PreFab Continues its Growth

One of my most frequented posts of all time on this blog was the Prefab Revolution entry from November 2007. I am reminded of it now because the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York is putting on a show dedicated to PreFab Housing.

The MOMA Exhibit is unique though in that the organizer has made the wise conclusion that it is not practicle, nor possible, for everyone in the world to have their own, single-family, detached residence, prefab or otherwise. As such the exhibit showcases five, full-size, inhabitable homes on the vacant lot behind the museum.


The first home is the Cellophane House which can be arranged in a wide variety of fashions depending on the site requirements. It is built on the MOMA site as a 4-storey, single family dwelling.

The second dwelling, BURST*08, is a fully customizable home that can be customized in seconds to specific needs and or site requirements.

Architects Oskar Leo Kaufmann and Albert Rüf’s SYSTEM3 is also shown. At the exhibit it is presented in it's smallest fashion, though the architects have a maximum system of more than 30 units stacked to create a 10 storey, 11,000 square foot office building.

Digitally produced housing out of MIT is also represented. The first of the laser cut dwellings which use notches instead of screws and nails was put together by a few students using only rubber mallets in only two days. This housing option is intended as a possible emergency shelter solution.

As a small space dweller my favourite homes at the exhibit is the Micro Compact Home. My space at 609 square feet is considered small, but the M-CH comes it at an awesome 76 square feet. But the fact is the M-CH has everything you need and can either be used as a stand alone home or as part of a greater "village".


The exhibit has a unique website to accompany the physical homes that are viewable at MOMAHomeDelivery.org. The show runs through October 20, 2008.