London Prefab Hotel
Architect Tim Pyne is developing a prefab hotel in London, called M-Hotel, that is due to start construction this summer. Read the rest of this entry »
The Guardian’s take on the MoMA exhibit
The Guardian has an in depth, insightful commentary criticizing the link between the prefab and environmental movements aimed in particular at the stir that the MoMA exhibit has created:
Beyond prefab’s trendiness, or perhaps to facilitate it, advocates are pushing its purported environmental advantages. Built on an assembly line, its waste output can be much lower than site-built houses. Bulk purchasing allows cheaper access to eco-friendly materials like solar panels. There’s no construction site, per se, so the area surrounding the house is less impacted. As Greenbiz, an online environmental news site, wrote last fall: “While they may seem like an odd couple, prefabricated housing - in which most of a home’s structure is pre-built in a factory then assembled on-site - is an oddly natural partner for the green movement.”
MetroShed announces 2008 Lineup
MetroShed, a UK based company with additional production facilities in the US that we have covered before, is launching its 2008 line of prefab structures. These buildings come in a wide array of varieties, from “sheds” which are multipurpose structures ideal for an office to the MetroCabin, larger cabins starting at around $35,000. MetroShip, a houseboat, and MetroPlay playhouse lines are also available, setting the company apart in some respects from its competitors.
The MetroShed buildings come pre assembled in a flatpack format with all necessary fasteners. The company claims that no building experience is required in order to assemble and that the kits are even designed to avoid any heavy lifting.
Ikea Boklok Prefab News
Ikea has now put together an informative website that highlights their intentions with the planned Boklok developments across Europe. Additionally, there are several country-specific sites for Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and the UK.
Secondly, the Guardian has thorough coverage of Ikea’s Boklok move into the UK,
Expansion into the UK is a big step for BoKlok, but a logical one. It was conceived in 1996 in response to similar housing conditions to those of present-day UK: demand outstripping supply, rising prices, not enough homes being built at the affordable end of the market. Initially, the BoKlok team turned not to architects but to researchers. They tracked trends in the dwindling size of the average Swedish household, and identified the model BoKlok homeowner: a female single parent with one child, no car and an average income. They then studied how much she could afford in rent, and set their budgets accordingly. Surveys conducted at Ikea stores across Sweden revealed their potential customers’ housing priorities: the desire to live in secure, small-scale surroundings; proximity to the countryside; contact with neighbours; and homes that were light, well-planned, functional and furnished with natural materials.
