Modules for living: the advantages of prefabrication have yet to be translated into decent architecture, but in California, cradle of the modern house, experimentation goes on to provide elegant, economical dwellings that have a viability beyond the prototype stage.

Constructing a one-off residence is a costly, messy, and time-consuming process, which is why, for the past ninety years, progressive architects have dreamed of standardised modern houses built on a production line like cars and aircraft. Le Corbusier's 1914 Citrohan house was an early sketch. Buckminster Fuller dedicated twenty years to refining his cylindrical aluminium Dymaxion house, only to abandon the project in 1946, just as production in a Kansas aircraft plant was about to begin. Jean Prouve manufactured two prototypes of a tropical house that were air-shipped to French West Africa in 1951 (AR December 2005), but he, too, was soon out of business.

Prefabrication is commonplace in the building industries of Sweden, Japan, and the US but the product is usually an ersatz historicism. Only the humble trailer home has enjoyed commercial success as an unadorned steel module. However, the goal of making good design more affordable by rationalising construction has always remained in view, and there has been a surge of activity in the US over the past three years. Consumer magazines have hosted design competitions, promoted prize-winning models, and found firms to produce them. In San Francisco, Michelle Kaufmann could barely afford to build a simple house on-site for herself and her husband, but is now producing two factory-built versions of that one-off structure. In LA, Jennifer Siegal's Office of Mobile Design is developing innovative solutions and the partnership of Linda Taalman and Alan Koch has just completed its first prefabricated iT house. This sleek aluminium-framed glass pavilion can be customised with one of several artist-designed vinyl skins, which provide shade, privacy, and a distinctive signature.

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Now, the LA design-build firm of Marmol Radziner, best-known for its restoration of classic modern houses by Neutra, Schindler and John Lautner, has joined in the quest. To show potential buyers what they can expect, Leo Marmol experimented on himself and his wife. Their recently completed weekend house in Desert Hot Springs was fabricated by a company that specialises in commercial work, and it doubles as a prototype for the houses that they will soon be manufacturing themselves in a factory in Vernon in south-central LA. If you didn't know it had been trucked in as a set of 10 modules that were lowered into place with a mobile crane and bolted together, you'd think it was one of the sleek, minimalist houses the firm builds on-site.

'Prefabrication is not an end in itself but a means of creating an affordable modern living environment,' insists Marmol. A path leads up a gentle rise from the detached car port to a flight of shallow steps and recessed entry. Low-slung silvery boxes and covered decks are mounted on a recessed concrete foundation and the delicacy of the steel posts and glazing bars contribute to the illusion that the house is floating over the desert floor. Expansive windows open the interior up to long vistas and walkways frame the mountains. A rubber membrane creates a thermal barrier between the metal cladding and wood-lined interior. An entry hall separates the master bedroom from the kitchen-dining-living area, which opens onto a covered terrace and pool. A walkway leads to the guest bedroom and a detached studio, which are set at an angle to the main house. In its lightness and fusion of indoors and outdoors, it evokes Neutra's sixty-year-old Kaufman house, which the firm restored in the mid 1990s.

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In planning their prefab menu of four basic models, ranging in size from 61 to 242sqm plus extensive deck areas, Marmol Radziner tried to avoid the mistakes that have bedevilled other attempts at standardisation. By creating modules rather than a kit of posts and panels, they can undertake ninety per cent of the fabrication in their factory. The recycled steel frames assure rigidity and minimise the need for solid walls. The size of the modules (17m long and about 4m square), is the largest volume allowed on California highways without costly waivers. Wiring, plumbing and cabinetry are built in, and the web site (www.marmolradzinerprefab.com) allows buyers to upgrade the standard offerings of equipment, flooring, and colours. They can build their own foundations, secure permits and pick up the modules at the factory door, or turn everything over to the architects for a comprehensive service. Cost for full assembly is around $2700 per sqm, which comes in at the midpoint between the least expensive prefab offerings and the ground-up houses this firm builds.

For the customer, this system of prefabrication is like ordering a car, selecting colours and options, then coming back a few months later and driving it away. That's a big saving in time, hassle and cost, and the final price is set in advance. The best of the prefabricated houses are environmentally friendly, save on the waste of materials and site traffic, and minimise the inconvenience of construction to neighbours. But their impact on the housebuilding market is likely to be minimal until a major developer decides to embrace this intelligent, economical alternative to current archaic practices.

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