Prefabrication experiments - 133 - settings - 4 - The internationalization of the bungalow - the prefab Quelle-Fertighaus

The decades that followed World War II were exceptionally productive for housing development. Post-war reconstruction, a significant boom in birth rates and pre-war military production directed toward post-war consumerism stimulated growth in industrialized nations. The prefabricated house that was defined in the early 20^th century entered mainstream during the period between 1945 and 1970. Civilian producers were on the rise as western societies ascertained their fascination with the home and its new conveniences. Adapted from pre-war modernity, small house types were burgeoning into veritable tract carpets. This was the case in the USA and Canada. A noteworthy example, the CMHC (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation) got architects in on the act by mandating catalogues of small houses for the Canadian buyer. The prefab house was marketed in a similar fashion but the connotations of prewar prefab stigmatized the industry.

The site built mid-century bungalow became synonymous with a type of uniform housing production and flourished in North America but also became the icon of modern living in other countries. Germany’s «Quelle-Fertighaus», a small modern mail-ordered prefabricated bungalow represented a type of international nostalgia for American typologies. The large windows, flat roof, horizontal detailing and modern amenities indicated 1960s optimism and early 20^th century German modernism.

The house could be assembled from mass-produced components in five days and was provided with its own service manual an impulse of German manufacturing. The Quelle’s simple plan combined three zones: sleeping quarters, a technical «core» with bath and kitchen spaces, and a third nifty multi-functional space that could be divided in three different permutations of living, dining and den spaces. The zoning diagram presents a sectional potential for spatial customization. The bungalow employed a steel post and girder frame covered with modular insulated and foil wrapped sandwich panels. The 1.8 tonne manufactured «T» shaped service core was delivered and anchored to the home on site.  The one storey flat roof drained inward and complimented this simple box structure’s prismatic lines. The modern «Quelle» bungalow exemplifies a globalized building culture as the bungalow became an international typology recognized as a specific component of post-war consumerism.

The Quelle prefab bungalow circa 1965