#Prefabrication
The modern world in old Ladybird books.
“Many new schools have been built by prefabrication. Perhaps your own school was prefabricated?” (1965)

Artist: John Berry
January 9, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Prefab falsework! Prefabrication is soooo much more interesting and complex than “site-built vs. modular.” Bricks are prefabrication! It’s a long spectrum, and you’ll never get to the end if your don’t make room for all the intermediate steps.
was surprised to see them in Switzerland for seemingly single family construction even one on a mountain only accessible by gondola or chopper.

And plenty in France. With this one, interesting to see prefab falsework! Have only ever seen wood.
December 20, 2025 at 9:36 PM
i agree w/ @aarieff.bsky.social prefabrication is a good idea.

the problem?

prefabrication in the US has been too focused on *modularity* when panelization is where it's at: flexibility, performance, better design options - plus you aren't shipping air

www.dwell.com/article/why-...
Why I Still Believe Prefab Homes Are a Good Idea
More than 20 years after I first promoted the building method at Dwell, it has yet to live up to its promise—but it can.
www.dwell.com
January 22, 2025 at 12:18 AM
Cool to see 'normal' wood frame prefabrication companies switching to rapidly renewable materials. (At least in countries with a modernized regulatory frame work that is not agnostic towards climate change. #hint) www.dwprefab.nl
March 15, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Le nouveau gouvernement du Canada modernise le secteur de l’habitation.

Maisons Canada emploiera les dernières technologies – préfabrication, construction modulaire, bois massif – pour bâtir des logements abordables à une échelle et une vitesse pas vues depuis des générations.
September 17, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Building a straw pavilion in the UK with Uni Westminster architecture students, architectscan.org and bluesky friends. 🧵Day 2: straw panel prefabrication in british weather.
May 19, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Ya know the resurgence of American antisemitism was probably inevitable as soon as we let the largest right-wing cable network in the country blame The Jew Soros for any and all things they considered societal ills, to include the prefabrication of a new Dolchstoßlegende for the GWOT
August 20, 2025 at 5:36 PM
You can’t really do prefabrication without tower cranes. Any prefab policy needs to start here – send somebody at NIST or HUD to Switzerland to collect costs on erecting and operating tower cranes, compare those to costs in the US, understand our cost drivers, attack them.
Quartier neuf 🏗️ cité moderne HLM 🏙️ Construction de bâtiments préfabriqués à Rostock, DDR 1964
May 22, 2026 at 7:03 PM
i've been writing about wonky AF housing and construction stuff for... 2 decades? my god.

i've been in the dumbest land use fights for longer than klein's been writing about housing

passivhaus. mass timber. prefabrication. single stair. social housing.

basically... none if this is in abundance
September 5, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Process optimized human-based prefabrication.
#Strawbuilding doesn't need Gigafactories to be competitive.
Zimmerei Grünspecht uses straw bales, manufactured to size and labelled, to infill its timber-frame structures.
Good work, good products, good jobs, good life.
www.zimmerei-gruenspecht.de
September 24, 2026 at 7:47 AM
Most straw panel prefabrication factories offer complete sets.
share.hsforms.com/1RpiMvRPXTAm... #strawbuilding #strawhouse
February 1, 2025 at 6:58 PM
The discussion about "modular" construction would be a lot more lucid if we viewed it as an extreme on the prefabrication spectrum. There's lots of prefab already viable (like this!) – and we can make it more viable!
Some Kitchener-Waterloo content for the precast construction enjoyers @kaptrice.bsky.social @stephenjacobsmith.com
February 25, 2026 at 8:21 PM
BTP Plaspi, Jouer la préfabrication, GROSSBLOCK un jouet de construction de maisons est-allemand des années 1970.
May 11, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Autoerotic prefabrication.
autoerotic defenestration
March 14, 2026 at 2:54 AM
Could do this every day. What a world this would be.
Teaching straw panel prefabrication and in situ #strawbuilding. We will do more regionally in the next years. Do not hesitate to ask for international workshops around the straw, hemp, earth paradigm though.
February 27, 2025 at 4:52 PM
3 strawbale construction teams participated: HALM Prefabrication, the small carpentry firm Hartböhner Zimmerleute, and experienced traveling straw builders. All teams produced a passive house-grade component for rapid, healthy, easy construction/retrofitting without harming the climate.
April 19, 2026 at 7:03 AM
Hier, nous avons annoncé la conclusion d’un accord historique entre Maisons Canada et la C.-B., l’un des 11 accords conclus au pays.

Ainsi, nous bâtirons rapidement plus de logements abordables avec des technologies de préfabrication novatrices et des matériaux canadiens.
February 19, 2026 at 4:08 PM
The presentation will focus on the prefabrication of passive house straw-wood modules, which requires ZERO investment in tools. Caution: Afterwards, it will be very difficult to find excuses not to do it.
It's free, see you.
November 16, 2025 at 6:33 PM
Fatalism over prefabrication ignores the fact that we used to build lots of housing this way after WWII – trailer homes in the US, huge panelized apartment blocks in Europe. The question is: why did we stop, and how can we bring it back in a way that is more in keeping with modern needs?
Quartier neuf 🏗️ cité moderne HLM montage des éléments préfabriqués de l'uc1 🏙️ Bron Parilly fin 1950 Des architectes Lyonnais disciples de Le Corbusier, dont René Gagès et Franck Grimal. Leur construction utilise des procédés révolutionnaires pour l’époque
February 11, 2026 at 3:44 PM
Had a great time touring Vienna House in Vancouver with the @seasocialhousing.bsky.social Developer. Passive house, mass timber, prefabrication, incredible design and courtyard. Can’t wait to bring to Seattle! #socialhousing
May 2, 2026 at 12:07 AM
I think the answer to both of those questions is regulatory standardization and repeatability. The challenge for modern prefabrication is how to apply those to private infill housing rather than the greenfield and sometimes state-led growth of the post-war years.
February 11, 2026 at 3:45 PM
This is as normal as it gets.
Building with #hempcrete blocks.
Picture by ereasy, small scale prefabrication that is everywhere technology.
www.instagram.com/p/DN-zG9LCNN...
August 31, 2025 at 12:21 PM
BTP Jouer la préfabrication, un jouet de construction de maisons HLM Polonaise les Panelki des années 1970.
May 11, 2026 at 3:49 PM