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The world of prefab and modular homes. |
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| http://www.amazon.com/dp/product/1423604970/ |
Michelle Kaufmann just released a new book called "Prefab Green".
The book explains how MKD blends sustainable home layouts, eco-friendly materials, and low-energy options to create a “prepackaged” green solution to home design.
Listed at $30.00, the book is on sale at Amazon for $19.80.
See also: our page of prefab books.
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| papress.com |
Marmol Radziner + Associates released a new monograph last month. Written by firm principles Leo Marmol and Ron Radziner, the book also features a foreword by Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New Yorker. From publisher Princeton Architectural Press:
If you design some of the most stylish and beautiful modern houses in the Los Angeles area, including many for celebrity clients, how do you ensure that the projects are built to the standards you, and your patrons, demand? If you're the highly sought-after firm of Marmol Radziner + Associates, you do what an increasing number of practices are doing: become your own contractor, building your projects with the same rigor and beauty with which they were designed, and, in the process, remake your firm into one of the most visible and successful design-build firms in the country....
[The book] explains in detail how this pioneering design-build firm — one of the few led by architects — has managed to integrate building–installation, construction, and fabrication into one seamless design process.
Keep an eye on the Marmol Radziner blog for announcements of book signings.
Listed at $40.00, the book is on sale at Amazon for $26.40.
See also: our page of prefab books.
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MoMA's exhibition catalog is available for purchase (Amazon, sale price $29.70), but won't ship until August 1.
The catalog includes three essays:
- "Home Delivery: Viscidities of a Modernist Dream from Taylorized Serial Production to Digital Customization" by Barry Bergdoll [curator]
- "Scandinavia: Prefabrication as a Model of Society" by Swedish historian and critic Rasmus Wærn
- "Postulating the Potential of Prefab: the Case of Japan" by Ken Tadashi Oshima, a historian of Japanese architecture.
Other contents:
- "substantial descriptive texts" of each of the 63 projects in the show, written by Peter Christensen
- contributions from guest authors Robert Rubin, Friedrich von Borries, and Florian Breipohl
- a chronology of prefabricated buildings
- a selected bibliography
Sounds like a must-have.
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| amazon.com |
I've been going through a bunch of old notes and found a link to PreFab Now. MocoLoco explains:
If any of Trulove's books are an indicator, PreFab Now should include the state of the art in contemporary prefabricated home design. The promo copy hints at this; "Architects are using new construction technologies and materials to create complex designs that make every prefabricated home look custom- designed.". The book also "addresses the advantages and disadvantages of choosing a prefab home over a custom-built one [and] covers cost, sustainability, and durability."
To help keep track of books we cover on Prefabcosm, we've added a new page: Prefab books.
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| allproducts.com |
Last month The Morning Call featured an article on Sheri Koones, author of Prefabulous. She's out to spread the word about modular construction:
Her view is supported by statistics supplied by the National Association of Home Builders, which notes that modular housing production increased 48 percent from 1992-2002 (the most recent statistics available), and that one of every 10 homes in the Northeast is modular....
She can quickly tick off a list of their assets: energy efficiency, durability, reduced construction costs, reduction of construction waste, and superior construction conditions that aren't subject to the ravages of Mother Nature....
For those who might question the wisdom of constructing a home off-site and dropping it into place atop a prepared foundation, Koones asks: 'Would anyone think it's a good idea for Ford to drop off parts to a car in your driveway and expect someone to put it together? That's the same principle.'"
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| amazon.com |
AOL Money & Finance has posted a slide show highlighting a new book called Prefabulous. Author Sheri Koones explores a number of prefab building methods, from steel frames to large modules. The slideshow includes a variety of in-progress shots of large, custom-designed prefabs from:
• Hearthstone, Inc.
• American Timbercraft
• Sterling Building Systems
• Excalibur Steel Structures
The book was published in March 2007 by Taunton Press, which some describe as the "the leading publisher in the house and home category". In addition to magazines such as Fine Homebuilding and Fine Woodworking, they offer a whole series of books on home building and design.
Sheri Koones' previous books include Modular Mansions, House About It?, and From Sand Castles to Dream Houses.
Other coverage of Prefabulous around the blogosphere:
• Avenue A comments on prefab entering the mainstream.
• Momoy mentions the book in a discussion of "kit homes" escaping negative preconceived notions.
Elsewhere on the web:
• The Reno Gazette Journal's Robert Bruss explains that the book changed his mind about prefab homes.
• Realty Times columnist Blanche Evans provides excerpts froman interview with the author and some additional modular/prefab links.
The publisher's site includes an overview and a minimal Table of Contents.
