An account of prefabricated architecture around the world, from McDonalds drive-through restaurants to Ikea's flat-pack house.

Both authors are innovators of the prefabrication of concrete structures an important advance towards industrialization of the building process. The detailing of connections between the factory produced elements is crucial, and the "strut and tie" models presented here can be directly applied in str

"Prefab Architecture . . . is beyond theory, and beyond most of what we think we know about pods, containers, mods, and joints. This book is more than 'Prefabrication 101.' It is the Joy of Cooking writ large for the architecture and construction industries." From the Foreword by James Timberlake, FAIA THE DEFINITIVE REFERENCE ON PREFAB ARCHITECTURE FOR ARCHITECTS AND CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS Written for architects and related design and construction professionals, Prefab Architecture is a guide to off-site construction, presenting the opportunities and challenges associated with designing and building with components, panels, and modules. It presents the drawbacks of building in situ (on-site) and demonstrates why prefabrication is the smarter choice for better integration of products and processes, more efficient delivery, and realizing more value in project life cycles. In addition, Prefab Architecture provides: A selected history of prefabrication from the Industrial Revolution to current computer numerical control, and a theory of production from integrated processes to lean manufacturing Coverage on the tradeoffs of off-site fabrication including scope, schedule, and cost with the associated principles of labor, risk, and quality Up-to-date products featuring examples of prefabricated structure, enclosure, service, and nterior building systems Documentation on the constraints and execution of manufacturing, factory production, transportation, and assembly Dozens of recent examples of prefab projects by contemporary architects and fabricators including KieranTimberlake, SHoP Architects, Office dA, Michelle Kaufmann, and many others In Prefab Architecture, the fresh approaches toward creating buildings that accurately convey ature and expanded green building methodologies make this book an important voice for adopting change in a construction industry entrenched in traditions of the past.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis Report 324: Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems to Limit Traffic Disruption During Construction assesses and documents the use of innovative prefabricated elements and systems and assesses its effects on on-site construction time and cost, closure time, and environmental impacts. The synthesis report also looks at the use of fiber-reinforced polymers and other advanced materials and new technologies that are gaining in popularity but are still in the experimental stages.

Prefab takes a look at prefabricated housing's fascinating history and imagines its promising future by presenting a group of innovative homes and concepts from over 30 contemporary architects and designers including Shigeru Ban, Thomas Sandell, David Hertz, Greg Lynn, and KFN.

We have written this book as a hands-on, practical, and scalable guide to prefab. Itapplies if you are starting from ground zero, or if you are at the 3% mark and trying to get to 50%. The book is not about "benchmarking" or "best practices"; it is grounded in thereality of what other industrialized industries have passed through, which will happen in construction sooner or later. We can learn from history and the science of work (IndustrialEngineering), to move faster and with fewer mistakes, rather just comparing to the status quo of "best practices" in today's construction environment.Maximum prefab requires a culture of prefab, by understanding the true benefits of prefab which are way beyond saving "hours". Benefits include risk reduction, increasedreliability and predictability of the outcome; reduced uncertainties from the jobsite, anopportunity to train manpower in a controlled environment. Monetarily, the benefits are best quantified as composite rate savings, which reflects a better managed crew ratio and overall productivity improvement.The most valuable part of this book for the majority of our readers will be theAppendices, which is a set of sample and blank forms, and templates for your use, to start or add to your vision and mission of doing more prefab. We will be updating these forms and templates regularly, and have them available electronically on our www.agileprefab.com blog. Please contact us to join and always have access to the latest and greatest.

For a number of years, modular construction – the use of prefabricated elements in architecture – has once again become a subject of lively discussion and debate. Long written off as monotonous, today’s building components are actually highly differentiated and capable of supporting and enhancing the architect’s creativity. Numerous structures work with prefabricated components; for single-family homes the figure is ninety-eight percent, and modular systems are available that meet high aesthetic standards. This book provides an overview of the various different systems and their possible uses, particularly in the areas of housing, office, and industrial buildings. It explains the processes and components of modular construction and the behavior of the various materials when this construction approach is used. The authors offer strategies for planning and designing with prefabricated systems so that the architect can use them productively. Numerous drawings explain the principles of modular construction, while built examples forge a link between those principles and the practical activity of building.