This elegant contemporary home was built in 48 hours
<p>Good, fast and cheap: you can have two, but not all three.</p>
<p>That has long been the catch-phrase of building and manufacturing - the idea that if you want something that's inexpensive, and you want it quickly, what you're going to get is not going to be of great quality.</p>
<p>This stunning contemporary house, by Desai Chia Architecture, might prove the old adage wrong.</p>
<p>Located in rural New York was it was designed for maximum efficiency and then built using prefabricated elements in just a couple of days.</p>
<p>It's situated on a rocky outcrop that overlooks a trout pond and open farmland. The house integrates a number of sustainable design elements, including geothermal heating and cooling, radiant floors, natural ventilation, motorised solar shades and photovoltaic panels.</p>
<p>The middle of the structure houses the bedrooms, bathroom, and storage rooms within a perforated timber core. The timber slats are part of a larger wall system that allows for natural daylight to permeate the space during the day. The system also contributes to home's overall ventilation.</p>
<p>The foundation of the home is provided by four steel columns that are embedded into that timber core. This structural solution creates expansive, open living areas at both ends of the house</p>
<p>The surrounding structure is constructed using as few materials as possible. The facade of the house is made up of triple-paned glass units. All the elements of the house were prefabricated off-site, shipped to the site in one container, and erected by crane in just two days.</p>
<p><em>Written by Kathleen Kinney. First appeared on <strong><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz.</span></a> </strong>Image credit: Desai Chia Architecture/ Stuff.co.nz.</em></p>
