The Australian: Prefab Home Delivery Article The Australian: Prefab Home Delivery Article

“We are entering the now generation,” says architect Bill McCorkell. You might think he’s referring to the tech industry, but he’s perfectly poised to fulfill all the wants and needs of our instant gratification generation when it comes to homebuilding.

If you haven’t explored the 12-24-week build time offered by prefab construction and you’ve been exhausted by the tiresome process of conventional building, then volumetric prefab could be the answer, delivering an almost instant abode.

“It’s all about controlling the project from start to finish”, says McCorkell. The fact that modules are built in a controlled environment with skilled and time-efficient tradesmen means there are no weather delays, more streamlined construction methods and economies of scale when it comes to materials. These advantages plus avoiding site-specific time constraints means nesters are getting the benefits of reduced costs while having a home delivered to their site complete with joinery, tiles, paint and carpets, ready to plug-in power and plumbing, in around a third of the time of a normal building operation.

But isn’t this a poor man’s version of contemporary architecture? How much can you really achieve in a 14m x 4.2m cube – the maximum size that can be loaded onto a truck? Isn’t it much better to have complete creative freedom on the site?

There is a perception that prefab still has some of the stigma attached to it that kit homes did in the 80’s because they are compartmentalized spaces primarily based on an economy lifestyle. On the other hand, the biggest ideas sometimes emerge from the smallest spaces. When a creator gets pushed into a corner they come out punching. Space is so valuable that every square inch is carefully thought through to achieve maximum return on investment and the highest level of sophistication per square metre rate.

…all the architectural attributes you would expect from high-end custom homes.

The team from Archiblox, McCorkell’s company, has this down to a fine art. The property pictured, in Flinders, Victoria, is laid out in a family-friendly way yet with all of the architectural attributes you would expect from high-end custom homes. The ceilings are raked and wood-lined, exuding the warmth of natural materials. Even the fireplace, added post-installation, is solid brick.

From lightweight, future-friendly material point of view, the cladding, lining, flooring and roofing options with this type of home building are endless.

CSR is creating solar-powered roof tiles, and can produce exterior weatherproof non-combustible cladding in any colour. Austral bricks is making textile masonry blocks, famous in the 19950’s, which combine security, ventilation and aesthetic properties. The range of materials can be used with either a steel or wood frame.

What all this means is that those at the other end of the scale with larger budgets get more bang for their buck without annoying the neighbours with long construction periods and the attendant noise and traffic problems. It’s the future of building: less time, less waste, a more efficient use of dollars, and reduced impact on both the environment and those around us.