SmartPlanet informs MHProNews from Buenos Aires, Argentina prefabricated housing has meant low cost housing for years in Latin America. Additionally, labor is very low cost, so stacking bricks to make a home is relatively inexpensive. Sebastian Koltan has developed a galvanized steel-framed modular house with distinctive sustainability features: polyurethane foam-filled walls, solar water heater, water cachement for greywater and low energy consumption LED lights. Customers can add modules in multiple configurations for a larger home, and increase energy efficiency features however they wish, with prices starting around $150 a square foot. The modular unit has generated a lot of interest in people wanting a second home in the country or at the beach.

(Photo credit: Ian Mount/SmartPlanet)