Mallorytown, Ontario. The floors are in cork, while the walls are made of cross-laminated timber.
The SON.DER show cabin in Mallorytown, where Wyatt is from, features a solar array he says makes the cabin net-positive. Smart-home tech tethered to an HVAC system monitors and reduces energy consumption, passing on savings to a potential owner in the form of lower operating costs.
Now, he wants to share those savings with buyers in Canada and the U.S. Wyatt plans to offer a 540-square-foot model, the MOR.II, at around $219,000 USD and other larger designs like the SON.DER with an end goal of offsetting housing shortages. His thinking goes that with the off-grid solar arrays, people wouldn’t be tethered to expensive real estate markets, and could "locate to those lesser known and less populated destinations," alleviating "the intense overpopulation in dense urban centers," he says.
The SON.DER features an open-plan living area and lofted bedroom.
The cabin was designed to maximize passive solar gain in the winter months and mitigate heat in the summer.
But those in need of housing they can afford might not be the same set that can make a lifestyle change to remote regions beyond the reaches of city grids. At the moment, interest seems to be coming from elsewhere.
Michael and Joanna, for example, who live in Cambridge, U.K., wanted a second home closer to loved ones in Sullivan, Maine. Their primary home was retrofitted with solar panels, so they sought out similar technology with their U.S. residence. "We wanted something sustainable," Joanna says. "However, it needed to feel like a Maine lake house in this instance." They purchased a larger unit than this show cabin, an 1,850-square-foot, four-bed, three-bath unit called GES.TALT that is packaged with the same off-grid tech and wrap-around deck.
The cabin’s shed-style room gives the bedroom a spacious feel.
The bathroom, positioned on the first level, includes a small vanity, sink, and toilet by Moen.
The kitchen and living space faces two walls of triple glazed windows that maximize light and views.
Meanwhile, Jorge Dyszel is interested developing a property in upstate New York. The resort company CEO says he has purchased 12 units—all 1,120-square-foot, three-bed, two bath units called HYG.GE—that are slated as short-term vacation rentals. "We are very excited—it’s our first experience with sustainable homes," he explains in anticipation of construction.
More prefab companies including Koto and Moliving are similarly catering to hoteliers like Dyszel, offering turnkey builds that would allow resort builders to set up shop in a snap.
Even though CABN only only has the one built example in Mallorytown, at present, Wyatt isn’t putting parameters on his company’s potential. "I imagine these for off-grid community clusters that are supported by government housing strategies, those interested in more sustainable long and short-term rental options, and even those in hospitality seeking to offer guests eco-resort style cottages," he says.
Wyatt says the solar panels, sourced from Silfab, are capable of producing more than 12,000 kilowatt-hours of power each year.
For the SON.DER show cabin, Wyatt says he sourced wood locally. The design is set on helical piers, which gave the construction team more flexibility during the install.
(Editor’s note: a previous version of this article inaccurately stated the price of the cabin pictured as $160,000.)
Related Reading:
These Pint-Size Prefab Cabins Are Now Available in the USA Starting at $37K
Published
Last Updated
Stay up to Date on the Latest in Prefab Homes
From cozy cottages to large family houses, see how prefab continues to redefine the future of construction, building, and design.