September 11, 2003

PREFABRICADOS
Não torçam o nariz à ideia de casas prefabricadas. Nos últimos tempos uma série de bons arquitectos internacionais tem trabalhado no assunto. Protótipos e modelos em comercializaçãoo, muitas vezes surpreendentes, podem ser vistos em fabprefab.com. Há várias secções que merecem ser exploradas, com muitas imagens de casas surpreendentes, até as feitas a partir de contentores de carga. Razõeses de ser do local: There is an eager market segment that desires to build and own a modernist dwelling, but cannot afford to commission a custom-designed solution. While kit or prefab homes are available in a range of either "traditional" or "alternative" forms, surprisingly few prefab homes exist that truly embrace modernist ideals. Predominant mass-market housing programs such as project homes or tract housing largely fail to meet the desires of people who appreciate a modernist design aesthetic.

At fabprefab we believe the market is ready for a "Model-T" modernist prefab dwelling. While the one-size-fits-all kit-house might seem anathema to some architects who are trained to respond uniquely to the needs of each client, site and climate, we believe an affordable pre-configured modernist structure will be embraced by the market and will open new opportunities for modernist dwellings that are more flexible or modular in configuration.

While architects are clearly interested in exploring the use of prefabrication methods in design and construction, this is only one piece of the puzzle. Marketing a turn-key prefab dwelling is as much about understanding a business model as being able to design a structure. “Commercialization� is traditionally the domain of developers rather than design professionals. So who will successfully bring these prefab projects to market? While we doubt that modernist prefab will ever be mainstream, as long as the design is expected to "sell itself", modernist prefab will remain a niche domain.

Our goal at fabprefab is to provide a forum for exploring developments in the modernist prefab marketplace. Community stakeholders include, amongst others, prospective owners, architects/designers, builders/contractors, suppliers, developers, city planners, lenders, insurers and various commentators.