MDS's Profile

Domino website still has subscription promos. So people who don't know about the shut down can still go and subscribe to the mag. This is terrible.

Darren B: show me an architect who can build you Marmol Radziner quality cheaper than Marmol Radziner can.

Most people who think they can construct a site-built EQUIVALENT home cheaper than the prefab version are really talking about an APPROXIMATE version of the home that fits within their budget.

Michelle Kaufmann built her own home (a Glidehouse) as a site-built project. She then started marketing a prefabbed version because it cost less and could be built quicker. This is a rare example of comparison between site-built and preffabed versions of the identical house design.

If you hold quality level constant then prefab offers more value. i.e. it costs less than site-built to get the SAME quality. However many people are willing to trade off quality for a lower price. i.e. they prefer to site-build a home at a quality level that meets their budget. In essence they are happy to choose an approximate substitute.

This is really about creating a custom value equation (simplistically: price divided by quality) rather than accepting the preconfigured value equation offered by the prefab vendor.

I think a Bentley automobile is very good value (price divided by quality)- but I'm not going to pay that much for an auto. I'd rather select something else at a lower price point that has an acceptable level of features and luxury (maybe an Audi) even though I know it is not equivalent to the Bentley.

Also note that prefab competes on value better in some markets than others. In remote locations there really is no alternative source for that type of design and construction.

Of course there are thousands of architects and builders who will point at a prefab and say "I can build you the same thing for less". This is no different to subcontractors who claim they can hang drywall or build a retaining wall for less than the other guy. At some point you have to ask which corners will get cut to get the approximate job done. Is there really that much profit in prefab that others can build the same thing for less?

Finally, if you have seen Marmol Radziner quality in person and you really know how to build it for less money then you should start a business because there are lots of people who would love those homes at a lower price point. So far nobody has worked out how to do that.

This house is on architecture home tours now and then if you want to wander inside.

wildwestern asked:
could anyThing be more annoying than the adjective "super-normal"

answer:
yes, wildwestern's post is more annoying.
please take your meds BEFORE you post.

Shame you didn't get to the Toy factory loft.
It was the best one on the tour - visitors were raving.

Firstly, thanks for all of these quick responses (I am Michael the question asker...). I'm going to keep sniffing around for these exact lamps - I'll report back if I find the answer.

Secondly, Laure thanks for the tip on the post at Curbed but the Kappe house shown is not the house that contained the cool lamps. I know this because I submitted the screen shots and post to Curbed!
Sometimes when I'm watching TV I get into a screenshot frenzy ;-)
In any case the Kappe house and the lamps are both cool.