Architect promotes modern prefab house from Perryville

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Rocio Romero's boxy steel-and-glass home looks to the casual observer like it came from outer space. But to the 32-year-old architect, the prefabricated home she designed is a perfect fit on her wooded, 70-acre property just west of Perryville.

Romero, who grew up in California, isn't a household name here. But she's been mentioned in national news stories that have focused on what some refer to as "upwardly mobile homes."

Romero objects to the description. "I don't think of it as a fancy mobile home," she said.

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal mentioned her in a story that questioned whether a prefabricated house or "house-in-a-box" can be architecture. Romero's answer is an unequivocal yes.

"Americans have become more design conscious," she said. "There is a huge demand for easily attainable and affordable modern homes."

Prefab homes aren't new. Sears Roebuck sold mail order house kits in the early 1900s. Lustron houses -- made almost entirely of enamel-coated steel, including the interior walls -- were manufactured in Ohio from 1948 to 1950.

Shipped on flatbed trucks in about 3,000 pieces, a house could be assembled on a concrete slab in about a week. Magnets were used to hang pictures on interior walls.

But unlike those houses, today's prefab homes aren't designed to mirror conventional homes. They're designed to draw attention with a streamlined, modern look.

At 1,152 square feet, Romero's offering is small by today's new home standards. It is designed to be more of a "vacation" home or a home for those who want a scaled-down retirement abode.

It's full of large glass windows and glass sliding doors that bathe white walls and the laminated floor with sunlight. Double-insulated glass extends from the floor to the ceiling on the east and south sides of her home.

"I like the light," she said. "I love it even on a cloudy day."

The house has central heating and cooling. But the light through the windows and sliding doors in winter also helps warm the home, she said.

Even the two bedrooms have large sliding glass doors that offer an unobstructed view of the wooded landscape.

There are no blinds or curtains on any of the windows or covering any of the sliding glass doors.

"We are in the country, and privacy is not really an issue," she said.

Romero's interior design is bare-bones too. Walls have no paintings, photographs or any other art work. A flat-screen television hangs on a living room wall, but the electronic gear connected to it is hidden in a closet.

Building for $80,000

She and her husband, Cale, spent about $135,000 building and furnishing the home, which was completed in November. But Romero said the house could be built for as little as $80,000.

Romero built a slightly smaller guest house for her parents in Laguna Verde, Chile, four years ago. She calls her prefab design "LV" after the town where her parents live.

Like many designers, Romero had trouble finding anyone to manufacture her sharply modern design. She's now beginning to manufacture and sell kits of the LV Home on her own.

Romero previously lived and worked in St. Louis. She initially wanted to set up shop in Louisiana, but couldn't find the skilled labor needed to make the homes.

The late Tom Tucker, who directed the Southeast Missouri Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission in Perryville, introduced her to building supplier Tim Buchheit. She purchases her construction materials through Buchheit's company and has leased a former Buchheit warehouse in Biehle, Mo., to manufacture LV houses.

Labor and materials are less costly in Missouri than on the East and West coasts, Romero said. Locating in the middle of the country allows for easier and more affordable shipments to home buyers.

For example, it costs $2,800 to transport an LV model house kit to Los Angeles, $3,000 to ship to New York and $800 to ship it to Atlanta, she said.

She has two full-time and two part-time workers who build the prefabricated walls for the LV from wooden studs and from panels covered with a layer of zinc-aluminum alloy coated steel.

Romero sells her packaged house for under $30,000, complete with architectural plans and a videotape on how to assemble it. The buyer has to hire a contractor to do the on-site construction work, everything from pouring the concrete foundation to building interior walls.

For now, she's trying to market her LV kit homes in California. She has sold one to a San Diego man whose previous house was destroyed by last summer's wildfires.

She has hopes of selling thousands of LV homes in California. "In California, modern design is something that everyone wants," she said.

Cape Girardeau architect Tom Holshouser likes modern design but says even the most stylish modern homes, whether prefabricated or conventionally built, aren't easy to sell locally because buyers want houses with traditional designs.

But Romero is convinced there is a market for her work. Potential customers in the St. Louis area have driven to Perryville to see her home.

She also has designed and built a modern cabin-like structure she calls "Fish Camp" on her rustic Perry County property. She plans to start marketing that model later this year to hunters and other outdoors enthusiasts.

"I think it would be a great product in Missouri," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123