novas e interessantes ideias sobre o pré-fabricado.

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Product Description

Prefab presents a series of innovative homes and concepts that boldly demonstrate that this is not your grandmother's prefab, offers a glimpse into the history of prefabricated housing over the last century, and reveals a wealth of practical and attractive alternatives to the status quo. Prefab discusses architects, builders, and designers such as Walter Gropius and Philippe Starck, examines the historical precedents from Albert Frey's Corbusier-inspired Aluminaire house to Kisho Kurokawa's capsules, and showcases the work of twenty-four contemporary architects and designers who are exploring the myriad possibilities that prefabrication offers for housing of the future. From the fantastical digitized aluminum prototypes of Gregg Lynn to the stylish functionality of Ikea's prefabricated apartments in Sweden, Prefab presents a series of innovative homes and space-saving concepts that show how far this building technique has come-and how far it can go. < BR> Allison Arieff is a writer, senior editor of the architecture magazine dwell, and co-author of Trailer Travel. She is also the editor of several books on art and culture, including Airstream: A History of the Land Yacht and Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Poster Shop. She lives in San Francisco. < BR> Bryan Burkhart is the designer and co-author of Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht and Trailer Travel: A Visual History of Mobile America. As creative director of his own firm, Modernhouse, he has designed books for Taschen, Chronicle Books, and Gibbs Smith, Publisher. Burkhart also lives in San Francisco. < BR>

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #82795 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-13
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

Review
"Pretty Fabulous: Prefab...provides a much needed look at new ideas in prefabricated housing." -- Architecture magazine, December 2002

From the Inside Flap
Prefabricated house have done a lot to earn their reputation for being cheap and ugly, and indeed, the prevailing vision of prefab--endless rows of cookie cutter structures built with cheap materials and substandard construction methods--is, unfortunately, fairly accurate. But now and throughout prefab's history, there have been many exceptions to the rule. Ground-breaking proposals from architects and designers such as Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Jean Prouve, Albert Frey, Buckminster Fuller, Sir Richard Rogers, Archigram, Kisho Kurokawa, and Philippe Starck, have emerged since Sears, Roebuck & Co. first marketed their Houses by Mail to the general public in 1908. Prefab examines the fascinating history of prefabricated housing over the last century to reveal a wealth of practical and attractive alternatives to the status quo. Prefab's primary focus is the work of more than twenty-five contemporary architects and designers who are exploring the myriad possibilities that prefabrication offers for housing for the future. From the poetic construction of Shigeru Ban to the industrial minimalism of KFN's portable structures, from the fantastical digitized aluminum prototypes of Greg Lynn to the stylish functionality of IKEA's prefab apartments, Prefab presents a series of innovative homes and concepts that boldly demonstrates how far this much maligned building technique has come, and how fat it can go. In doing so, Prefab endeavors to inspire a change in the way people think of housing and the way the architects, builders, developers, and financial institutions approach it--and ultimately, the way individuals live in it.

About the Author
Allison Arieff is a writer, senior editor of the architecture magazine dwell, and co-author of Trailer Travel. She is also the editor of several books on art and culture, including Airstream: A History of the Land Yacht and Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Poster Shop. She lives in San Francisco

BRYAN BURKHART is the designer and co-author of Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht and Trailer Travel: A Visual History of Mobile America. As creative director of his own firm, Modernhouse, he has designed books for Taschen, Chronicle Books, and Gibbs-Smith Publishers. Arieff and Burkhart live in San Francisco.

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Customer Reviews

It's ok - but some parts are questionable
I am using PREFAB to help me define differences in prefabrication techniques and this book didn't really help me. There is even a disclaimer attached to the book that states, "We admit to playing fast and loose with the concept of prefabrication here. Many of the houses presented in this book are not prefabricated in the strictest sense of the word. Not all were factory built and assembled. Some houses were built with prefabricated materials like aluminum siding." This gives some illegitimacy to the book. If a building featured in this book has aluminum siding as the only prefabricated piece, then brick suburban homes should be featured as well - at least for consistency.

Saying that aluminum siding is prefab is like saying bricks or CMUs or door frames or sunscreens are all prefab as well. I personally think this statement is untrue. These items are merely standardized pieces to the puzzle - sunscreens put together do not make a building. Prefab is the process of assembling all these things into volumetric modules or panels (SIPs) offsite in a factory.

I do however think the introduction and history were quite informative. Pretty pictures too.

Interesting book
The book is wel written and very beautifully photographed. The history is interesting, but would have liked to see more current info.

Interesting overview of prefab homes, past, present and future
In PREFAB, author Allison Arieff presents an interesting overview of "prefabricated" buildings, past, present, and future. Yet, I would not recommend this book to average modular home consumers, as many of the projects described in PREFAB are highly customized, somewhat eccentric, and generally impractical for those looking to save time and money by utilizing prefab construction as opposed to regular, stick-built construction. Some of the buildings aren't even single-family dwellings, but apartment buildings. Nonetheless, PREFAB is a helpful resource for those who'd like to learn more about the history of prefabricated buildings, as well as the current state of affairs, and in which unusual directions the industry will be headed in the future.

Arieff begins PREFAB with a lengthy (29-page) discussion of the history of prefabricated homes, starting with panelized wood homes in England and the US in 1624, through the American mobile home boom after WWII, and ending with the current state of the industry. The next three sections of the book are devoted to various modern prefab projects. The first, titled "Production," presents "a diverse group of well-designed houses and multi-family dwellings that are either in production, or poised to be." Of the three groups, "Production" is perhaps most relevant to the average consumer; it illustrates the sheer diversity of prefab homes that are available around the world. It also reflects how beautiful prefab homes can be, both inside and out. Next up is "Custom," an eclectic mix of "unique homes by architects less interested in the mass production of houses than in the aesthetic, environmental, and economic benefits of prefabrication." The buildings in this section are stunning - the Penthouse at Albert Court, which sells for $4 to $5 million, is my favorite. Finally, "Concept" features the strangest buildings of the bunch. According the Arieff, the concept buildings represent "a diverse array of virtual and conceptual prefab projects that employ everything from websites to neoprene in order to create the next generation of prefabricated housing." Experimental to the extreme, these plans seem geared towards architects, artists, and other design/construction professionals.

For the beginner, PREFAB is an interesting and engaging introduction to the history of prefabricated housing. As my knowledge of construction and architecture is limited, I can't say whether students or professionals will find PREFAB especially enlightening. I found the author's writing to be crisp and captivating, and I thought there was a good balance of pictures and text. I would definitely recommend PREFAB to newbies who would like to know more about prefab housing; yet, I would direct those looking for a consumer or how-to guide to go elsewhere. Overall, an interesting read, but probably not for everyone (for example, I can see how pros might want additional pictures, larger graphics, and more detailed floor/elevation plans, especially given the book's high price tag).

- Kelly Garbato