Interesting article about Ikea's new venture selling flat packaged, "some assembly required", energy efficient homes in Northern Europe. Proponents say the pre-engineered homes produce less waste, can be built faster and more energy efficient than traditional home building techniques.

Locally on the Oregon Coast, Columbia Pacific Homes LLC distributes a similar product manufactured by Pacific Modern Homes, Inc. Panelized construction isn't new, but can be very cost effective from my research. The biggest benefit I can see in Astoria and the surrounding area is the time savings in the number of days to go from poured concrete foundation to weather tight home. I've heard in as little as two weeks by a crew familiar with this type of construction.