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Comment by chasil | Hacker News Reader

The market leader of prefab homes in the U.S. (afaik) is Clayton Homes, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, "run" by Warren Buffet.

Clayton Homes was in the news earlier this decade for abusive loan practices. They are likely best avoided, and I say this as a Berkshire stockholder.

https://money.com/warren-buffett-berkshire-hathaway-clayton-...

I have been to Omaha for a few shareholders' meetings, and I've toured a Clayton prefab home erected in the convention center.

I do like the aesthetics of the Japanese prefab home that is in the article, but I cannot imagine anyone using the glass shower or tub that open to the entire neighborhood in this picture (to say nothing of having it behind my desk):

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/dwell-ugc/photos/60633913...

Glass in the shower needs far too much cleaning anyway, so that really isn't a good idea from several perspectives.

View on HN

Glass shower can be kept clean and perfect in 30 seconds using this cheap tool just after taking the shower:

https://www.arredobagno360.it/media/catalog/product/cache/1/...

That's my personal experience :)

And if you lazy, water softner can also help you keep the glass clean. That's my preference.

This doesn't even look like a house to me. It kind of looks like a law firm's office with a bathtub inexplicably placed in the middle.

> I do like the aesthetics of the Japanese prefab home that is in the article, but I cannot imagine anyone using the glass shower or tub that open to the entire neighborhood in this picture (to say nothing of having it behind my desk):

Some apartment buildings in China have bathrooms on balconies. Try taking shower in -5C°

That tub has to be an architect's stunt, you couldn't possibly use it. Especially as the house doesn't seem to have curtains or blinds either.

it might be "smart glass" that can frost over: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrtfsSNGPKc

Glass showers are -extrememely- common in Australia.

They are common in the US, but they are contained in a bathroom that has solid walls. I can't think of any culture where people would be comfortable with a bathroom layout that allows anyone to just look in. That limits this bathroom to small apartments for singles (or couples with no kids) who don't entertain, and from what I know of Japanese culture I'm not sure it would catch on there.

As a marketing effort though it makes sense. You can show the whole thing off at a show to someone walking by and anyone who is interested can imagine how it would look with solid walls.

My most recent home here in Seattle was built with glass showers. The house was a three-story townhome, with the master shower up top, "overlooking" the stairwell.

The second floor bathroom is split into two - a toilet on one end of the hallway, a glass shower on the other end made by boxing off the end of the hallway with a sliding-glass door and large windows. Both sets of glass are frosted.

It's clear that the architect used the showers to help with lighting - the side of the building with the showers has the best exposure, and by keeping them translucent all the way into the living space, the hallways, stairs, and master bedroom are bathed in natural light.

Despite the frosted glass, the showers do have a slight exhibitionist feel at first. The second floor shower has a roll-down blind on the outside, primarily for guests.

The third floor shower has partial window treatments, which provides enough privacy given the layout of the neighborhood.

We thought it might be a bit uncomfortable; however, it works out well, and almost all guests have declined to use the blinds. I was surprised too.

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