Fabprefab

February 4, 2004 10:33 PM

Affordable housing? Modernist prefab dwellings. [via coudal]
posted by btwillig (5 comments total)

This one, my favorite, will be delivered to your rooftop by helicopter.
posted by btwillig at 10:39 PM on February 4, 2004

Oh yeah, that's the rooftop loft, made to be affordable single room living in big cities. It's $65k and I guess you're supposed to buy a plot of some old building's roof in NYC and get to live there cheaply.

A modern hip double-wide is what they were going for there.
posted by mathowie at 11:07 PM on February 4, 2004

There's a program in the UK called Grand Designs which features family homes of note. Last week was this astonishing Huf Haus prefab. It took just 4 days to build, plus 5 weeks for the plumbing and wiring, which when you look at the size of it is pretty astonishing. I know it is a cliché to bang on about German efficiency, but it is simply not possible to imagine British contractors pulling that off. Indeed, all the delays that occurred was due to late deliveries from British suppliers.
posted by chill at 5:36 AM on February 5, 2004

[this is good]
posted by roboto at 4:42 PM on February 5, 2004

Looking at the prices of these pre-fab structures, they _just don't make financial sense anywhere_ save for the most expensive urban areas in the world. (Manhattan, London, Tokyo)

Secondly, resale value and the concept of equity is very important to the housing market. Will one be able to resell these properties, not to mention build equity and appreciation?

The bottom line is that hosing isn't as expensive as people make it out to be. $200K house is equal to $930 montly mortgage.
posted by Witold at 10:00 AM on February 6, 2004