cityLAB-UCLA showcases prefab housing options and publishes guide to speed wildfire recovery in Altadena

As communities rebuild following the Eaton and Palisades Fires, cityLAB-UCLA has organized a public showcase of six prefab housing options and released a new guide to help homeowners return home faster and more affordably.

The January 2025 wildfires devastated neighborhoods across the region, destroying thousands of homes and leaving families with limited rebuilding options in a high-cost construction environment.

Developed with community organizations and informed by conversations with residents directly affected by the Eaton Fire, "The Altadena Prefab Housing Handbook: A Homeowner's Guide to Rebuilding with Prefab" offers clear, accessible guidance for navigating the rapidly evolving prefab landscape - explaining how it compares to traditional construction, cost and financing options and more.

"Rebuilding after a fire requires a fierce commitment to an unclear future, which is a tall order given everything people in Altadena have experienced," said Dana Cuff, distinguished professor in the department of architecture and urban design and founding director of cityLAB-UCLA. "Still, there's a great deal of hope and joy in the community, so the prefab homes on display open one more path toward Altadena's future. cityLAB is honored to work with residents on the showcase, the handbook and further recovery efforts."

To help residents evaluate these options firsthand, the public showcase is open in Altadena throughout November at 2231 Lincoln Avenue. Model homes from AMEG with New Economics for Women, Villa, Azure, Conex Modular, Liv Connected and Sola/Model Z are on view noon-6 p.m. Wednesdays - Fridays, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturdays, and noon - 5 p.m. Sundays. The official opening Saturday, Nov. 8 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) will feature tours and local rebuilding resources.

The units on display were installed within four weeks, illustrating the speed of prefab construction. Cost savings may also be substantial: homes on display range from $90,000 to $200,000, while new homes of similar size can cost $500,000-$1 million. Some modular units can serve as interim housing while the primary home is rebuilt and later be converted into an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) for rental income - another tactic outlined in the guide.

The handbook responds directly to homeowners' most common questions: how prefab works in wildfire recovery, expected costs and timelines, insurance implications and how to choose a builder. cityLAB researchers analyzed leading prefab companies, design approaches, construction methods and average turnaround times.

Community collaboration among cityLAB-UCLA, nonprofit developer RNLA, Pasadena-based Community Women Vital Voices and public-private alliance LA4LA shaped both the guide and the showcase, with support from the California Community Foundation, the Wells Fargo Foundation, and crisis-response groups Altadena Recovery and Rebuild Corporation (ARRC) and Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE). The effort aligns with LA4LA's mission to accelerate affordable housing solutions that restore communities impacted by fire and address the region's broader housing needs.

"LA4LA is about driving down the cost of housing and urgently making housing available," said Sarah Dusseault, lead strategist at LA4LA. "This effort is about helping wildfire survivors return home while also bringing scalable solutions to our region's housing crisis."

cityLAB's work reflects its long-standing UCLA mission to bridge architecture, urban design and public policy with community-driven research. One of nine arts-research centers in UCLA's School of the Arts and Architecture, cityLAB marks its 20th anniversary this year with renewed focus on supporting residents affected by the Eaton Fire - especially as temporary insurance-provided rental assistance nears expiration for many.

Organizing the showcase and conducting research that went into the guide represent what Cuff called a "heroic effort."

Lena Kennedy, president and CEO of Community Women Vital Voices, praised the project's speed and spirit.
"When leaders, builders, policymakers and the community come together, we create not just homes, but hope," she said. "This partnership shows that with innovation and heart, we can rebuild lives faster and stronger - proving that recovery after a disaster doesn't have to take years. We are giving families real options and a clear roadmap to resilience."

The Eaton Fire has had devastating and disproportionate impacts on Altadena's Black community, according to a data brief from the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge and the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute. Researchers found that 61% of Black households in Altadena were located within the Eaton Fire perimeter, compared with 50% of non-Black households.