MITHŪN

Overview

Building cost-effective and desirable housing is the key to sustaining authentic urban communities. That’s why Unico Properties commissioned Mithun, in collaboration with HyBrid Seattle, to create Inhabit – housing designed for modern, modular apartment living. This prototype demonstrates that attractive, high quality modular apartments are a practical reality for future city dwellers. Since its completion, the success and widespread praise for this project has engendered a series of site applications of various scales currently in design.

Mithun developed a concept study to determine the cost feasibility of modular construction, comparing innovative prefabrication techniques with traditional on-site construction. The results were surprising: prefabricated units are nearly equal in cost to traditional construction, and they can be completed up to six months faster than on-site development. Factory prefabrication also ensures consistent, high-quality, year round production. Simple methods and materials lend themselves to multiple options for customization. Skillful arrangement of finished units accommodates social, entertainment, and private functions.

News

• From Habitat to Inhabit by William P. Macht, Urban Land , May 2008 – A Seattle developer crafts a multifamily modular system of workforce housing for urban infill site.
• How will market for prefab apartments stack up in Seattle? by By Eric Pryne, Seattle Times, May 27, 2008 – I thought they were great," says Diane Sugimura, director of Seattle’s Department of Planning and Development. "They’ve come a long way from mobile homes.
• Inhabit, Growing Prefab into Green Apartments by Preston D K, Jetson Green, Oct 12, 2007 – Imagine stacking 50 to 100 prefabricated, modular units to create a high-tech, green, multifamily apartment building.