apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

There were many, many prefab housing companies established after World War II. Their goal was to take advantage of the pent-up demand for housing. Then, as now, prefabrication was seen as a way to decrease waste, increase energy efficiency, and rationalize production.

There was one big difference: the prefab homes of the 1940's and 1950's weren't the stylish FlatPaks and LV Homes of today. We might look back on yesterday's prefabs with a bit of nostalgia, but they were simple structures, intended to help builders meet an annual demand for 1,000,000 houses each year after the war. We understand the allure of a well-designed house from a brand-name architect -- we'd love to have an LV of our own. But if our big goal is green, maybe the best bet for architects would be to take a page from history and prefabricate houses that are super energy efficient... and designed to suit popular taste.

image credits: Factory, via Sam Wilson's web page, which is a fun read: Sam was a trucker who delivered prefabricated houses! Cover of Houses from Prefabricated Wall Panels, via Core77 via prefabcosm from a Flickr image originally posted by moderns_r_us.