Geekwire has a cool post about pre-fabricated condos which can take 1/2 the time to construct with the electrical and plumbing already in the walls when they arrive at the job site allowing the units to be put together like a set of Legos. Personally, I'd be a bit worried about water intrusion and factory defects but most great innovations start with leery audiences…
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Certainly – if the construction process can somehow disguise the cross-beam external supports that is in all the renderings. Otherwise, I would rent and live in one, but not consider if as a purchase. It would be cookie cutter all to similar to everything else on the market.
I would live in one and buy it, provided that the craftsmanship and materials used are good quality. Custom homes also have water leaks and other construction problems too.
Pre-fab homes tend to be better designed and more space efficient that custom made homes.
One thing I have decided is that I will NOT buy a wood frame house any more. It is only steel and cement buildings for me from now on.
What?… Water intrusion and factory defects? I have been following the progress pre-fab construction (mostly single-family) on/off for a while now. Most pre-fab is built the same way as it is on a on-site construction, except the final assembly is reserved for when they actually arrive on location. So whatever insulation/barriers installed for a regular construction would be the same for prefab, if not better. Don’t take the saying “put together like legos” literally. As far as defects, I doubt conventional construction would be any better as far as workmanship. You have contractors and subcontractors that rush jobs to go on the next, cutting corners, etc. That’s a risk for any construction. I am glad architects are thinking in new directions like these.