MICHELLE KAUFMANN

Kaufmann grew up in Iowa and received her undergraduate degree from Iowa State University and her Masters from Princeton University. She was an associate with Frank Gehry and also worked with Michael Graves.  Kaufmann relocated to Northern California, where she founded Michelle Kaufmann Designs in 2003. She has taught at Iowa State University and Woodbury University.

Kaufmann's firm was given the 2008 Top Firm Award by Residential Architect. Her book, Prefab Green describes off-site construction and her green design principles.  She has been featured on the Sundance channel, HGTV, Discovery, Planet Green and in numerous magazines including Town+Country, Dwell, Sunset, Time, and the Smithsonian. A full-size replica of Michelle’s home was built at the National Building Museum as part of the exhibit The Green House, and a fully-functioning 3-story home designed by Michelle is on display at the Museum of Science and Industry. The firm completed more than 40 prefab houses, most of them on the West Coast.

Kaufmann was so taken with the strength of new materials the speed of prefab construction that she bought a manufacturing facility in Canada to mass produce her own designs.  However, her  firm closed in 2009. Several of the homes she designed are now marketed by mkDesigns, a subsidiary of Blu Homes. In 2010, Kaufmann launched a new design firm, Michelle Kaufmann Studio.

The Sunset Breeze House, 1800-2200 sf, 2 to 4 bedrooms.

At 2,380 sf, the Sidebreeze is a 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom, 2-story version of the Sunset Breezehouse above but designed for smaller lots, sloped sites or for those who simply want to live in a light-filled, harmonious, 2-story home.

The Glidehouse, 2 to 4 bedroom, 1300 to 2200 sf.

The MkLotus, 1 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom, 672 sf.