Prefabrication experiments - 350 - Prefabs from generation to generation

 

Prefabrication appears as a solution to building crises for designers of every generation. The twentieth century bred its lot of challenges to which both industry and architects responded with factory made proposals and narratives. Through all the experiments, it’s interesting to see how little things change from one generation to the next. The genealogy of prefab generates new ideas from old ones, repeating a history that is at once exasperating, ironic and rich in terms of how approaches are represented, explored, dropped or even simply rediscovered. 

 

This is particularly noteworthy when it happens within the same family. The «Société industrielle de recherche et de réalisation de l’habitat» pursued factory production of architecture through Claude Prouvé, the son of French pioneer, Jean Prouvé, related with many prefab experiments in post war housing. Another family affair, Tom Risom recently continued where his father left off some fifty-five years ago. Jens Risom, well-known for his furniture experimented with prefabrication as an open alternative to site intensive construction by tweaking an A-Frame design. Illustrated in Stanmar Leisure Homes catalogue, the fine-tuned timber kit provided an opportunity to argue that prefab in the late 1960s could avoid the repetitive mass-produced types familiar to the post war generation; further, kits would generate customization potentials and quality for a reasonable price. Published in Life magazine in 1967, Risom’s design was proven affordable at a price tag of 25000$. 

 

Like his father, Tom Risom has now built his own kit home on Block Island. A partnership with GoLogic, a panelized kit prefab home producer that attains passive house standards, the company provides a one stop shop for prefab / architect collaborations. The Tom Risom home continues the legacy of Jens Risom's vision of creating quality spatial relationships and detailing from catalogued components. The 2022 Risom prefab goes beyond the simplicity of a type of do-it yourself design, with criteria for high performance in matters of construction and energy efficiency; each generation addresses its own challenges though prefab’s both enduring and fluid narratives.

Left: Jens Risom house in Dwell; Right above: Stanmar Leisure Homes examples; Right below: Tom Risom House