The Best Prefab Homes in Australia

The two building skins form a veranda in-between, where Burns and his partner, Tania Soghomonian, often entertain guests.

Completed in just six weeks by Australian practice Archiblox, this modest prefab home is perched atop cliffs with prime views of Avalon Beach, just a short drive away from Sydney. Oriented east to west to maximize cross ventilation, the house is clad in marine-grade Colorbond Ultra steel and Queensland blue gum to protect against the elements.

The residents, who previously lived in Japan, asked that the bathroom be modeled after a Japanese-style bathhouse. Wood-effect porcelain tiles from Ariostea line the shower and tub area.

For her family’s house near Melbourne, Anna Horne created a series of prefab wood modules using a design from the company Prebuilt. She found the old industrial letter at a factory; it stands for Somerset, the name of the house.

“In the colder months we snuggle up in front of the wood stove and look out to the adjoining farms,” says Horne. As exemplified by the floor plan, the modules were designed “to keep some flexibility in how the house was used and were also a response to the site itself,” she says.

The cozy “rumpus room,” a kids playroom that functions as a second living room, looks out onto the courtyard. The space was designed to encourage kids’ creativity, while complementing adult tastes. With the addition of a movable wall, the space can be sectioned off so children can be seen but not heard. Functional and durable white cork flooring completes the child-friendly space.

Central to the design of the home from day one was the “Dunny Block”, an Australian toilet historically found outside the home. The Dunny Block from the yard of the original home was incorporated into the interior program of the new home, now housing the new main floor bathroom. The block is clad in recycled messmate timber, and is a bold focal point of the living space.

The house's large, double-glazed windows are used to bring sunlight and warmth into the structure in the winter. Sliding walls of vertical planters act as shading devices in the summer.

There are two zones in the house. One side, which the architects refer to as the "buffer zone," faces north, capturing the sunlight in the winter and pulling it into the house. In the summer, it traps the harsh sun so less gets into the living space. Edible planters adorn the wall.