The Prefabricated Home Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)As an architect interested in the idea of prefabrication I approached this book with the hope of learning as well as being instructed and entertained.
The author succeeded on all counts.
This book is extremely readable without losing any weight in content.
I recommend it to anyone looking for both a historical and a social history of prefabricated building techniques.
My only criticism is that the book skimmed over the huge prefab industry in Asia and Japan in particular to focus on Europe and North America. A small gripe concerning an excellent and rewarding read.

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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.

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