Prefabricated home
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Prefabricated homes, often referred to as prefab homes or simply prefabs, are specialist dwelling types of prefabricated building, which are manufactured off-site in advance, usually in standard sections that can be easily shipped and assembled. Some current prefab home designs include architectural details inspired by postmodernism or futurist architecture.
"Prefabricated" may refer to buildings built in components (e.g. panels), modules (
- Modular homes are created in sections, and then transported to the home site for construction and installation. Although the sections of the house are prefabricated, the sections, or modules, are put together at the construction much like a typical home.
- Manufactured homes are built onto steel beams, and are transported in complete sections to the home site, where they are assembled. Wheels, hitch and axles are removed on site when the home is placed on a permanent foundation.
- Mobile homes, or trailers, are built on wheels, and can be pulled by a vehicle. They are considered to be personal property, and are licensed by the Dept. of Motor Vehicles.[Tiny homes with wheels are included in this category. They must be built to the DMV code, and pass inspection for licensing.[citation needed]
History
The first mention of a prefabricated building was in 1160 to 1170 by
Movable structures were used in 16th century in India by Emperor Akbar The Great. These structures were reported by Arif Qandahari in 1579.[1]
In the United States, several companies, including
In the early to mid-1960s, a line of inexpensive
By 1958, roughly 10 percent of new houses in the United states were prefabricated.[4]
Contemporary domestic prefabrication
Currently, the prefabricated housing industry is divided by methodology of construction. Panelized, Modular, and Manufactured home design make up the majority of contemporary firms, with considerable overlap between the construction methods. [5]
Panelized homes
Panelized homes (also referred to as system built homes), construct the structural components, or "panels", of a home (walls, roof and floor systems) in an off site factory where the panels are cut via automated saws and laser cutters from large wooden sheets, allowing for lower amount of waste compared to site-built construction.[6] Following their cutting and shaping, panels are stacked and delivered to the jobsite where the home is assembled piecemeal in a similar method to traditional site-built home.[citation needed]
Panelized homes are generally considered a halfway between more traditional site-built home and more manufactured prefabs, with the flexibility of site-build and efficiency of prefab. [5]
Modular Houses
Modular houses are built using a system that involves a sequential process in which modern techniques such as 3D digital modeling are now being used, which allows for pre-planning to make the process more efficient.[7][8]
This type of construction is typically up to 50% faster and requires up to 50% less materials than conventional or traditional construction.[9] The size of the global modular construction market is expected to reach USD 271 billion by 2028.[10]
North America
United States
The total market share of non-site built single-family homes (modular and panelized) was at 3% of single-family completions in 2020, according to Census Bureau Survey of Construction data and NAHB analysis.[11] This share is expected to rise moderately in 2021.
Europe
In the 1940s French designer Jean Prouvé designed an aluminum prefabricated house, the Maison Tropicale, for use in Africa.[12]
After the World War II until 1948, Sell-Fertighaus GmbH built over 5,000 prefabricated houses in Germany for the occupying force of the United States.[citation needed]
There is no pan-EU housing standard for this kind of home construction, and regulation is at the national level. EU directives that apply to housing construction and design do not directly affect the modular home sector.[citation needed] However, each modular home must comply with EU's Eurocodes and local building codes.[citation needed]
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the word "prefab" is often associated with a specific type of prefabricated house built in large numbers after World War II,[13] such as Airey houses, as a temporary replacement for housing that had been destroyed by bombs, particularly in London. More than 156,000 prefabricated homes were built between 1945 and 1948.[14] Prefabs were also built in World War I, such as the still-occupied houses in Austin Village, Birmingham.
Despite the intention that these dwellings would be a strictly temporary measure, many remained inhabited for years and even decades after the end of the war. A small number are still in use in the 21st century, but others are being demolished. In 2011 it was announced that Britain’s largest remaining prefab estate of 187 homes in Lewisham, South-East London, was to be redeveloped except for six homes.[15]
MMC and modular homes
During the 2010s, as government backing (including via
In January 2024, following the high-profile failures of Ilke Homes, L&G Modular and Homes by Urban Splash during 2022 and 2023, the House of Lords Built Environment Committee highlighted that the UK Government needed to take a more coherent approach to addressing barriers affecting adoption of MMC: "If the Government wants the sector to be a success, it needs to take a step back, acquire a better understanding of how it works and the help that it needs, set achievable goals and develop a coherent strategy."[18][19][20]
Australia and Asia
In 2010, Bali exported 98,417 prefabricated houses, but in 2011 the region only exported 5,007 units due to the global economic slowdown that affected a number of export destinations. These Balinese prefab houses are well known for their artistic design and practical value.[21]
See also
References
- ^ Irfan Habib (1992), "Akbar and Technology", Social Scientist 20 (9-10): 3-15 [3-4]
- ^ "The Whole Kit and Caboodle". Washington Post. 2002-02-07. Archived from the original on 2002-02-10. Retrieved 2011-11-10.
- ^ "Forest Products Laboratory Prefabricated Houses". National Forest Service Library. Archived from the original on 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
- ^ Springer, John (May 1958). "Ordering a house from the factory". Popular Science. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Stillwater Dwellings | What Is Prefab". Stillwater Dwellings. Archived from the original on 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "Panelized Building Systems - NAHB". www.nahb.org. Archived from the original on 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "What is Modular Construction?". Modular.org. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
- ^ "Modular Buildings". Hydrodiseno.com. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
- .
- ^ "Modular Construction Market Worth USD 114.78 Billion by 2028" (Press release). GlobeNewsWire. 25 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-08.
- ^ "Modular and Other Non-Site Built Housing In 2020 | Eye On Housing". eyeonhousing.org. 2021-07-23. Archived from the original on 2022-03-03. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
- ^ "From Africa to Queens Waterfront, a Modernist Gem for Sale to the Highest Bidder". The New York Times. 2003-10-11. Archived from the original on 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ISBN 0-415-20082-2.
- ^ "The century makers: 1945". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 2003-10-11. Archived from the original on 2012-03-08. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ^ Storr, Will (19 August 2011). "Bulldozers home in on historic prefab estate". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 August 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
- ^ "YMCA and RSH+P's innovative factory-built affordable housing scheme welcomes first tenants in south west London - YMCA St Paul's Group". YMCA. 8 September 2015. Archived from the original on 20 July 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ Collinson, Patrick (30 November 2018). "'UK housebuilding revolution': £65,000 prefab homes go into production". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 November 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
- ^ "MMC sector may continue to struggle without a fresh approach from the Government". UK Parliament - Committees. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ Aaron, Morby (26 January 2024). "Government wasted millions on failed MMC housing push". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "House of Lords calls for transparency in Government MMC initiatives". PBC Today. 26 January 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Bali's prefab house exports plunge". February 26, 2012. Archived from the original on February 27, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2012.