Prefabricated Builidings

Manufactured

“Prefabricated architecture may well be an idea whose time has come. If architectural authorities are to be believed, we may soon be buying flat-pack houses, IKEA-style. Already in Japan the Toyota House has become a reality, with robot production lines capable of producing several hundred houses a week.”

-Margot Osborne The Advertiser (Australia)

Adney, Ken "History of Pre-fab Housing." History of Pre-fab Housing. 7 Oct. 2008. EzineArticles.com. 5 Nov 2008 <http://ezinearticles.com/?History-of-Pre-fab-Housing&id=1562954>.

Ken Adney is a writer for EzineArticles online.  In his essay he discusses MoMA’s recent exhibition Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwellling that explores the history surrounding the beginnings of prefabrication.  Adney cites several factors in the development of prefab buildings: Thomas Edison’s single pour concrete system, Wachsmann and Gropius’ General Panel System, and Australian designer H. Manning who designed “Portable Colonial Cottage for Emigrants” in 1830, employing the use of easy to ship flat panels.  Of course prefabrication would not be where it is today without the Ford Motor Company demonstrating in 1919 “how assembly-line manufacturing could produce a ‘ready-made home’” (Adney).  However, Adney points out among these the most successful “were the mail-order kit homes sold by Sears, Roebuck and Company. Between 1908 and 1940, Sears shipped more than 70,000 mail order homes which included all the materials (including shingles, flooring and paint) to build a home. There were 447 different styles and they cost between $650 and $2500 ($14,000 to $53,000 in today's dollars). Good thing it came with instructions, because it weighed 25 tons and had 30,000 parts.”  After noting the history that brought us to where we are today, Adney then discusses the 5 full size homes that are on display as part of the MoMA exhibit. “There is a micro-compact home of just 76 square feet, a 5 story townhouse wrapped in cellophane, a "shotgun house" intended for disaster relief areas, one built from 570 square foot components that let the home grow as the owner's family grows and a computer designed house built of plywood and steel that lets the architect and owner choose their design simultaneously.”  Adney ends his article by stating: “A home for everyone may yet be a dream, but imagination, innovation and technology are making it more possible.”

Reading this article helped me understand the background of pre-fab buildings.  I had heard about the Sears houses and knew that many people ordered pre-fab structures because of the low prices, but I didn’t realize that prefabricated homes are still being developed today.  Reading about the new prefabricated homes that are being designed with modern issues in mind (such as green design and disaster-relief) was definitely interesting.  When I take photos of buildings I usually look for older areas, because I figured if I were to find any pre-fab buildings they would be from older generations.  After reading this article, I now know that this isn’t the case. 

Image:

http://www.momahomedelivery.org/