"I find it interesting that modular, read prefabricated, is on the rise all over the world for the same reasons that E.F. did it--ease, value, cost and need. And that is certainly the case for the notion of prefab modular building.
E.F didn't make the first prefab buildings in the U.S. Most scholars will tell you that the first prefab buildings were bought into the American Colonies in the late 17th century via Cape Ann on the North Shore of Massachusetts. E.F. chose to describe himself as "America's First Prefabricator." I would argue that he had a right to that title as his portable houses were the first American-made prefabs.
Hodgson grew up on a small farm on Farm Street in Dover, Massachusetts, a small agricultural community about 20 miles southwest of Boston. The economy was mainly agricultural with numerous farms growing hay and producing milk for the local market. His interest in developing portable or prefabricated buildings began with his interest in poultry raising. Failing to find adequate and efficient appliances, he began creating his own. In 1891, E.F. sold to A.F. Hunter of South Natick, MA, editor of Farm Poultry, some of his first brooders which he had been most successful with. Hunter found E.F.'s product superior to anything he was using and urged him to put them on the market.
So, in 1892, E.F. started to do just that. This effort produced the Peep-o'-Day portable coops and brooders and ancillary equipment which evolved into portable poultry and brooder houses under the trade marked name of Wigwarms. By this time E.F. had developed a simple system which could build small houses in complete sections which could be erected in a few hours using an equally simple bolt system instead of nails. To the production of tool-houses, poultry-houses, dog houses, and other small buildings, he created the single room Hodgson Camp Cottage, and then the Hodgson Summer Cottages."
www.hodgsonhouses.com
How do you know if you live in a kit house?
"For thousands of people, the American dream came ready to assemble, from front porch columns to back door trim.
Sears, Roebuck & Co. of Chicago sold about 100,000 "kit" houses from 1908 to 1940. Aladdin of Bay City, Mich., delivered about 65,000 Readi-Cut models.
Altogether, the mail-order home industry sold about half a million whole-house packages from California to Connecticut." - By Jesse Leavenworth, The Hartford Courant
http://tinyurl.com/chazkt
That was then, this is now...
"Prefab can be a dirty word, suggesting temporary disaster-zone structures and the Shady Lane Trailer Park. Kaufmann, who trained for five years with Frank Gehry before starting her own firm, wants to ditch the downscale connotation by bringing quality, customization, and craftsmanship to factory-built homes. Modern prefabs, she believes, can be more Mies than mobile home." - www.wired.com
http://tinyurl.com/2y7rtq
IKEA AND LIVE SMART @ HOME
Building affordable homes together
IKEA knows how people want to live in the modern world and has already helped to furnish hundreds of homes across the world.
In the UK this is coupled with Live Smart @ Home's extensive experience in developing stylish but affordable homes where people want to live.
Together, we build quality homes at prices that allow as many people as possible to buy their own properties."
"And, with a range of rental or purchase options available, including shared ownership and a try before you buy scheme, now is the time to experience BoKlok."
www.boklok.com
My Favorite Pre-fabs:
www.mkd-arc.com
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