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Pre-Fab Future? Is prefabrication the way forward


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Inspired by Newsweek story: // .... my old links page : PrefabFuture

 

Of 1.18 million homes built in the US in 2004, only 3% were pre-Fab,

and that includes "double wides"

 

But design firms are working to change this.

 

050514_DesignPreFabs_hd.hmedium.jpg

 

May 23 issue - If you're cruising through the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York this week, stroking the buttery leather Italian chairs, coveting the coolest couches and wrinkling your nose at the design world's inevitable excesses, you'll come upon a one-room "house," all glass and wood, filled with nifty, well-priced furniture from Blu Dot (see related story). But don't just check out the urbane modernist chairs and chests: pay attention to the sleek little structure itself. Designed by architect Charlie Lazor, one of Blu Dot's trio of founders, it's a sample of Flatpak, an ingenious system of 2-D panels that, like their furniture, can be shipped and assembled on-site into a well-crafted prefab house in far less time and for less money?than it would take to build from scratch. It may look handsomely unassuming sitting in a cavernous trade show, but trust us: it represents the first revolution in American housing in decades.

 

EXCERPTS:

Kaufmann's smallest house is only 674 sq.ft wide, an can be built for as little

as $132 per sq.ft.

 

Resolution 4 : intened to be $100 /sf ended up to $175 /sf

 

- -

 

SOME modern prefabs:

 

Glidehouse (glidehouse.com),

from San Francisco architect Michelle Kaufmann, has a wall of sliding glass doors and comes in models with up to four bedrooms. Cost: about $166,000 for a standard two-bedroom, single-story model.

 

The Dwell Home ( http://www.thedwellhome.com )

from Resolution: 4 Architecture in New York won a design invitational sponsored by Dwell magazine in 2003. The modular system can be customized to your needs. Cost: from $125 per square foot.

 

Flatpak ( http://www.flatpakhouse.com )

is by Minneapolis designer Charlie Lazor, who lives in the prototype with his wife and two children. Beginning this spring, four Flatpak models will be available (from 1,600 to 2,600 square feet). Says Lazor: "Each house is unique, but they all have the same DNA." Cost: About $140 per square foot in the upper Midwest; may cost more elsewhere.

 

LV Home ( http://www.rocioromero.com )

costs the least ($31,050, not including interior finishes), but you definitely need a contractor to put the two-bedroom, two-bath 1,150-square-foot kit home together. Designer Rocio Romero in Perryville, Mo., also offers the LVL Home, a three-bedroom, two-bath model. Cost: begins around $100 per square foot.

 

Keep in mind that a prefab may take a year to deliver, and not all can be shipped to every state. So before you buy, do your homework, Sylvester says: "You have to be flexible, because you're going to be a pioneering customer."

 

= = = = =

LINKS:

NewLondon Arch.: http://www.newlondonarchitecture.org/../Pr...ulousLondon.pdf

NWk article........: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7857152/site/newsweek/

USA summary....: http://www.usaweekend.com/05_issues/050109...chitecture.html

Blu Dot website..: http://www.bludot.com/aboutus_philosophy_content.html

Prefab on HPC....: http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/index....

Fab Prefab.........: http://www.FabPrefab.com

Prefab Future.... : http://basic1.easily.co.uk/039016/00B012/PrefabFuture.htm

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I would like to point out, if I may, one aspect of the prefabricated housing market which does not get much play here in the UK (for a number of reasons, many mainly to do with perception) and which can (and indeed should) play an important part in (to some small extent) redressing the imbalance in the UK housing market -- basements.

 

It has been pointed out in numerous other posts on HPC that one of the principal barriers to housing affordability here in the UK is the price of land. No doubt, the gov's policy on land use is a bugger. Basements are a wonderful way of increasing habitable space while at the same time decreasing the necessary footprint (or giving more space in the same sized footprint, or enabling two houses on a single site, etc.).

 

This is an idea already, to some degree, supported by the gov:

 

"The construction of domestic basements received the full endorsement of the Rt Hon Keith Hill, Minister of Planning and Housing when he addressed the recent Building into the Basement conference organised by the Basement Information Centre in partnership with The Concrete Centre and BRE. Describing himself as a 'basement buff', Mr Hill stated that: "The Government is supportive of the greater use of high quality basements. Bright modern, energy efficient basements are the future as more living accommodation for the same footprint has to be the right way forward"."

 

As stated above, one of the principal problems with basements here in the UK is perception -- dank, musty, liable to leak, etc. There are, however, campanies like Glatthaar (www.glatthaar.com) who deliver 2000+ prefab basements throughout Europe, basements which are thermally insulated (U value=0.30), doubly waterproofed, and constructed in about 3 days. Of course these are only for new builds, but given any new build will need a foundation/ground slab anyhow, the benefit of this type of basement-as-foundation becomes obvious.

 

Already a no-brainer in North America, seems a pretty good idea for old foggy as well.

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Funnily enough one of my current assignments relates to basement design in modern buildings. Incredibly boring area I might add. I dont know whether its due to psychological perception, or some chemical seasonal affective related imbalance due to natural light, but basements just seem like a bad idea for living in...

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The trick on basements is letting IN the light, and keeping OUT the damp

 

= =

 

Anyone seen the thread on HPC about Prescott's Affordable Housing ?

 

60khouse100506_100x110.jpg

 

Link to article: £60,000 home of the future

EXcerpt:

'At first, people said it was impossible to build a home for £60,000, but expectations have been exceeded and we have demonstrated just how impressive the results can be, setting new standards of design, construction and energy efficiency,' says Beattie. 'Along with seeing these winning homes being built, we are looking forward to receiving feedback on their running costs and how people enjoy living in them.'

 

 

As a result, some 1,100 homes are expected to be built on brownfield land at 10 sites which include Milton Keynes, Basingstoke, Northampton, Hastings, and Dartford in Kent.

- -

 

(Here's a comment from -Elizabeth- on HPC):

 

"This is hardly innovative. They have been building these things for years in Oz, New Zealand and Scandinavia for instance. The real problem is that the Brits don't like timber frame anyway. The resale values will be rubbish, and they could import the same for 1/2 the price. I

 

looked into this, but as Bingley Bloke says, the real cost is in the land and that won't be fixed until the Ruth Kelly's of this world put their own houses where their mouth is. The scourge of (other ) nimbys. Bless her."

 

CAN THEY really build the same for Half price elsewhere? I wonder

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Depends how deep you plant the basement... fully underground, natural light is a challenge; typical B&B foundation height, many ways to get in some good natural light. With prefab basements, keeping damp out isn't really an issue either, although the same can't be said for traditional builds.

 

I think Elizabeth is a bit off in being so sweeping with her generalisation about "brits" not liking timber frame -- more than 70% of all Scottish newbuilds are TF and the resale value is certainly not "rubbish". 1/2 price to import? Snort :rolleyes: .

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ST,

Will you be visiting the Exhibition on the £60K Home?

 

SHOW...

From 15 to 20 May, The Building Centre hosts a show of low-cost, high-design housing by leading architectural practices such as Make, Richard Rogers Partnership and Sheppard Robson.

 

just off Tottenham Court Road, and adjacent to The Building Centre in Store Street, the stylish, full-size prototype pictured below is complete with distinctive glass rooftop lantern, single-pitch roof, generous windows and cedarwood and tile cladding.

 

It marks the opening of an exhibition, the Design for Manufacture, which features the winners of the competition to build a home for £60,000.

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ST,

Will you be visiting the Exhibition on the £60K Home?

 

SHOW...

From 15 to 20 May, The Building Centre hosts a show of low-cost, high-design housing by leading architectural practices such as Make, Richard Rogers Partnership and Sheppard Robson.

 

just off Tottenham Court Road, and adjacent to The Building Centre in Store Street, the stylish, full-size prototype pictured below is complete with distinctive glass rooftop lantern, single-pitch roof, generous windows and cedarwood and tile cladding.

 

It marks the opening of an exhibition, the Design for Manufacture, which features the winners of the competition to build a home for £60,000.

 

I went to see it yesterday. I must say that, in the flesh, so to speak, it looks great. It's about the size of a small cottage. I think the £60K cost is all in, including fittings, kitchen, bathroom etc, i.e. as what you would expect to get with any new build.

 

Would be ideal for 1-2 people, or would make a nice city 'pied a terre'. I'd certainly buy one as a city pad.

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Thnx, Cletus

 

Maybe the day will come when you can buy a plot of land along a river or canal someplace,

and just order up one of these things Prefab.

 

One of my Utopian ideas is to but some nice land, and ask other like minded individuals to join

me in setting up a new sort of community built around sustainable values. Never know, maybe

one day i will. One of the reasons I started this site was to try to slowly develop the idea

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Thnx, Cletus

 

Maybe the day will come when you can buy a plot of land along a river or canal someplace,

and just order up one of these things Prefab.

 

One of my Utopian ideas is to but some nice land, and ask other like minded individuals to join

me in setting up a new sort of community built around sustainable values. Never know, maybe

one day i will. One of the reasons I started this site was to try to slowly develop the idea

 

Nice idea. My ultimate aim has always been to have a few acres of land around me, whilst at the same time being part of a larger community, e.g. popping down to the local for a friendly chat in the evening, etc. Views across rolling countryside or over brooding seascapes would be a bonus. Not practical whilst working in London at the moment, and maybe just a pipe-dream, but with a good few years of earning and investing left, perhaps not totally unrealistic. Hadn't thought about this before, but if times were really hard, a good land area for energy generation or crop growing would be a nice buffer. Downside might be having to defend it....

 

Are Utopias truly attainable? It would be nice to believe this. Would they need to be controlled to maintain the original vision, or be left free to develop their own path, or something in between? Would they be democratic? How would residents be selected and could they be expelled? How would this be decided?

 

J.G. Ballard has always been one of my favourite authors, from his distinctive sci-fi in the '70s and '80s, through the autobographical 'Empire of the Sun' to his more recent dystopias such as 'Super Cannes' and 'Cocaine Nights'. The latter two, and some of his others have the similar theme of an apparently Utopian community with a rotten underbelly which is slowly uncovered by the ingenu 'hero' who slowly becomes corrupted by the inhabitants. Is it the fate of Utopias to degenerate in a similar way? Even if not, and the community survived and thrived, there's a risk that it would be viewed with envious eyes from the outside and could become a focus of irrational hatred by the have-nots. I see images of Pitch-forks and torches wielded by the mob outside the Frankenstein castle.

 

Having mellowed out with a glass of Benedictine, I'm wondering if there's a parallel of a Utopian community, say, with this website. Currently this is a very civilised forum for debate with a small but select group of well informed folks making quality posts. The question is, does success equate to more visitors and posters? When I go to HPC now, (which I do still enjoy), it does feel like I'm slumming it. I wasn't there at the start, but imagine that HPC began much like this site, but now find it somewhat trivial. Which site is the most successful? Depends on your definition of success, I guess. Problem is if you don't move forward, there's the risk of stagnation. However, if you stimulate growth, you are likely to be surprised where that growth takes you, whether for better or worse. Which is better? Everyone will have a different view - can a Utopia deal with this?

 

Apologies for hijacking this interesting thread.

 

TLM

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No Dr. B, not attending the exhibition, though my colleagues and I have had some input into one of the successful bids for the 60k home (60k with subsidised land, that is).

 

Affordable newbuilds are possible in the UK -- all depends on where you want to (or are willing to) live and the choices you make in your build (also the level of physical input you yourself put into that build). Prefab can help with costs, but more importantly, they can help in terms of carbon-neutrality. They can, furthermore, help in terms of WHERE and HOW you can build...

 

Peace,

ST

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  • 3 weeks later...

LET'S KEEP THIS THREAD ALIVE !

 

I love this thinking:

"My ultimate aim has always been to have a few acres of land around me, whilst at the same time being part of a larger community, e.g. popping down to the local for a friendly chat in the evening, etc. Views across rolling countryside or over brooding seascapes would be a bonus"

 

Indeed. I am at the early stage of trying to hatch an idea, that at this stage I will call "The Green Energy Village". It is too early to say much, but think about a village of prefab homes with Renewable forms of energy in the village: a wind turbine or two, solar cells, a community centre with live experiments into new forms of renewable power.

 

I am still working this out, and I welcome input from anyone excited by the idea

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haha.

I will happily take that sort of gentle teasing, Lou

 

I expect that land will be falling in value soon, making this project more viable all the time

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An interesting and intriguing idea. How large would you envisage 'Bubbsville' being, and where? Somewhere with exploitable energy resources would be essential, whether solar, wind, hydro or geothermal.

 

Just a few comments off the top of my head - I always tend to think, 'yeah great, but....'. Appreciate that there needs to be that initial vision, otherwise nothing would ever get done. Vision's not my forte, so I'm not being negative, just think, ok now what's the best way of getting this going.

 

I tend to think that the social hurdles may be greater than the technical ones, as it would be a sort of commune, reliant on people working to a common goal. Getting people with the right skill mix and attitude may be tricky, also replacing key members if they decide it's not for them and they decide to move on, at least until there was a critical mass of expertise to draw on.

 

Financial independence would be a huge benefit, others may be able to afford the initial buy in, but then may still have to do a day job to survive and contribute to the project on a part time basis. Maybe you'd have to prove financial independence (or produce a suitcase with £1m in notes!) to 'buy in', or obviously bring skills in a green energy/housing, or other useful area into the settlement.

 

Interacting with a wider existing community may be beneficial, but may also have problems. Might have to be fairly remote to stop the local wasters deciding to cause problems for the out of town 'hippies'.

 

How self sufficient would it have to be? Energy may be feasible, but may need backup from generators or grid, at least initially. Would food be sourced from local producers/supermarkets? Would need a lot of land for crops/animals, etc if it were to be self-sufficient for food, so that may not be possible. Water supply and treatment would have to be factored in, as would sewage treatment, so maybe hydro exploitation would kill a couple of birds with one stone.

 

In a Utopia, this would work on people's good will, but in the real world would maybe need a social charter that people sign up to - that would also mean legal stuff. maybe you'd have a three month trial period for both sides to try each other out. There'd undoubtedly be a whole shed-load of other legal stuff, local bye-laws to fit in with, etc.

 

The idea of being part of a like-minded community has it's attractions, and could fill a cultural need that people lack, whether conciously or unconciously, in our individualistic society. Or maybe the idea is just bringing out the hippy in me... Now where did I put those lentils?

 

TLM

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GREAT QUESTIONS & COMMENTS

============

 

"How large would you envisage 'Bubbsville' being?"

 

Well, I cannot call it Bubbsville, since almost no one would want to live in a place with that name, myself include. (I understand you meant that tongue-in-cheek.)

 

It would be small to start, maybe space for up to one dozen dwellings. Part of the early focus would be on testing what alternative technologies can work in a small community scale. A nuclear power plant would not work for a small community, but a wind turbine (if there is enough wind), and solar would. Perhaps hydro and bioenergy, if there is enough resource in the area for it.

 

Perhaps a dam with some hydro-generation could be a focal part of the community. Many people like being around moving water

 

2/

"social hurdles may be greater than the technical ones, as it would be a sort of commune, reliant on people working to a common goal. Getting people with the right skill mix and attitude may be tricky"

 

Exactly. Much thought would need to be given to the community set up, so that people can cooperate easily, but that the community is not endangered by those who may be attracted to the vision, but have nothing to contribute. The "one-of enthusiasts" once in, may become a possible roadblock to future initiatives of the community AFTER they have joined it. To minimize this risk: I suspect that the community need a minimum financial involvement, some rules, and a democratic process for changing them. I am aware of such a small community (with a different focus) in Bulgaria, and i am watching to see how it develops. So far, it looks like a benevolent dictatorship - which is not my preferred way seeing a community run.

 

...MORE Answers on the "GreenTopia" thread

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Absolutely prefab

They have never been popular in the UK, but are prefabs about to sprout, wonders Kevin McCloud

The Sunday Times June 04, 2006

 

You can buy a Platz-Haus or a Huf-Haus for the price of just the frame of an oak building — starting from about £300,000 for 1,800sq ft — and know it won’t twist out of shape.

 

I visited the Huf factory once. Trees go in one end, and a mile and a half later, a house pops out the other. Huffies come and put your house up for you in a week, sweep up after themselves, and make you tea, and you get a super-performing surprise house. It’s like buying a house from Willy Wonka.

 

Or you can go entirely contemporary and modular with Pad. This is fab prefab. You can bolt on (or for that matter I suppose, when you’re old, bolt off) rooms as you need them. Pad, which is based in London, sells a cubic three-bed, 1,076sq ft home for £100,000 (without a site), which, for proper architecture tailored to your land, isn’t bad. And how does its designer, Ashley Beighton, describe it? “It has the build quality of a German car and it’s delivered to site as a sealed, fully tested unit; spotless, perfect and ready to live in.” That’s what I want: a house that looks as though it’s built in the Ruhr Valley.

 

 

...MORE: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,...2206421,00.html

 

- KM's LINKS -

Blackburn Barton, 020 7350 2345, http://www.blackburnbarton.com;

Border Oak, 01568 708 752, http://www.borderoak.com;

Carpenter Oak, 01803 732 900, http://www.carpenteroak.com;

Container City, 020 7515 7153, http://www.containercity.com;

Empyrean, 001 800 727 3325, http://www.thedwellhomesbyempyrean.com;

Erlund House, 00 358 505 541 103, http://www.erlund-house.com;

First Penthouse, 020 7584 9894, http://www.firstpenthouse.co.uk;

Huf Haus, 0870 200 0035, http://www.huf-haus.de/en/;

M-House, 07779 666 501, http://www.m-house.org;

Padlife..............., http://www.padlife.co.uk;

Platz Haus, 0845 003 1383, http://www.platz-haus.co.uk;

Retreat Homes, 020 7729 2889, http://www.retreathomes.co.uk

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  • 11 months later...

Hundreds apply for prefab homes:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/5a2dfc36-0413-11dc...0b5df10621.html

 

"Almost 2,000 people have registered an interest in buying one of Britain's first BoKloks, prefabricated housing pioneered by Ikea, the Swedish retailer, and Skanska, the construction company, before work begins in Gateshead.

 

Developer Live Smart @ Home, the commercial arm of Home, the affordable housing provider, said it might have to hold a lottery to decide who should be chosen to buy the 120 flats and houses that would comprise the first BoKlok development.

 

But it said not all those expressing interest and registering since its BoKlok site went live in late March would qualify, since potential purchasers must live in Tyne and Wear, not own a property and have an annual household income of between £15,000 and £35,000.

 

Live Smart @ Home this week applied to Gateshead council for planning permission for 84 BoKloks, mostly two- and three-bedroom houses, on its St James Village site. It recently received planning permission for the first 36 properties, all flats."

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  • 4 weeks later...

An eight-foot aluminium box is being touted as the solution to the housing shortage. But what's it like to sleep, eat, wash and entertain in one? BBC News's Rajesh Mirchandani did just that.

 

I've brought a cat, to see if I can swing it. I can. It's stuffed - the cat, that is - so don't worry.

 

Even Paris Hilton's prison cell is bigger than this, although I doubt it had as many mod cons. Just old lags.

 

It's on show at Birmingham's Extreme Buildings Festival

The sleek lines on the outside of my cube house are repeated within. It has a futuristic, ordered look about it, tastefully done in shades of calming grey.

 

video:

@: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6733385.stm

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