Pretty Fabulous
In order to fairly evaluate the pros and cons of today’s prefab design, we broke it down according to various criteria. Here are just a few examples of the benefits prefab has to offer.
Affordable
The sticker price is not the only sign of affordability. Rocio Romero’s prefab homes come in kit form, allowing
the buyer to decide how much to participate in the onsite assembly process. A buyer can hire a contractor or work with some generous friends and
a bit of gumption to build the house him or herself. Subsidizing the cost
of the house through the provision
of labor makes home ownership
attainable for some people, creating sweat equity along the way.
Mobile
Want to take your home with you? If so, your prefab will need a chassis and some wheels, making it a close cousin of the mobile home (or “manufactured home,” in building industry parlance). The HOM product from KAA Design Group in Los Angeles is an example of a relocatable architecture product, as is the miniHome from Sustain Design Studio. Although technically related to the trailer home, these sharp-looking houses are from a very different part
of the family tree.
Reconfigurable
The KT line from KieranTimberlake and LivingHomes is designed to fit easily on urban infill lots. A reconfigurable design allows you to add rooms and entire floors as your living needs change. One model features 19-foot ceilings in the family room.
While the cost of building materials changes constantly, it is generally true that a home built from steel is more expensive than a home built from wood.
Transportable
While only mobile homes actually have wheels attached, many prefabs are designed to be transportable, though some can be relocated more easily than others. System 3 by Oskar Leo Kaufmann and Albert Rüf features modules and components that fit perfectly inside a cargo container, which acts like a steel shipping sleeve. The modules are combined with Austrian precision, resulting in a structure that almost resembles fine furniture.
Completely Custom
Some prefabs feature fixed floor plans while others are customizable, designed for a specific client and utilizing a defined methodology, such as steel- or timber-frame modular construction. Custom projects are usually more expensive, but the final design is unique. These homes are available from many companies, including Hive Modular, Marmol Radziner Prefab, and Resolution: 4 Architecture.
Renting a crane for positioning a module costs $750 to $5,000 per day. City permit fees for closing a street during delivery sometimes cost more than the crane rental.
Recycled
Many architects now specify materials derived from recycled products, such as insulation made with discarded denim. Logical Homes use repurposed cargo containers as steel-frame modules, thus combining the benefits of recycling and prefab. A customizable skin system keeps the container surfaces under wraps, for those who don’t want to feel at sea when at home.
Responsible
Prefab home factories produce far less waste than traditional job sites, making prefab lower impact by definition. Several prefab companies, including Michelle Kaufmann Designs, are now raising the bar above and beyond the inherent sustainability of the process, using renewable materials and integrating efficient technologies.
Completely Digital
In Japan, digital design and automated fabrication is employed at Toyota Home (yes, Toyota also makes homes), Matsushita’s PanaHome division, and Sekisui House, offering high levels of dimensional accuracy. The homes vary in style from modern interpretations of classic forms to sleek shelter products that resemble the style of Muji—-another company that markets prefab homes in Japan.
Articles
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101 Prefab
Everything you wanted to know about prefab but were afraid to ask! We've tapped the brain behind popular web resource FabPreFab to explain the birds and bees of manufactured housing.
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Prefab, Proven
In January 2003, we issued a challenge to 16 architects: Design a modern prefab home for $200,000. Here’s the story of the house that resulted from that challenge—and what we learned…
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Prefab Parlance
From Kynar and Galvalume to SIPs, the terminology associated with prefab construction can be daunting. We asked a handful of architects and designers to help us build a prefab glossary of the top…
Products
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Mythic Paints
Mythic, a latecomer to the eco-friendly paint industry, is 100% acrylic latex.
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Prefab Prototypes: Site-Specific Design for Offsite Construction
A detailed guide to six different prefab systems, weighing the pros and cons of each and explaining how they work.
Dwell Collection
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Mapping Prefab
In just under ten years, dozens of prefab projects from all over the world have graced the pages of Dwell. We sifted through our archives to find some of our best-loved pieces, revisiting stories…
Tips
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Think Smaller. Think Efficient.
Don’t target a prefab project and forget to adapt your wish list to fit the capabilities of the task at hand. A prefabricated house or commercial project has certain limitations, one of which…
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Prefab is Not Necessarily Less Expensive
It certainly can be, but as with any project it depends on the architect, the fabricator, and how everything is organized in anticipation of installation at your site. Your architect needs to be…
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The More Complete, the More Prefab
There are quite a few companies out there that are marketing “prefab” but not all of them are designing and producing entirely finished products. Many projects we have seen appear to be…
Videos
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Design Leader: Michelle Kaufmann
As part of our Design Leaders video series, prefab specialist Michelle Kaufmann shares her philosophy on sustainable modular construction.
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Contained
In a quest to create some private space in a soaring loft, two San Franciscans turned to shipping containers as a design solution. View the final transformation, which includes a teak-and-copper…
Event
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Prefab Education Workshop
Join Ryan E. Smith, professor of architectural technology and author of Prefab Architecture, in the Prefab Education workshop on January 13th, 2012. Learn about the history of industrialized…
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If you're "fairly evaluating the pros and the cons," don't you need to list some cons?
While I admire the beautiful prefab houses you have been showing, I keep hoping someone will come up with a REALLY
need to build 3 mobile houses that will be supported over a raised floor. can you help me...!!!
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