Vision Formers

Designers have been fascinated by mass-produced homes ever since the industrial revolution made them possible. Now it seems the prefab home has come of age.

Traditionally associated more with a look-alike approach than sophisticated style, the latest generation of prefabricated homes are an exciting blend of high tech modular building design methods and compelling modern architecture - plus strong eco credentials.

Computerised designs and innovative materials are behind this architectural revolution, replacing cookie-cutter forms and flimsy materials from the prefab heyday after World War II. And in an era when constructing a house on time and within budget keeps getting tougher, instant homes can go up twice as fast and provide significant savings compared with a traditionally built home - modular type prefabs leave the factory 95 per cent completed and are transported to the construction site in several pieces.

Sears and Roebuck introduced the first prefab home in the US back in 1908, selling approximately 100,000 units of various models over the next 32 years. Every decade since has seen its own update of the prefab formula. Perhaps one of the most famous prefab homes is the Dymaxion house, designed by R. Buckminster Fuller. Originally designed for the USSR during World War II, it was intended to surpass the home designs of the time with its ability to adapt to any environment and use resources efficiently. However, the prototype 'Dymaxion Dwelling Machine' (pictured) was the only one ever actually inhabited.

Some of the most famous architects of the 20th century, including Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Jean Prouve, went on to design prefab homes, each one a piece of (relatively) 'affordable modernism'. For true architecture enthusiasts, prefab homes are not only testaments to modernism but innovative, praiseworthy works of art as well.

In New Zealand the concept of prefabrication has taken off with the increasing popularity of pre-cut panel construction systems that simplify and speed up construction. But for inspiration on the possibilities in prefabrication, Europe is the leader, where modern prefab housing has been popular for decades.

In Asia too, prefab homes sell well. Ikea and its Japanese counterpart, Muji, each debuted highly anticipated prefab homes back in 2005. German design firm Aisslinger has focused on the urban rooftop, introducing prefab homes built specifically for that landscape. Already extremely popular in Beijing, Aisslinger's designs ease the overcrowding problem in large cities - while offering unlimited architectural possibilities.