The Prefabricated Home

From sash windows and ceramic tiles to barracks and warehouses, industrialized building has thrived since the nineteenth century in Europe and America. Yet architects have neglected this area of practical construction in favor of historical, theoretical, and artistic analyses, resulting in the emergence of an influential building industry with architects on the far margins. Colin Davies explores in "The Prefabricated Home" how the relationship between architecture and industrialized building has now become an urgent issue for architects. "The Prefabricated Home" outlines the methods and motives of prefabricated buildings and assesses their architectural implications. Davies traces the origins of the branded building phenomenon with examples ranging from the Dymaxion bathroom to IKEA's "Bo Klok" house. He also analyzes the use of industrialized buildings worldwide--including McDonald's drive-through restaurants and contrasts the aesthetic concerns of architects against the economic ones of industrialized building manufacturers. Ultimately, "The Prefabricated Home" proposes a partnership of architects and industrialized building that could potentially produce an exciting new type of humane and eco-conscious architecture.

The prefabricated home is a revelation as to what has been happening in the construction of ordinary buildings all over the developed world. But the story is about the whole field of construction, from avant-garde architectural theory to the practicalities of manifacturing and marketing trailer homes. Along the way, the author puts an end to the tradition that prefabrication equals repetitious monotony.