What a sad start to the summer it was when back in May, Michelle Kaufmann released the news that she would be closing her Bay Area firm and no longer designing pre-fab, sustainable houses. Several months have now passed and while Kaufmann's company might still be but a memory, it looks like some of her work will live on. The Boston-based Blu Homes has announced that they have purchased three of Kaufmann's home designs and will begin offering them to their customers soon. And the San Francisco Chronicle reports even better news: Kauffman will be coming on to help out as a design consultant. Here's a bit about the differences between the originals and Blu Homes' new models based on her designs:

They have developed a proprietary unfolding modular technology that will enable cost savings to be made on Kaufmann designs at the shipping and on-site building stages. Elements that make up the homes such as wall panels are created with hinges so they can be compacted for transportation and unfolded on site. The MK Designs homes will have slightly different floor plans, proportions and elevations from the originals, although, Kaufmann said, the design principles should remain the same.