Reinventing housing often comes in response to crises. The episodes following wars, natural disasters or political turmoil drive demand for rebuilding and for dwellings that are affordable and quick to build. Industrialisation made it possible to reimagine housing production specifically in difficult times applying the mass production model successfully applied to commodities toward architecture. A prime example was the massive investment in industrial development in Japan after the second World War creating a type of prefect storm for a country whose vernacular already included modularity and standardized components. Many prefab house producers were established during this period including the iconic Daiwa. Nubuo Ishibashi founded Daiwa Housing Industry, or the Daiwa House Group today, in the early 1950s to produce affordable dwellings on a massive scale. The Pipe house in response to a destructive Typhoon in the region of Kansai and later the Midget house in response to the baby boom helped the company become one of the most famous and prolific house producers in the history of prefabricated houses in Japan and beyond.
Today the company remains well known in its field and has expanded to include all areas of housing production and continues to promote an ideal of resilience in their housing systems development. In response to another global challenge, the demand for fresh produce, the company has allied their knowledge for housing with novel agro-production techniques to create the Agri-cube, a compact 5m x 2.5m volume-unit. The marketing pitch: the cube fits in a regular sized parking spot. In lieu of a polluting vehicle, the spot is transformed into a fresh-produce making device. According to the company the hydroponic greenhouse can yield 10 000 servings of fresh food per year. Delivered as a turnkey product, the Agri-cube requires little maintenance for its lighting and hydroponic mechanical distribution. Constructed on a steel chassis frame, the floor, wall and roof panels are insulated. The cube can be moored to a simple granular foundation requiring minimal site work for infrastructure hook-ups, plumbing and other services. Completely self-contained with solar panels, the Agri-cube placed over a parking spot could transform any strip mall lot into large-scale urban agriculture production.
Midget House (left) Agri-cube (right)
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