Your design. Our system.
Some homes don’t fit a model — and they don’t have to. We design and build fully custom FRESH® homes from scratch, on the same solid, storm-ready steel-and-panel system, and we hand them over finished. Custom builds start from $150,000, priced individually by design.
Anyone can render a beautiful house. We’ve already built them — and engineered them to outlast the ones built light.
A custom FRESH® home is designed specifically for your site, your lifestyle and your budget — any size, any layout, from a single story up to five. What doesn’t change is the engineering underneath it: heavy-gauge steel, insulated panels, marine-grade protection, a 50+ year structure built for Panama’s earthquakes, storms, salt and heat.
And we don’t hand you a set of drawings and wish you luck. Through our design-and-build service we take a custom project from first concept to a finished, move-in-ready home — one team accountable from the first call to the keys.
See how the build works →Anyone can render a house. We build them to last.
Plenty of modern homes look the part — light timber, thin steel, beautiful in a render. The real question is what’s left after ten years of Panama’s sun, salt and storms.
FRESH® is built the other way: a solid, heavy-gauge steel frame and high-performance insulated panels, engineered for earthquakes, storms and the coast — a structure designed to outlast the homes built light.
Heavy-gauge steel frame
Not thin or lightweight — a solid steel structure engineered to stand through earthquakes and tropical storms.
Insulated panels, not just walls
High-performance panels seal out heat and humidity, keeping interiors cooler and cutting energy use for decades.
Marine-grade against salt
Alu-Zinc cladding plus a two-layer coating built to resist the coastal salt and humidity that corrode ordinary builds.
A 50+ year structure
Engineered for the long run — a home still standing strong long after the light-built ones have aged out.
Built & standingThe villas at Yuma Mountain Community.
FRESH® is the preferred builder at Yuma Mountain Community in Campana — a private development by Panama Portfolio Group — and our custom villas there are the proof: multi-story homes of up to 532m², built into a mountain slope in a gated community an hour from Panama City. Two are complete and move-in ready; a third is under construction.
They’re far larger than our standard models — which is exactly the point. The same system that delivers a fixed-price Cabana scales all the way up to a bespoke luxury villa.
- 532m²Largest villa built
- 2–3Stories, custom multi-level
- 2Completed & standing
Custom FRESH® homes start from $150,000 and are quoted individually by design — separate from the standard model price list.
Talk to us about a custom build →From first call to keys in hand.
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1
Understand your project
We talk through your land, your goals, your budget and how you want to live — no obligation.
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2
Concept & design
We design the home around your site and lifestyle, on the FRESH® system. Bring plans or reference images and our architects and engineers adapt them to the system — re-engineered to be buildable, certified-strong and storm-ready, rather than copied 1:1.
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3
Fixed budget & schedule
You get a clear, fixed quote and timeline — included scope and every option, line by line. No open-ended surprises.
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4
Plans & permits
We develop the full construction documents and handle the approvals for you.
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5
We build & hand you keys
The prefabricated structure is assembled on site in weeks, and we deliver a finished, move-in-ready home — not a pile of plans.
The honest answers.
Our three ready-to-build models have fixed starting prices: Cabana from $50,000, Casa from $100,000 and Villa from $120,000 — each with a move-in-ready standard finish. Custom homes are quoted individually based on your design, and we give you a fixed figure before you commit.
For most projects, yes — and more importantly, it’s more predictable. The prefabricated system means less on-site labour, less waste and a far shorter build, and you get a fixed price up front instead of a budget that drifts upward for months.
A solid, heavy-gauge galvanised steel frame with high-performance insulated panels — not a lightweight timber or thin-steel system. It’s engineered to be earthquake- and storm-resistant, with a structural lifespan of 50+ years.
The steel uses Alu-Zinc cladding plus a two-layer marine-grade coating specifically to resist coastal humidity and salt. It’s the same system standing today in our Coco Beach villas on the Pacific coast.
The insulated panels keep interiors noticeably cooler and cut energy use in the heat, while sealing out humidity. A/C wall vents are pre-installed in every room as standard, so the home is ready for cooling whenever you add it.
Because the steel Kit of Parts and panels are prefabricated in a factory, the structure is assembled on site in weeks rather than months — on a clear, fixed timeline you get in writing before we start.
Almost always. The lightweight steel needs only a minimal foundation and adapts well to slopes, and the system is off-grid ready with optional solar and water treatment — ideal for mountain, coastal and remote sites alike.
Every home comes move-in ready with a full standard finish — walls, floors, kitchen, bathrooms, lighting, doors, windows and pre-installed A/C vents. Options like A/C units, solar, pool, extended terraces, premium finishes and landscaping are quoted separately and clearly, line by line.
Both. You can personalize a model’s finishes, colors and exterior options while keeping its proven layout — or we’ll design a fully custom FRESH® home from scratch for your site, like the multi-story villas we’ve built at Yuma Mountain Community.
Yes — Gatun Lake Construction develops the full construction documents and manages the permit and approval process as part of the build, so you’re not navigating Panama’s bureaucracy on your own.
We deliver a finished, move-in-ready home. One team is accountable from the first conversation through design, permits and construction to handing you the keys — we don’t hand over drawings and leave you to find a builder.
FRESH® is built by Gatun Lake Construction S.A., a licensed Panama construction company operating since 2015, with completed FRESH® homes you can point to today at Coco Beach (Pacific coast) and Yuma Mountain Community (Panamá Oeste highlands). Real, standing homes — not just renders.
Yes — you’re welcome to visit. Our office is in La Chorrera, Panamá Oeste, open Monday to Saturday, 8am–5pm. Find us on Google Maps for directions, or message us on WhatsApp first so we can have the right person ready to walk you through your project.
Absolutely — bring whatever you have, from full architectural plans to a folder of reference images. One thing worth knowing: our architects and engineers adapt your design to the FRESH® system rather than building it exactly 1:1. That step is what makes the home buildable in steel and panels, properly engineered, and ready for Panama’s earthquakes, storms, salt and heat. You get the home you envisioned — re-engineered onto a system proven to last 50+ years.
Real people, accountable.
Building from abroad means trusting whoever holds the keys. This is the team that designs, engineers and delivers your FRESH® home — named, and reachable.
Tell us about your land.
Share a few details and we’ll send back a clear, fixed quote — included scope and any upgrades, line by line.
Your enquiry goes straight to André Marquínez, Lead Architect & Engineer — who’ll reply personally.