Wood Structures Symposium

Without a Hitch - New Directions in Prefabricated Architecture

The 2008 UMass Wood Structures Symposium and 2008 ACSA Northeast Fall Conference focussed on the art and science of contemporary prefabricated architecture.

Light on the environment, prefab construction is enjoying a renewed interest. Sections of a home (by some estimates, 30% of all new homes) are built in a factory to minimize construction waste, energy use and design costs. And recently, many new prefab homes are designing-in other green building options. This conference provided a unique opportunity for the assessment of the past and a focus on the future of manufactured building systems.

Papers and projects were from a broad range of perspectives. Topics included:

• Design of contemporary prefabricated buildings and communities
• Trends in kit homes, panelized houses, and volumetric modules
• Green prefab
• Prefabricated building elements such as structural insulated panels, precast or modular systems, modular building material composite
• Impact on social justice (affordable housing, senior housing, emergency housing)
• Open architecture
• Codes, regulations, laws
• Design of prototypical buildings
• Integrating principles of prefabrication into architecture and construction curricula
• History/theory of mass produced housing
• Redesign, reuse of mobile homes and mobile home parks
• Innovative prefabricated wood systems and structures

Contact conference co-organizers Prof. Peggi Clouston PE, PhD, Ray Kinoshita Mann, AlA or Stephen Schreiber, FAIA if you have any questions regarding this event.