About a year ago, two young professionals working in Marketing/PR and Advertising decided to form a company called Home Factory with the intention of creating a designer prefab apartment system at affordable prices in the Greater London Area. Their business is geared towards forming partnerships with various Housing Associations to deliver a mix of Private, Shared Ownership and Social Rented apartments. Although they shy away from the term "Prefab" and the connotations that may go with it, the units are constructed from two modules prefabricated in a factory setting. Once shipped to the site, the modules are fitted together and then can be stacked upon each other. The concept is similar to the Murray Grove project mentioned in an earlier post, but is marketed more as affordable designer housing. Interior and exterior finishes can be selected depending on the buyer's budget. The units they are producing are geared towards young professionals, first-time home buyers, and social/government employees priced out of the market.
Home Factory WebsiteI think Home Factory has a good marketing and business plan but the architectural product is mainly focused on the interior presentation of the units. The stackability of the project sets it apart from other prefab housing projects, but also limits the exterior expression of the building. Once everything is put together, what will visually and physically distinguish it as a product of prefab, or Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) as they prefer to call it? I think for modern architect designed prefab to be successful, it must both present an affordable and efficiently constructed product as well as provide innovations, features, or forms that are only possible through the process of factory production and technological advances in construction.
Image taken from Home Factory
This article from London's Building website takes a look at some recent volumetric / modular projects currently being designed or being built in the near future. Many of these projects take a look at applying volumetric prefabricated construction techniques to larger scale buildings, such as hotels, offices, retail, and mutli-family housing. Several of these interesting projects look to break out of the "boxy" look associated with modular construction and introduce curves through arrangement of the modules. In addition, some employ the use of computer aided manufacturing processes to lower tolerances, reduce waste, and allow for mass customization.
