In a growing number of opinions, prefab housing will be the answer to both the rapidly increasing cost of housing as well as being a genuine cost effective way to create green housing.
Prefab housing normally conjures up images of cheap and poorly made and designed mobile homes or kit homes.
The type of prefab housing I am talking about is modern, well designed and manufactured in a factory under strict quality control. The methodologies used for the construction of the houses ranges from modules that are delivered on the back of a truck and joined together on site, panelised systems where the walls, flooring and roofing come as complete units including windows and services through to systems that are a "kit of parts" requiring greater on site completion.
The advantages of each system varies, however the underlying ethos is that under factory conditions, efficiency in construction process can be greatly improved, from a drastic reduction in waste through to a reduced time frame for construction.
In the United States, modern prefab is starting to make inroads in the housing market. Designs such as Michelle Kaufmanns Sunset Breezehouse are setting the pace for the others to follow.
Fabprefab is a website dedicated to the current developments in modern prefab construction.
At yourabode, we are currently working on developing a range of prefab homes. Things are in the early development and design stage, so stay tuned for more information.
