The vernacular architecture of older buildings

The package — a small tube, removable cap, and sealable spit funnel — was a genetic testing kit from California company 23andMe. The Abramses spent $299 on each kit Modular Home in 2011. Once the couple mailed in their tubes, 23andMe tested their saliva for hundreds of genetic markers. The markers pointed toward clinically useless but nevertheless interesting ancestral information (look, Caitlin had 2.9 percent Neanderthal DNA!). They also pointed toward dozens of potential health risks. By comparing some of the couple’s DNA to a database of genetic indicators, the company said it could tell them whether they were at increased risk for a range of diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, breast or prostate cancer, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heroin addiction, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

And celiac disease, which Caitlin already knew she had. “I was most interested in possible inherited diseases,” she says. “I’d been diagnosed with celiac disease only a year or two prior, and given that my husband and I planned to have children, I thought it might be helpful to see if I was genetically predisposed to it. Since we know that my celiac disease is based in genetics, we felt that we should speak to a doctor about how to avoid exposing our baby to gluten too early and raising his or her risk of presenting the disease at a later date.”

In general, residential factories could learn some lessons from the automation of commercial factory production. This would improve their ability to move more assembly through the plant quickly. There is a fine line here – as neither the commercial or residential modular builder wants to create a “cookie cutter” result. With that said, modular factories need to utilize economies of scale and some repetition in order to add value to the market. It would be nice to see greater capacity in general for large scale modular component builders in New England. Those we do work with are excellent people, but given a lack of a capacity, I believe we fail to work with each other as closely as we might.

Following the rapid introduction of timber-frame kit home bungalows in the 1980's for the self builder, which have proliferated across the Highlands and Islands, we felt there was a need to stimulate interest in more sympathetically designed self-build houses in Scotland and other parts of the UK, that are more in keeping with the vernacular architecture of older buildings.

Lochdhu Cottages Ltd design and manufacture self build Container Houses for Scotland and the rest of the uk. Whether it's self build uk or self build Scotland, we can supply self build kits, bespoke designs for timber frame self-build uk, or we can or amalgamate design ideas from our brochure.