I picked System 3 for three reasons. The first reason is - it is incredibly, incredibly beautiful, a shining Austrian production among the other houses. It stands out for its precision of details and finishes.
Secondly, from an American point of view there has always been the debate between two schools of thought, and thus two methods of production, what are called the FlatPak and the modular systems. System 3 connects the two, which means there does not have to be a debate; it is a very intelligent and resourceful hybrid system.
Thirdly, I chose the Kaufmann/Rüf project because it is not a finished product. It could be developed in many different applications: urban spaces, multi-story houses, multi-family houses -it is an open system.
LIVE BETTER IN FOUR AND A HALF HOURS
AUSTRIAN ARCHITECTS KAUFMANN AND RUEF PRESENT THEIR PREFAB HOUSE AT THE MoMA NEW YORK
BY MARIA SIMMA
Prefabricated houses are nothing new. To the contrary, they've been around longer than the automobile, light bulb, or refrigerator. Everyone is familiar with trailer parks, mobile homes, and the assemblage of odd structures clustered around giant shopping malls. What's new is that an increasing number of renowned architects are taking on the challenge of developing prefab house systems. At the same time, architecture schools are starting to introduce prefab design to their curriculums. And beyond mere practicality, the latest projects also convey a sense of elegance and timelessness.
Home Delivery, now showing at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, examines the phenomenon of prefabricated houses from the perspective of their history and present-day developments. Five current projects are sited on the still vacant lot to the west of the Museum until the end of October.
MoMA contacted more than 800 architectural firms involved in prefab design worldwide. From about 600 projects submitted, five were selected for the exhibition. One of them is System 3, developed by the architectural firm Kaufmann/Rüf from Vorarlberg, Austria.
We met architects Oskar Leo Kaufmann and Albert Rüf at their house just after it was completed. The stove was just being installed, the floor was being swept, a couple of pieces of furniture were being placed in the right spot. Everything else was already finished.
Why do you develop prefab houses and what idea inspired your design?
Kaufmann: It's an old passion. We've been working on it for about 10 years. It started while I was still studying. It continued to evolve alongside other projects and now takes up about 10 to 15 percent of our time. We are trying to create a system that works, that is functional, beautiful, and not too expensive. We want it to be useful for a lot of people.
Style for everyone?
Kaufmann: Better living for everyone. This should be instituted as a fundamental right anyhow.
What does prefab mean for you? Your house was erected in only four and a half hours - others have been building for days.
Kaufmann: It's definitely one of our objectives to create something that can be built as quickly as possible. But we are also trying to achieve industrial production. Basically, this means the wood goes in one end, holes are cut out, it's coated, it comes out, goes to the construction site, and it's finished.
Rüf: You should be able to move in within no more than two days. It doesn't make any sense to produce parts that 20 people can put together to make a house in four weeks. That's not prefab as far as we're concerned.
How does the house work?
Rüf: It consists of a "serving unit" and the "naked space." The serving unit is the core. This unit contains all the installations - the electrical wiring, the plumbing, the kitchen, etc. - and is delivered in move-in condition. The naked space is attached to the serving unit, which supplies the ventilation and heating. You might compare it to a mothership in space travel. Many ships can dock onto the mothership. Our house is like that: Spaces can be attached all around the mother unit - horizontally and vertically. Up to eight stories are possible.
In other words, despite mass production everyone can design their house individually?
Kaufmann: Of course, that[s the idea. In addition to the size and number of rooms, you can choose the color, the windows, and a lot of other elements. Sure, there are limitations, but basically it's an open system.
What will happen to the house after the exhibition?
Rüf: It will go to some friends in Upstate New York - or to the highest bidder.
What are your expectations of this exhibition?
Kaufmann: We've been in this business too long to have any big expectations. We'll wait till it's over and then we'll see.
Home Delivery runs until October 20, 2008
MoMA New York
www.momahomedelivery.org
