Prefab Past

In the 1940s there were many more forays into prefabricated modern housing. Notable examples include an aluminum-panel home by industrial designer Henry Dreyfus and Edward Larrabee Barnes, architect of the Walker’s 1971 building; and Carl Strandlund’s ambitious all-enameled steel Lustron home, many of which still dot cities around the United States, including Minneapolis. Carl Koch, designer of the Techbuilt House (1953), focused on a more systems-oriented approach by creating a consistent 4-footwide module for all major building components such as wall, floor, and roof panels, which were delivered by truck and erected in a few days. He achieved greater cost savings by recognizing that the main floor is the most expensive portion to construct, while the basement and attic are the cheapest. His design eliminated the division between these three spaces, creating a two-part structure.

The demand for housing in the postwar period fueled many prefab efforts, spawning new industries such as those producing recreational vehicles and mobile homes. Before the onset of comprehensive standards for construction, many of these rapidly built dwellings suffered from substandard quality—a defect that would negatively impact the popular opinion of prefab. The 1967 World Expo in Montreal produced two influential forms of prefab architecture: Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic dome for the U.S. pavilion, which became an icon of communal and countercultural living in the 1960s and 1970s; and Moshie Safdie’s Habitat Montreal, a complex of stacked concrete living units with 18 different variations. During the close of the 20th century, architects further experimented with novel forms of prefab dwellings, and the home-building industry continued to incorporate such elements into its more conventional fare.