Prefab construction

Speaking of prefab, the idea might conjure images of overly large boxes from IKEA. But what about the South Island town of Twizel? The truth is, there’s a lot more prefabricated – prefab for short – construction out there than we might think, like Twizel (most of which is prefabricated construction). As A Grant Bailey, principal landscape architect of architectural firm Isthmus, told t Idealog, with greater economic demands than ever before to build buildings quickly but also more stringent codes and regulations that also must be met, building prefabricated buildings offsite is an ideal option.

Prefab NZ’s Bell expands on this. t She says prefabricated construction can be an advantage because building in a factory, as opposed to on-site, can be safer. She adds New Zealand’s building codes mean there is no quality difference between structures built off or on-site. All A that would help with building more houses to meet demand, since according to a recent Branz report, productivity in the construction sector hasn’t improved in the past 20 years. Plus, it’s been reported Auckland alone needs to double the amount of new homes being built to meet the demand. Tim Swanson, chief design officer of Chicago-based Skender (one of the top construction firms in the US), says prefab can be beautiful, too. Swanson – who toured New Zealand earlier this year as a featured speaker for the Design Experience Series – also says prefabricated construction isn’t just disrupting “traditional” building, but is being disrupted itself.

And that, he says, means there are exciting possibilities and implications for the future of architecture, urban design, and even the planet itself – and for affordable housing.