Iconic Pre-Fab Provider Closes Shop

Michelle Kaufmann Designs, a path-breaking seller of modern, eco-friendly pre-fab homes, is folding due to the anemic housing market and the credit crisis at large. Kaufmann's firm became synonymous with the contemporary pre-fab movement. On paper, it looked like a phenomenal business, offering boutique architects such as Kaufmann a chance to reach a wider market by exploiting economies of scale, while serving would-be modernistas without the tens of thousands of dollars it takes to commission a custom design.