Prefab

Prefabricated house have done a lot to earn their reputation for being cheap and ugly, and indeed, the prevailing vision of prefab--endless rows of cookie cutter structures built with cheap materials and substandard construction methods--is, unfortunately, fairly accurate. But now and throughout prefab's history, there have been many exceptions to the rule. Ground-breaking proposals from architects and designers such as Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Jean Prouve, Albert Frey, Buckminster Fuller, Sir Richard Rogers, Archigram, Kisho Kurokawa, and Philippe Starck, have emerged since Sears, Roebuck & Co. first marketed their Houses by Mail to the general public in 1908. Prefab examines the fascinating history of prefabricated housing over the last century to reveal a wealth of practical and attractive alternatives to the status quo. Prefab's primary focus is the work of more than twenty-five contemporary architects and designers who are exploring the myriad possibilities that prefabrication offers for housing for the future. From the poetic construction of Shigeru Ban to the industrial minimalism of KFN's portable structures, from the fantastical digitized aluminum prototypes of Greg Lynn to the stylish functionality of IKEA's prefab apartments, Prefab presents a series of innovative homes and concepts that boldly demonstrates how far this much maligned building technique has come, and how fat it can go. In doing so, Prefab endeavors to inspire a change in the way people think of housing and the way the architects, builders, developers, and financial institutions approach it--and ultimately, the way individuals live in it.

Prefab focuses on the work of more than twenty five contemporary architects and designers who are exploring the rich possibilities that prefabrication offers for housing of the future.

Via numerous color photographs and diagrams, two San Francisco designers cum authors broadly define "prefab" houses to include some element of prefabrication, and present information on the history, production, customization, concepts, and futuristic prototypes of such housing. They cover Quonset huts to the digital technology-inspired Embryologic House. The book includes a listing of architects and designers worldwide. It is published in landscape format.
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Via numerous color photographs and diagrams, two San Francisco designers cum authors broadly define "prefab" houses to include some element of prefabrication, and present information on the history, production, customization, concepts, and futuristic prototypes of such housing. They cover Quonset hu

Prefab presents a series of innovative homes and concepts that boldly demonstrate that this is not your grandmother's prefab, offers a glimpse into the history of prefabricated housing over the last century, and reveals a wealth of practical and attractive alternatives to the status quo.

Prefab presents a series of innovative homes and concepts that boldly demonstrate that this is not your grandmother's prefab, offers a glimpse into the history of prefabricated housing over the last century, and reveals a wealth of practical and attractive alternatives to the status quo. Prefab discusses architects, builders, and designers such as Walter Gropius and Philippe Starck, examines the historical precedents from Albert Frey's Corbusier-inspired Aluminaire house to Kisho Kurokawa's capsules, and showcases the work of twenty-four contemporary architects and designers who are exploring the myriad possibilities that prefabrication offers for housing of the future. From the fantastical digitized aluminum prototypes of Gregg Lynn to the stylish functionality of Ikea's prefabricated apartments in Sweden, Prefab presents a series of innovative homes and space-saving concepts that show how far this building technique has come-and how far it can go.Allison Arieff is a writer, senior editor of the architecture magazine dwell, and co-author of Trailer Travel. She is also the editor of several books on art and culture, including Airstream: A History of the Land Yacht and Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Poster Shop. She lives in San Francisco. Bryan Burkhart is the designer and co-author of Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht and Trailer Travel: A Visual History of Mobile America. As creative director of his own firm, Modernhouse, he has designed books for Taschen, Chronicle Books, and Gibbs Smith, Publisher. Burkhart also lives in San Francisco.