48 | Oregon Home Customizable interiors translate to homes with high creativity and personality. PREFAB: HOW IT WORKS TO BRING THE project to fruition, consumers buy their desired designs, as well as one of Steel Hut’s prefab building kits. Homeowners are in charge of connecting with a local contractor to build out the interior spaces, which, like traditional A-frames and Quonset huts, are fully customizable based on personal preferences. “The concept really facilitates contractors of different skill sets or even owners who want to build it themselves,” says Barnes. Prefabricated designs, or “prefab” designs, are considered sustainable because they offer faster construction times, often lower costs, improved quality control due to factory production, potential for greater energy efficiency, and reduced waste compared to traditional building methods. Essentially, they THE SEARCH FOR THE FIRE-RESISTANT HOME SWEEPING FLAMES, entire hillsides stripped of trees, towns destroyed, and lives upended and lost — the dangers posed by wildfire in Oregon are no joke. Does a changing climate mean homeowners will abandon the state’s beautiful and remote areas? Not likely. But the need for a fire-protection upgrade for Oregon housing is on everyone’s mind. “The risk of fire is increasing with climate change,” says Jessica Halofsky, director of the Northwest Climate Hub. “Actions are especially important in the wildland-urban interface, where homes are built adjacent to forested area.” To address this, as well as the overall demand for more housing in the West, founder Marie Saldivar of Steel Hut — a Central Oregon-based provider of steel-based, consumerfocused building kits — approached Portland-based Skylab Architecture, known for its optimistic and explorative designs. Their goal? To create new takes on two classic forms: the A-frame and the Quonset hut. “We love the Quonset hut shape and style, and that style evocative of old modernism reborn,” says architect Susan Barnes of Skylab Architecture. Together the two Oregon companies envisioned designs that would address the West’s need for more affordable but stylish homes. One major benefit: They would incorporate U.S. manufacturer SteelMaster’s fire-resistant steel roofs, which don’t ignite when exposed to flames. What emerged from the collaboration is a growing offering of steel-roofed designs and prefabricated kits created to maximize modern-lifestyle needs while addressing dangers posed by a changing climate.
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