The term ‘pre-fabrication’ was coined in the 1930s when the industry of producing building elements to be assembled in a remote location became profitable. Ease of construction and affordability were the main selling points for the early prefab homes, with costs as low as $700 a home.
Components for prefabricated houses were first made with timber or corrugated and cast iron, eventually in steel and reinforced concrete.
Modern architects in Europe (Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, meis van der Rohe, Alvar Aalto) and in the New World (Buckminster Fuller, Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, Charles Eames) designed prototypes that were often built only once, if at all. Aspects of their designs though became part of the mainstream over time.
The bulk of pre-fabricated homes were built during times when there was a dire need for housing. The Quonset Huts of the 2nd World War (top left), the mobile homes of the 1940s and 50s (top middle), and large housing tracts developed by William Levitt and others, promised not only efficient construction but also a new ideal for modern domestic life.
Later, advances in technology superceded low-cost construction, and a new typology revolving around the spaciousness of steel construction emerged. Pierre Koenig’s Stahl House (top right) is an example of California’s mid-century ideal for modernity in living.
Today, a variety of new options are being explored. Different prefab construction methods (panel construction, modular construction, container construction) are being reinvented using new materials and technologies. Homes are more site-specific – there are types for rural, suburban or urban settings. And architects are working with pre-fabrication companies to create new designs or ever-changing variations.
ADVANTAGES OF PREFAB CONSTRUCTION
- Main components constructed in weather-proof facility
- Reduction in materials and energy used during construction
- Time needed on site greatly reduced
- Quality and schedule more consistent
- Price of pre-fab components locked in at time of ordering
DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
Even though the main components of a pre-fabricated house are determined and built elsewhere, a design and construction team are required to customize the design or to design outright (architect/prefab company), to plan the site (architect/surveyor/civil engineer), to secure permits (contractor or architect) and to coordinate the construction that will occur on site (contractor/prefab company). Typically, foundation work, exterior and interior finishes and miscellaneous carpentry are performed by local contractors.
Photos from: “PreFab” by Allison Arieff & Bryan Burkhart, “Prefabulous + Sustainable” by Sheri Koones and “PreFab Now” by James Grayson Trulove & Ray Cha.
See our article on Eco-Fab, or sustainable prefabricated houses.
Tags: construction team, container construction, design team, mobile homes, modular construction, panel construction, Pierre Koenig, pre-fabrication, prefab construction, prefab homes, prefab houses, prefabricated houses, Quonset Huts, site-specific, Stahl House, William Levitt
