CASE STUDY
SHIFT HOUSE
Palette Architecture is pleased to introduce Shift House, a 1,600 s. f. new home for a family of four. It is constructed of prefabricated, modular components that were factory fabricated and connected on-site.
The design takes advantage of prefabrication’ s economies in budget and schedule, without compromising on the overall design intent. These tools are deployed in a house enriched by its natural surroundings and supportive of the family’ s activities.
In the immediate aftermath of the pandemic, there was a desire amongst many New Yorkers to supplement their homes in the city with ones more connected to nature. A prior client asked us to design a second home away from their Brooklyn townhouse, and they quickly settled on a tree-lined subdivision in East Hampton, in relative visual seclusion from their neighbors. The house was to be modest in scale and budget, with an urgency to occupy it.
Concurrent with the start of this project, the architects were navigating contractor shortages and long wait times on a number of their projects. They suggested prefabrication to the client to achieve lower construction costs, an expedited schedule, and improved budget and schedule certainty. They then embarked on a design process that worked within prefabrication’ s limits, while pressing the fabricator to expand their offerings to meet Palette’ s design goals.
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