Bright yellow prefab house shines in the woods

A new house from architect Alejandro Soffia cuts through the dense greenery of Pucón, Chile, like a ray of sunshine. True to its name, the Yellow House is built from prefabricated panels swathed in a bright, cheery shade of yellow paint.

Soffia designed the house for a family interested in having minimal impact on the home’s verdant surroundings. The resulting 1,076-square-foot home perches atop wooden legs, reducing its footprint.

Photo: Juan Durán Sierralta

Photo: Juan Durán Sierralta

Soffia conceived the house almost as if he were playing with Lego pieces as a series of interconnected parts. He arranged the insulated prefab panels to connect with windows, floors, and ceilings, creating a blocky, modular layout that feels open and airy while allowing for cozy nooks.

Photo: Juan Durán Sierralta

For Soffia, the house represents a more sustainable and efficient way to build.

“Architecture faces two main human challenges,” he writes in a project statement. “First, decreasing its impact over nature’s equilibrium, and second, building many square meters of good quality for an actual and coming population.” Like Yellow House proves, sometimes it’s possible to solve for both.

Photo: Juan Durán Sierralta