Modern house with large glass windows, wooden exterior, built on concrete stilts, surrounded by trees.

Koby Cottage was designed to accommodate families visiting their children attending a boarding school for troubled teens. Surrounded by nature, it provides a peaceful, private domestic setting for reuniting families.

The eleven hundred square foot cottage has an X-shaped plan formed by joining two prefabricated steel modules. One wing is for parents, the other for their child. A dining table is situated where the two wings cross to create a place for meeting, discussion, and to express family bonds. The structure is raised above the ground and the space between the modules is sheathed with glass to show the landscape as continues and nature as enveloping.

Modern dining area with a wooden table set for four, large windows overlooking a lake, and a minimalistic kitchen in the background.

Koby is a prototype constructed using the KFS (Kullman Frame System), an extremely strong and efficient modular space frame consisting of hollow tubular steel that allows for large cantilevers and window openings. The structural system was developed for the construction of multi-story modular buildings. Its tubular steel space frame has the unique capacity to achieve heights of twelve stories using patented connections that minimize field finishing and speed the overall construction process. The cottage features a high level of craftsmanship and detail as well as a number of high performance components.

Steel framework being assembled inside an industrial workshop with workers, ladders, and a sign in the background.
Construction inside a building, with wooden and glass walls and a dark wooden wall on the right, and construction equipment above.
Architectural cross-section of a modern house with multiple levels showing interior rooms, furniture, and people engaging in various activities.
A list of home construction and interior features, including heating, cooling, siding, flooring, insulation, fireplace, roofing, doors, windows, blinds, and glass.
null
Modern interior of a house with large floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a lake and green trees, wooden flooring, and minimalist furniture.

Client
Private

Status
Complete

Info
2010
Homes/Modular/Hospitality
1,100 sf
Albion, MI

Awards
Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award
AIA / NYS Design Merit Award

Publications
→ Sustainability: In Interior Design
→ Koby Cottage / Garrison Architects
→ House Tours: Modular Retreat