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Prefab (Hardcover)

by Bryan Burkhart (Author), Allison Arieff (Author) "Prefabricated building systems can be traced as far back as the seventeenth century when a panelized wood house was shipped from England to Cape Ann..." (more)
Key Phrases: capsule architecture, housing solutions, prefabricated houses, New York, Buckminster Fuller, Slide-Rule House (more...)

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review
"Pretty Fabulous: Prefab...provides a much needed look at new ideas in prefabricated housing." -- Architecture magazine, December 2002

Product Description

Prefab presents a series of innovative homes and concepts that boldly demonstrate that this is not your grandmother's prefab, offers a glimpse into the history of prefabricated housing over the last century, and reveals a wealth of practical and attractive alternatives to the status quo. Prefab discusses architects, builders, and designers such as Walter Gropius and Philippe Starck, examines the historical precedents from Albert Frey's Corbusier-inspired Aluminaire house to Kisho Kurokawa's capsules, and showcases the work of twenty-four contemporary architects and designers who are exploring the myriad possibilities that prefabrication offers for housing of the future. From the fantastical digitized aluminum prototypes of Gregg Lynn to the stylish functionality of Ikea's prefabricated apartments in Sweden, Prefab presents a series of innovative homes and space-saving concepts that show how far this building technique has come-and how far it can go.

Allison Arieff is a writer, senior editor of the architecture magazine dwell, and co-author of Trailer Travel. She is also the editor of several books on art and culture, including Airstream: A History of the Land Yacht and Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Poster Shop. She lives in San Francisco.

Bryan Burkhart is the designer and co-author of Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht and Trailer Travel: A Visual History of Mobile America. As creative director of his own firm, Modernhouse, he has designed books for Taschen, Chronicle Books, and Gibbs Smith, Publisher. Burkhart also lives in San Francisco.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 160 pages
Publisher: Gibbs Smith; 1st edition (September 13, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1586851322
ISBN-13: 978-1586851323
Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.6 x 1.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #64,281 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)
#14 in Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > Materials
#36 in Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > History & Periods

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
Prefabricated building systems can be traced as far back as the seventeenth century when a panelized wood house was shipped from England to Cape Ann in 1624 to provide housing for a fishing fleet. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
capsule architecture, housing solutions, prefabricated houses, prefabricated housing

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Buckminster Fuller, Slide-Rule House, Embryologic House, Furniture House, Murray Grove, World War, Anderson Anderson, Cartwright Pickard, Case Study Houses, First Penthouse, United States, Walter Gropius, Bombala Farmhouse, General Houses, Laguna Verde, New South Wales, Portable House, American Houses, Dymaxion House, Kisho Kurokawa, Paul Rudolph, Richard Neutra

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 31 books:

Wheel Estate: The Rise and Decline of Mobile Homes by Allan D. Wallis on page 15, and Back Matter
Transportable Environments: Theory, Context, Design & Technology by R. Kronenburg in Back Matter
The Twentieth Century (Cambridge Introduction to the History of Art) by Rosemary Lambert in Back Matter
Towards a New Architecture by Le Corbusier in Back Matter
Eichler Homes: Design for Living by Jerry Ditto in Back Matter

See all 31 books this book cites

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Manufactured Houses by Art Watkins

Discusses:

Transportable Environments by R. Kronenburg

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The Modern Steel House by Neil Jackson

Discusses:

Keck and Keck by Robert Boyce

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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

3.5 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars finally, a comprehensive book on prefab, November 15, 2002

By	Jonathan Spero (New York City, NY) - See all my reviews

As an architecture student now a working as a builder, I couldnt help but being drawn into this book. Organized into 4 sections: History, Production, Custom, Concept, with a wide array of photographs, plans and renderings cleanly presented. The history section does a great job of bringing any curious reader interested in this subject up to speed, creating a great departure point for the 30 or so contemporary projects that follow it. This book is well researched and really gets you excited about the potential of prefab by presenting a wide range of projects in the U.S. and Internationally, exploring a wide range of techniques / systems being developed today. The future of housing looks bright with prefab!

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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Prefab, March 13, 2003

By	Michael Webb (London, England > Los Angeles, USA) - See all my reviews

Prebrication was the holy grail of modernism: the ideal way to rationalize the building process, achieve economies of scale, and bring good design to the masses. Sadly, the only manufactured housing to win wide acceptance was the trailer; architect-designed prototypes seldom left the boards. Arieff, who is senior editor of Dwell magazine, hopes that a new generation of architects may succeed where their forebears failed. She documents over 30 industrialized building projects, mostly from Europe, that combine practicality with design excellence. Sadly, it remains true that people who will happily buy one of a fleet of identical cars, become emotional and irrational when choosing their home. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting overview of prefab homes, past, present and future, November 29, 2005

By	Kelly Garbato "www.easyvegan.info" (Kearney, MO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In PREFAB, author Allison Arieff presents an interesting overview of "prefabricated" buildings, past, present, and future. Yet, I would not recommend this book to average modular home consumers, as many of the projects described in PREFAB are highly customized, somewhat eccentric, and generally impractical for those looking to save time and money by utilizing prefab construction as opposed to regular, stick-built construction. Some of the buildings aren't even single-family dwellings, but apartment buildings. Nonetheless, PREFAB is a helpful resource for those who'd like to learn more about the history of prefabricated buildings, as well as the current state of affairs, and in which unusual directions the industry will be headed in the future.

Arieff begins PREFAB with a lengthy (29-page) discussion of the history of prefabricated homes, starting with panelized wood homes in England and the US in 1624, through the American mobile home boom after WWII, and ending with the current state of the industry. The next three sections of the book are devoted to various modern prefab projects. The first, titled "Production," presents "a diverse group of well-designed houses and multi-family dwellings that are either in production, or poised to be." Of the three groups, "Production" is perhaps most relevant to the average consumer; it illustrates the sheer diversity of prefab homes that are available around the world. It also reflects how beautiful prefab homes can be, both inside and out. Next up is "Custom," an eclectic mix of "unique homes by architects less interested in the mass production of houses than in the aesthetic, environmental, and economic benefits of prefabrication." The buildings in this section are stunning - the Penthouse at Albert Court, which sells for $4 to $5 million, is my favorite. Finally, "Concept" features the strangest buildings of the bunch. According the Arieff, the concept buildings represent "a diverse array of virtual and conceptual prefab projects that employ everything from websites to neoprene in order to create the next generation of prefabricated housing." Experimental to the extreme, these plans seem geared towards architects, artists, and other design/construction professionals.

For the beginner, PREFAB is an interesting and engaging introduction to the history of prefabricated housing. As my knowledge of construction and architecture is limited, I can't say whether students or professionals will find PREFAB especially enlightening. I found the author's writing to be crisp and captivating, and I thought there was a good balance of pictures and text. I would definitely recommend PREFAB to newbies who would like to know more about prefab housing; yet, I would direct those looking for a consumer or how-to guide to go elsewhere. Overall, an interesting read, but probably not for everyone (for example, I can see how pros might want additional pictures, larger graphics, and more detailed floor/elevation plans, especially given the book's high price tag).

- Kelly Garbato

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Overly general
I was so excited when I read some of the reviews of this book, but once I got it, I realized that it is just not the comprehensive book I was looking for. Read more

Published 3 months ago by A. Hutt

3.0 out of 5 stars It's ok - but some parts are questionable
I am using PREFAB to help me define differences in prefabrication techniques and this book didn't really help me. Read more

Published 19 months ago by Sara

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book
The book is wel written and very beautifully photographed. The history is interesting, but would have liked to see more current info.

Published on February 21, 2006 by Paul Rozendaal

3.0 out of 5 stars so-so
ok, if you're looking for more of a coffee table book than a serious research source. arieff does provide a brief history of some selected prefabricated ventures, but the other... Read more

Published on August 7, 2005 by disestablishmentarianist

1.0 out of 5 stars This book stinks!
Let me make a simple observation, people by these type of books for the pictures. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words right? Read more

Published on March 11, 2005 by JCC

5.0 out of 5 stars Prefab: pretty fabulous
It looks like a coffee table book yet reads like a dream. This is not only one of the most comprehensive books on the subject, but easily the most lucid and engaging. Read more

Published on January 23, 2003 by D. Bishop

5.0 out of 5 stars Great options for well-designed affordable housing
This book shows that there ARE options for innovative and affordable modern homes. Prefabrication has lots to recommend it; what's been holding it back is a lack of good materials... Read more

Published on October 18, 2002 by julie joseph

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected...
This was a very nice book, but I have to admit that it was not quite what I had hoped for. I was looking for alot of information on Modern/Contemporary homes, more toward the... Read more

Published on October 11, 2002 by Mandy Moore

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