Prefabrication experiments - 65 - Concept Environment inc: the «modern» doublewide

Dimensional coordination and modularity of construction materials can be attributed to transportation standards or measures. This standardisation is especially true of modular buildings and shaped the emergence and proportions of the mobile home. The standard eight-foot wide trailer home could be pulled behind the average automobile. This dimensional optimization lacked spatial versatility and evolved to ten and twelve-foot versions enhancing versatility and adaptability as transportation capacity progressed both in terms of vehicles and infrastructure.

The eight, ten and twelve-foot singlewide caravan was deemed inflexible. Furthermore, its employment as temporary housing connoted a substandard quality.  To dispel mediocre undertones and further enhance three-dimensional adaptability of the modular home, the doublewide proposed the siting and stitching of two juxtaposed singlewide modules. The doublewide became a typical version of today’s manufactured homes including the familiar accessories such as a pitched roof, covered canopy and window shutters. The majority of manufactured home producers acquiesced this model of production to rival traditional construction by building traditional facsimiles.

Fringe experiments challenged standard production and strived to link factory production with a progressive aesthetic. Concept Environment inc’s take on the doublewide embodies the dream of linking housing manufacturing and modern architecture. This «modern» doublewide incorporated the elements of mid-century modern: horizontal sightlines, floor to ceiling windows, and open living spaces. The two twelve-foot wide modules were supported on thick, vertical plane, foundation walls rising from the site elevating the modules one storey off the ground. Freeing the ground plane was reminiscent of LeCorbusiers five points of a new architecture.

The kit included factory-finished modules delivered for assembly with site services, infrastructure and foundations arranged on-site. The wood framed «truss» modules employed platform framing: two by four walls and floor joist construction for the floor and ceiling. This version of modern modular proposed a potentially different path for prefab architecture; one of simple modern aesthetics. In general, the traditional aesthetic gained a foothold that it did not relinquish. Concept environment inc’s unique non-traditional design showcased modular construction as a versatile construction strategy both in the factory and for a diversity of placement features. The isolated living spaces above the ground plane could be a site specific or site indefinite architectural device in one simple gesture.

Concept Environment inc. double wide 1969