Is prefabrication a suitable solution for modern day domestichousing?

To answer this question I will predominantly be looking at the use of prefabrication during the period of modernism; the work of Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius as well as other more recent projects such as those of Richard Rogers, Kisho Kurokawa and Huf house. I will also be looking at prefabricated housing in Scandinavia separatelydue to how different its history of prefab is. I will start however by looking at a brief history of prefab.

Prefabrication is by no means a relatively new idea. In fact it dates back to antiquity, a shipwreck has been found at the bay of Tunis with sculptural and structural elements that could be used to build a temple. Prefabricated building systems date back to 1624 when panelised wooden housing for fisherman was sent from England to Cape Ann, Massachusetts, on the west coast of the United States of America.

By 1908 Henry Ford had shown that a product could be produced to a high quality in a factory, then by the late 1910’s prefabricated and pre-cut housing was being offered in a wide variety of shapes and sizes in America. The first company to offer a house through the mail was Sears, Robuck &Co; it was aimed at lower income families and offered a real possibility of house ownership through the economies of scale achieved through themanufacturing process. After World War One Europe had been torn apart and there was a large demand for housing. Prefabrication was seen by countries as a cost effective method of meeting these needs; the materials preferred for manufacture reflected the resources readily available in a particular country and therefore in Germany, England and France concrete and steel were focussed on, where as in Sweden and Scandinavia they focussed on timber prefabrication. From these Scandinavia produced arguably the more architecturally significant and successful prefabricated housing. More recently prefabrication has got a reputation for being cheap and ugly through use of cheap materials and poor construction methods. But this could also be said to be the root of its popularity. Factory manufacture, and standardised parts all reduce cost and construction times. But all too often in the name of economy quality, in terms of specification and design, is also sacrificed giving prefabricated buildings a poor reputation. Many architects such as Le Corbusier and Gropius, during modernism and more recently Richard Rogers have attempted to bring aesthetics, comfort and quality into prefabricated housing.

Prefabrication in Modernism

In the early period of modernism there were three patents taken out for concrete prefabricated houses. Thomas Edison patented a “single pour concrete system” which never took off because it was simply too heavy; however it was described by Scientific American as

Figure 1 Ford Model T Assembly Line

“artistic, comfortable, sanitary and not monotonously uniform.” The second was a series of 170 prefabricated concrete panels

which were hollow for insulation. This system could be used to create many different layouts. The third was Le Corbusier’s “Dom-ino”(1914-1915). Although this is arguably the least resolved of the three systems, consisting of two storey frame formed from three concrete slabswhich are supported by six minimal concrete columns; offering an open, flexible floor plan with access to each floor provided by a staircase on one side of the floor plan.“Dom-ino” was designed to help re build France after World War One, the idea was that these shells of buildings would be lined up “like dominos” they would then be in filled with walls doors and windows to create cheap, flexible housing. This was to become a foundation of Le Corbusier’s work and his five points of architecture, which he finally formulated in 1926.

“(1) the pilotis elevating the mass off the ground, (2) the free plan, achieved through the separation of the load-bearing columns from the walls subdividing the space, (3) the free facade, the corollary of the free plan in the vertical plane, (4) the long horizontal sliding window and finally (5) the roof garden, restoring, supposedly, the area of ground covered by the house.”1, www.wikianswers.com 1/02/2011

You can see Le Corbusier forming these pointsin his domestic architecture prior to them being published; for example the Maisons Citrohan, 1920,and Maison Cook, 1926. There were several versions of the Maisons Citrohan designed. It consisted of a double height living space which was lit by a corresponding double height window. In the first design the rest of the house consists of a kitchen at the back of the ground floor;above that is a master bedroom with a balcony overlooking the double height living space, then on the top floor is a children’s or guest bedroom as well as a roof garden. In later versions the houses were built upon pilotis strengthening Le Corbusier’s ideas around his five points of architecture. All this was contained within the simplest of forms with no reference to traditional domestic building, signifying a new way of living and house production.But

Figure 2 Le Corbusier's Domino

Figure 3Maison au Citrohan

these houses were not strictly intended to be mass produced through the use of prefabrication in a factory; insteadLe Corbusier envisaged the rationalisation of the building site, with components being cast on site then delivered to where they were needed. But having said this I think it is the principles behind the Maisons Citrohan to provide a good quality standard of living that is affordable,that all prefabricated housing should aspire to.

Twenty years later the Citrohan prototype was used as part of the Unite d’Habition. The apartments in the Unite D’Habition are long and thin stretching from one side of the apartment block to the other; this allows more natural light into the apartment, with one side using the Citrohan device of having a double height living space. During a period of the development of the Unite D’Habition the idea was that the flats themselves would be prefabricated. Jean Prouve, an architect and designer of prefab houses, was involved in designing the prefabricated flats. He prepared proposals for the flats to be produced in steel frame which would slot into the main structure. However these plans failed and instead the building used insitu reinforced concrete.

Another modernist with an interest in realising the potential the prefabrication offers was Walter Gropius. Gropius was just as determined as Le Corbusier to find a means to temper productionand find an underlying order to architectural form, finding a system of construction within which the conversation between client, architect and builder would be preserved. In 1909 Gropius proposed to set up a company named “General House Building Corporation on Artistically Unified Principles.” One of Gropius main concerns was to preserve the role of the architect as an artist within the stifling uniformity that prefabrication can bring, but Gropius was equally concerned with the consumer, because prefabrication implies that one house would now be a product of the relationship between the architect and many clients.

Within the Bauhaus curiosity about the possibilities of prefabrication began with a few unrealised projects during the Weimar years. In the years 1922 and 1923 Gropius and Adolf Meyer created and developed a system called “Baukasten.” Baukasten which translates as building blocks was described by Gropius as an “oversized set of toy building blocks out of which, depending on the number of inhabitants and their needs, different types of machines for living can be assembled.” The building

blocks could be interlocked to form a vast array of configurations, it was envisaged that architects would use scale models to take client through variations of these configurations, the houses had a material palette of timber, steel and glass. Although these were never built they employed systems of flexibility and simplicity in prefabricated building that are desirable today.

Toerten Siedlung, Dessau, Germany is an estate of working class housing estate designed by Gropius(1927–1927). The layout of which was determined by the rail tracks used to deliver

Figure 4ToertenSeidlung, Dessau

the concrete panels and beams, from where they were prefabricated on site, as well as taking into account the turning circle of the large industrial cranes used for hoisting the panels into place.

During the 1920’s Germany was experiencing a housing crisis. Because of this Aron Hirsch and son, a German company that was a big player in the copper and brass industry decided that they wanted a slice of the mass produced housing market. Eventually this resulted in the Copper houses. Gropius was brought in during 1932 to refine the existing models of copper houses. Gropius claims several refinements including the use of corrugated sheet copper for the outer walls, aluminium instead of steel for use on the inner walls as well as a change in the appearance specifically the corner join. When the national socialist party rose to power in January 1933 suddenly there was a new market for the copper houses, exporting them to house Jewish emigrants to Palestine. But the copper houses did not prosper anymore than other alternatives on the market, and n 1933 when the national socialists began to re-arm copper was in short supply. It is said that the last copper house to arrive in Tel Aviv was melted down because the value of the copper had become greater than the cost of the house.

After this Gropius developed his ideas and started to focus more on the form rather than the production of the house, with the overall aim to create a flexible system which can be tailored to individual clients. After retiring from the Bauhaus Gropius said he would concern himself “Almost exclusively with research on industrial building methods... in particular steel homes.” After the rise of the National Socialists Gropius went west via the United Kingdom to the United States.

Whilst in the United States he worked on a number of projects, as well as teaching at Harvard University, one of these was the “Packaged House” with Konrad Wachsmann. Although Gropius took upon the role of mentor and facilitator in this project it throws up some interesting questions about technology and its role in architecture. The Packaged House had no ideal layout; no definitive models for a house were drawn. The design was based upon the length of 3 feet and 4 inches, the panels length was always a multiple of this dimension. The same panels were used to form both horizontal and vertical planes. The system comprised of a wedge connector shaped like and Xwhich linked the panels together via metal plates in the edges of the panels. Although this house was similar to many other wooden framed panelised houses which already existed what is most interesting is the collaboration of ideas of Gropius, thought by many to be a humanist, and felt that the machine was a force which needed to be controlled; compared to Wachsmann

Figure 5 "packaged House" under construction.

who was quoted as saying “Tomorrow is everything.” This gives rise to the debate about how much of a role technology should play in architecture? A question which is debated heavily today and something which is prominent within deciding whether prefabrication is a suitable method of construction for housing today.

Prefabrication in Scandinavia (including Finland)

I have decided to look at prefabricated housing within Scandinavia separately because of its scale and success. In Scandinavia timber distinguishes their architecture more than any other material. Timber is almost the perfect material for prefabrication, especially without the technology we have today, with the ability to be cut into planks of the right length in workshops, marked up and then sent to site. The first person to recognise the potential of prefabricated housing on an industrial scale in Scandinavia was Fredrik Blom. He came from a military background and had envisaged a system of movable building as barracks. But they were predominantly used as summer houses. They were made by hand and consisted of wooden panels which were fixed together with iron ties. The saw-mill industry soon mechanised the production and in 1849 Siwers and Wennberg started exporting their movable houses to California.

1917 was the start of a period of large demand for more houses which increased the demand for prefabricated houses; the city of Stockholm began leasing plots of land to tenants on which they could build their own house. Standard drawings were issued to aid quality control and also to ensure the houses had a uniform character. In Sweden the first catalogue of prefabricated buildings was published in 1924, by the 1930’s there were 20 manufacturers of “catalogue houses” and between them they produced 4000-5000 houses a year.

The designs I am going to look at closer are the A system and AA system houses by Alvar Aalto. In the 1930’s Aalto designed several housing complexes for Finnish industries.Aalto designed houses for people who worked in the timber industry, which were tested by the Ahlstrom Company. These houses were designed with the intention that the company would increase its market for thetimber processed at its mills. In 1936 Aalto was commissioned to enlarge the plan of Varakus, a developing town in an abundantly forested region of Finland. He added some new suburban areas which had individual lots on which A System houses would be built. In 1940 the Ahlstrom Company started to produce A System houses in a couple of Aalto’s designs but production was halted due to war. During this period Aalto went to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After completing his research professorship at the

Figure 6 AA System House- Alvar Aalto

Massachusetts Institute of Technology he returned to Finland in 1946 and was appointed head of the office for reconstruction, set up by the association of Finnish architects in the wake of the continuation war. Aalto also directed the housing operations of the Ahlstrom Company. The result of this was the AA system house which was influenced by the knowledge he developed in America both in terms of design andthe leading technology in American prefabrication he had experienced. The AA system houses included an insulation system that was newly available from the 1930’s; this meant the houses were better suited to the harsh winter in Finland.

Sven Markelius a Swedish architect who played a large part of the post war urban planning of Stockholm, had developed a principle that instead of basing houses that were mass produced on set designs they should be based on a set of standardised parts. This was an attempt to make prefabricated housing less monotonous and more varied. His own house, built in 1945 and located on the outskirts of Stockholm, became the showroom for his “system house”. This system was introduced to the market by a few companies but ultimately failed. However Markelius’ work on standardisation had a future. Aalto, who was a close friend, pushed the idea of standardisation in Finland. Soon after the uniform 100 millimetre planning module became standard throughout Scandinavia. The only country to resist standardisation was Denmark. This was because Denmark is sparsely forested and stuck with the more traditional method of bricks and mortar.

During the 1960’s prefabrication was adopted by most Scandinavian countries as politically acceptable and economically viable solution to produce housing as part of their housing policy. The Swedish minister of finance complained about employing highly paid people to produce identical drawings. Around 1960 standardisation had breakthrough when nearly all housing was designed in 300 mm modules, then in 1965 when the state announced a 10 year construction plan. By the end of the 1960’s catalogue homes dominated the market for detached houses. These detached houses, opposed to individual or systemised houses gave rise to visually disordered suburban neighbourhoods.

In my opinion the success of prefabricated houses in Scandinavia was based upon the use of a vernacular material, wood. This material is set within the history of Scandinavia as an entity, in Europe prefabrication was predominantly making use of materials such as concrete and steel, which have very little history in the domestic culture of the countries, creating pieces of architecture which have much less meaning within them to occupants.

A more recent example of prefabrication is the Zip up enclosures numbers one and two, 1968-1971, by high tech architect Richard Rogers and Su Rogers. It was their attempt to design housing that was expandable and portable. The design consists of prefabricated sections which are set on steel jacks with concrete foundations which could be adjustable to the gradient of the site. The design also included hi-tech materials for the time such as hybrid plastic and PVC. It was imagined that customers would be able to go to their local shop and buy as many sections as they needed to begin or expand their house. The rings could be customised in various different ways such as texture, colour and fenestrations.

Another example of innovative prefabrication in design is the Nakagin Capsule Tower, by Kisho Kurokawa which consists of structural core that provides horizontal and vertical circulation space as well as housing key service feeds and outfalls into which prefabricated units are plugged. The prefabricated units are formed from 8ft by 13ft steel boxes, these capsules could be combined to create larger living spaces; but this was not done often. The capsule were also designed so that they could be taken out and swapped. The tower has recently fallen into disrepair and is currently scheduled for demolition; architect Kurokawa has put forward the idea of unplugging the current capsules and replacing them with newly designed units.

But in my opinion prefabricated housing needs to stop being a vehicle for innovation in the way we live and start focusing more on good design. Design that is not so radical, design which is influenced by vernacular housing and materials. One of the most successful prefabricated housing companies is Huf. The Huf company started in 1912 when a sawmill was founded by Johan Huff, by 1958 the company expanded to include prefabricated timber structures. Huff houses are post and beam timber framed houses which are specified by the customer. They all have a similar design language, with the materials of timber and glass. The style relates back to traditional post and beam techniques in Germany as well as post war modern detached executive houses which had distinct overhangs on the roof with a floor set into the attic. This produces a unified design style which is flexible. Quality is prioritised in the construction of Huf houses, all the parts are made in Huf’s own factory and installed by Huf’s own employees, this ensure that the workers putting up the house know what they are doing and have done it before, this allows for greater efficiency and quality when constructing the house on site, allowing a Huf house to be water tight within 10 days of work starting on site. Other innovations such as the rubber seal joints which create a seamless, watertight joint ensure the quality of the product on offer. The Huf system shows that the benefits that can be gained from the economies of scale of production do not have to be made at the cost of quality of specification and design.

Another example of design that is not so radical, but design which is influenced by vernacular housing and materials is “Touch House” by Finnish Architect Heikinnen, first exhibited in the year 2000. The design although modern still retains features of traditional houses,

Figure 7 Huf Town House

combining these with modern features such as the canopy which shades the terrace. The design allows for an abundance of natural light into the living areas, with plenty of decked exterior space giving occupants a better quality of life.

To conclude, I feel that prefabrication within housing has come a long way since it was pioneered in the late 19th and early 20th century. Prefabrication was ideal when there was a need for mass housing, such as after the devastation of World War 2, its efficiency in both time and economics making it the perfect candidate for reconstruction. Since then a lot of prefabricated buildings have gained a reputation for being cheap and ugly through the combination of uses of cheap materials and lack lustre design. Overall I think prefabricated housing defiantly has a future within housing. How much of a role prefabrication will play in housing is influenced by much more thanjust the design of the housing, ultimately these other factors will play a larger role than the design. Emphasis has moved away from prefabrications ability to meet mass market needs to that of delivering guaranteed quality of construction in terms of sustainability and energy consumption. In this market the architect’s role is key both to ensure aesthetic variation and the occupier’s needs are met by buildings generated from standardized industrial processing. The standardised industrial process is beneficial because it reduces waste; shortens construction time and reduces the risk of the building under performing in terms of energy efficiency in comparison to those built insitu.

Industrial processes tend to embrace new technology; earlier in the text I posed the dilemma faced by architects with regards to what influence new technology should have on them add to this that overall prefabricated houses are difficult to contextualise and personalise because the style is often designed off site or without a particular location in mind. This difficulty emphasises how important the architect’s role is in ensuring that prefabricated solutions are contextualised and meet individual needs. Also because of the advantages that prefabrication has I think it has an important role in fulfilling the demands of the mass market. In saying this it is clear that because technological innovation is so important in the industrial process architects also need to get close to technology to ensure that it is used as a positive force in producing buildings that are sustainable in consumer terms.

Bibliography

Books

-Walter Gropius work and team work by S Giedon

-Home Delivery Fabricating the Modern Dwelling by Barry Bergdoll and Peter Christensen

-Prefab by Allison Arieff and Bryan Burkhart

-Twentieth Century Masters Gropius by Alberto Busignani

-The Prefabricated Home by Colin Davies

-Gropius by Reginald Isaacs

- Walter Gropius Buildings, Plans, ProjectsCatalogue by Ise Gropius

-Alvar Aalto through the eyes of Shigeru Ban by JuhaniPallasmaa and Tomoko Sato

Websites

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_Le_Corbusier/'s_five_points_towards_a_new_architecture

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Corbusier (Last Visited 10/03/2011)

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AtUAUBUql7UC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=maisons+citrohan+prefabricated&source=bl&ots=ovUtbaZbiS&sig=ge7ZhL3QQiRzvHeHl6h5rgq8cAk&hl=en&ei=WpBqTY2GLIi7hAfw8IyhDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (see The Prefabricated Home/ Colin Davies) (Last Visited 10/03/2011)

http://www.huf-haus.com/en/home.html (Last Visited 10/03/2011)

Other Media

Grand Designs Season 6, Episode 9.

Images

Fig1.http://superauto2011.narod.ru/ford_model_t_assembly_line.html (Last Visited 10/03/2011)

Fig2.http://calouette.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Dom-ino-house-.jpg (Last Visited 10/03/2011)

Fig3.The Prefabricated Home by Colin Davies, Page 12

Fig4. Delivery Fabricating the Modern Dwelling by Barry Bergdoll and Peter Christensen, Page 18

Fig5.Walter Gropius work and team work by S Giedon Pages 198-199

Fig6.Delivery Fabricating the Modern Dwelling by Barry Bergdoll and Peter Christensen, Page 28

Fig7.http://www.huf-haus.com/en/the-huf-house/huf-house-gallery/town-houses.html (Last Visited 10/03/2011)

Visual Study

For my visual study I decided to focus upon the work of Walter Gropius. I have used the traditional drawing technique for my visual study and it consists of two drawings of the same package house, one plan and one perspective. A Couple of details for the construction of the Copper Houses, including the corner joint designed by Gropius; as well as a site plan of the

Toerten housing development in Siedlung accompanied by a perspective of one of the houses which emphasises the prefabricated elements of the design.