Dwell Launches Silicon Valley NextHouse by Empyrean International LLC, at March Open House

SAN FRANCISCO, March 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Modern prefab has arrived in Mountain View, CA in the form of a progressive single-family home -- the Dwell NextHouse by Empyrean. The home's modern aesthetic is teasing out issues among neighbors and fellow Mountain View residents around the timelessness of modern architecture and how new forms of building will be accepted and integrated into the community's fabric. A unique opportunity to tour the 2,400 sq ft prefabricated home will be available especially to the trade and members of the press on March 27th from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and to the public on March 29th and 30th from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. Dwell invites attendees to become engaged in a dialogue about modern and prefab home design.

Mark & Ellen Siminoff, Dwell NextHouse homeowners, purchased a house and lot in Mountain View with intentions to remodel but the high cost of restoration plus a desire for more space for the couple's growing family ultimately motivated the Siminoffs to look at a ground-up rebuild. The wooden prefab home they built working with Dwell and Empyrean is designed to accommodate natural light, solar orientation, seasonal shading from vegetation, prevailing wind movement and many other influences and is designed to contribute to passive heating and cooling. Responsibly harvested products were used in every application possible.

"We were fortunate to discover the NextHouse after Ellen's business partner saw an article in Dwell," Mark said. "The article was about a line of affordable modern prefab homes that Dwell and Empyrean were working on together. Having grown up in a contemporary-style house in New Jersey, the idea of owning a modern prefab really resonated with me."

Mark, a Senior Mechanical Engineer for the design and innovation firm IDEO, and Ellen, who runs her own interaction design firm, Sliced Bread Design, love to entertain and have a reputation for opening their doors to neighbors in their family-friendly community. The residence in Mountain View, California appeals to their modern design sensibilities and at the same time, provides a warm, friendly, durable environment for their infant and toddler.

Working with award-winning designer Joel Turkel, the couple has designed imaginative, kid-friendly spaces into the flexible Dwell NextHouse by Empyrean floor plan. Through this home, the family is intent on demonstrating that modern finishes and fixtures can be both esthetically and functionally enduring. They would like to show their neighbors that great modern design is at home in an active family environment.

Dwell has been at the forefront of the prefab home movement in the U.S., advocating the benefits of prefab since March 2001 when they first started covering prefab. In 2003 a significant prefab milestone was reached when Dwell introduced the first Dwell Home Design Invitational, a competition to design an innovative modern prefab home that resulted in the construction of a 2000 sq. ft. home, taxes and land in, for under $200K designed by NYC architectural firm Resolution 4.

"Prefabricated design reduces construction waste significantly as most construction is done in the factory and many of the materials not used can be recycled for other projects," said Dwell President and Publisher Michela O'Connor Abrams. Another sustainable element involves the time to construct a prefab home being greatly reduced, which in-turn means fewer trips to and from the job site, saving fuel and energy.

"To me, modern design as we think of it here at Empyrean is not about adhering to a style, but is rather just about good design, and to us, that is design that is responsible and responsive," said Joel Turkel, NextHouse Designer. "Prefab is simply a proven and sound method of ensuring those beliefs are upheld."

To Tour the Dwell NextHouse by Empyrean, please visit http://www.Dwell.com/siliconvalley to sign up for a tour. Tours open to the trade on March 27th from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm and to the public on March 29th and 30th from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

About Dwell:

Dwell was created to expand perceptions of the word "home" and champion an aesthetic in design that is modern, idea-driven and sensitive to social and physical surroundings. Their inherent passion for "bringing good design to everyone" has added fresh dimension to what it means to be At Home in the Modern World. Dwell(R) and Dwell on Design (R) are registered trademarks of Dwell, LLC