Inside Prefab The Ready-made Interior Deborah Schneiderman
Princeton Architectural Press, New York
Published by Princeton Architectural Press 37 East Seventh Street New York, New York 10003 For a free catalog of books, call 1.800.722.6657. Visit our website at www.papress.com. © 2012 Princeton Architectural Press All rights reserved Printed and bound in China 15 14 13 12 4 3 2 1 First edition No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission from the publisher, except in the context of reviews. Every reasonable attempt has been made to identify owners of copyright. Errors or omissions will be corrected in subsequent editions. An earlier version of the Introduction, written by Deborah Schneiderman, appeared as “The Prefabricated Interior: Defining the Topic” in Interiors: Design, Architecture, Culture 2, no. 2 (2011). Editor: Nicola Bednarek Brower Designer: Jan Haux Special thanks to: Bree Anne Apperley, Sara Bader, Janet Behning, Fannie Bushin, Megan Carey, Carina Cha, Tom Cho, Penny (Yuen Pik) Chu, Russell Fernandez, Felipe Hoyos, Linda Lee, Jennifer Lippert, John Myers, Katharine Myers, Margaret Rogalski, Dan Simon, Andrew Stepanian, Paul Wagner, Joseph Weston, and Deb Wood of Princeton Architectural Press —Kevin C. Lippert, publisher Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schneiderman, Deborah, 1968– Inside prefab / Deborah Schneiderman. — 1st ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-56898-987-7 (alk. paper) 1. Prefabricated interior architecture. I. Title. NA2850.S34 2012 729—dc23 2011021974
27
Interior Walls
28
Flatform
Foreword
32
Active Phytoremediation Wall System
by Stanley Abercrombie
36
Blobwall
40
S3 Sustainable Slotted System
45
Kitchens
Table of Contents 6
7
Acknowledgments
8
Introduction
46
Closet #1, Parsons Kitchen
8
A Very Brief History of Prefabrication
50
Oma’s Rache
A Brief History of Prefabricated Interior Design
54
Flow2
58
Ekokook
63
Bathrooms
64
Cirrus MVR
68
The Flo
72
Kullman Bathroom PODS
76
Co-Pod
81
Furniture
82
After Words
86
90° Furniture
90
Kenchikukagu
94
Playground for Leif
99
Office
11
100
Clipper CS-1
104
Office POD
108
Dilbert’s Ultimate Cubicle
112
OfficePOD
117
Prefabricated House Interiors
118
Furniture House
122
A–Z Cellular Compartment Units
126
Composite House
130
Cell Brick House
134
Glossary
136
Notes
138
Select Bibliography
140
Image Credits
142
Index
Foreword By Stanley Abercrombie
I have a shelf full of books on prefabricated buildings and a whole wall of titles on interiors, but, seeing this manuscript, I realized with surprise that I had never before seen a book on prefabricated interiors. The reason, of course, is not because the subject is so obscure, but because it is so obvious. Throughout the industrial age, building components have been turned out by the hundreds and thousands in factories and shipped ready-made to building sites, including dimension lumber, windows and doors, sheets of plywood, metal flues, cylinder-printed fabrics and wallpapers, baseboards and cornices, tiles and drawer pulls, and light switches. This construction reality is so familiar and so quotidian as to be virtually invisible. But the more important point this book makes is that prefabrication, while often focused on structural elements, has had its most profound effect on our interiors. Indeed, some prefabricated exteriors go to great lengths to appear as if they had never been near a factory, while inside we have come to welcome the order, modularity, efficiency, and precision that prefabrication can bring. Interior prefabrication has a long and intriguing history, as this book’s introduction shows, but it also has a bright and even more intriguing future. The book’s two dozen case studies demonstrate the new looks, new materials, and new potential functions of interior prefabrication, not the least interesting of which are those dealing with our increasingly urgent environmental issues.
6
Acknowledgments Nicola Bednarek Brower, my editor, for her dedication. Princeton Architectural Press for its support in realizing this project. The designers and photographers of included work. The faculty and administration of the Interior Design department and the School of Art and Design at Pratt Institute for their belief in this project. The students of the Arizona State University Interior Design program and Master of Science in Design Program 2007– 2010 for their work on the topic “Prefabricated Interior Environment.” The faculty, administration, and students of Parsons The New School for Design Master of Fine Arts Interior Design thesis class of 2011 for their inspiration. The faculty and administration of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University for their encouragement. Renata Hejduk for her sage advice and wisdom. Deborah Koshinsky and Alexa Griffith Winton for reading drafts of the manuscript. Jennifer Siegal for inspiring my research and for connecting me with Princeton Architectural Press. Stanley Abercrombie for his contribution to the field and to this project. My family—Scott, Chloe, and Eli Lizama; and Gerald, Reeta, and Jonathan Schneiderman—for their love and encouragement. Dedicated in memory of Norma Lizama for her strength, will, love, and support. Without her I would not have been in a place to write this book.
7
Introduction
constructed end product. Building off site in a controlled environment limits waste in materials
Prefabrication in the field of architecture is by no
and inefficiencies in labor, while the fabrication of
means a novel concept and has enjoyed continued
modular elements that can easily be transported
attention by prominent architects and designers,
allows for adaptability of installation, extending
owing much of its popularity to its efficiency and
the lifespan of building elements.
affordability. Recent prefabricated designs also
The term prefabrication, used to describe a
emphasize the inherently sustainable qualities of
building typology, was not coined until the 1930s,
this production technique. While the investigation
when the business of making building compo-
into modern prefabrication has attracted much
nents that could be assembled on a remote site
interest in the architecture community for over
developed into a substantial industry, although
a century, the literature documenting the sig-
the process of prefabrication has existed for
nificance of interior design and interior elements
thousands of years.1 The earliest known example
using this technology contains a notable gap.
of prefabrication in the built environment can be
Although there has been virtually no pointed dis-
dated back to the Sweet Track—a raised walkway
cussion of the influence of prefabricated interiors,
in Somerset County in England built around 3807
the techniques and applications of prefabricated
BCE and made of prefabricated timber sections
interior design have been around for thousands
that were quickly assembled on site.2 Another
of years, and prefabrication in the built environ-
important instance of prefabricated architecture
ment in fact owes much of its advancement to
was the panelized wood houses that were shipped
concepts first investigated for use in the interior.
from England to the United States in the mid-sev-
Innovations in prefabricated interior design have
enteenth century to be used for the quick con-
ranged from individual elements, such as wall
struction of homes in a Cape Ann, Massachusetts,
panels, staircases, or pieces of furniture, to com-
fishing fleet community.3
plete assemblages, such as kitchens, bathrooms, or
The first documented mass-produced
utility pods. These components are often more than
prefabricated house was the Manning Portable
simple objects, defining and programming space,
Cottage, introduced in 1830 and transported from
either as complete prefabricated assemblies or
England to Australia for the construction of its
through the fabrication and repetition of a module.
new settlements.4 [Fig. 1] These houses resembled
Prefabricated interiors thus become place-makers
cabins, with the interior not differing much from
within the built environment.
the exterior. A prefabricated building can also be a unique, site-specific structure, such as the Crystal
A Very Brief History of Prefabrication
Palace (1851) in London, which was built of pre-
Prefabrication, or off-site fabrication, refers to parts
fabricated iron modules. [Fig. 2]
of a building, interior or exterior, that are produced
The twentieth century saw a rise of mass-
and assembled in a place other than the building
produced prefabricated houses, and many of the
site (typically a controlled factory environment).
great modernist architects, including Le Corbusier,
Ideally, components are fabricated simultaneously
Marcel Breuer, R. Buckminster Fuller, Frank Lloyd
in various locations and fully assembled into the
Wright, Walter Gropius, and Konrad Wachsmann,
whole at the building site, reducing total construc-
explored the idea of prefabrication as a building
tion time and costs and creating a more precisely
technique. [Fig. 3] [Fig. 4] While their houses did not
8
Introduction
sell to the public in large quantities, vernacular prefabricated designs have achieved the goal of mass production, from the Sears, Roebuck and Company’s catalog kit homes of the first half of the twentieth century to mass-produced modular homes, such as the Lustron House, of the midtwentieth century to prefabricated trailers beginning in the latter part of the twentieth century and continuing to the present. The Lustron House, introduced by Carl Strandlund, president of the Lustron Corporation, in 1946, in particular demonstrates the significance of the interior in the history of prefabrication. The house’s built-in elements consisted of a system of prefabricated modular units that functioned not only as dividing elements, but also as programmed space, such as shelving, cabinetry, closets, and vanities. [Fig. 5] The interior panels were manufactured of the same porcelainenameled steel panels that covered the facade 9
[Fig. 1] Manning Portable Cottage, ca. 1833
[Fig. 2] The Last Promenade at the Crystal Palace, The Illustrated London News, May 1852
Introduction
[Fig. 3] R. Buckminster Fuller’s Wichita (Dymaxion) House, interior view, 1946 [Fig. 4] Wichita (Dymaxion) House, exterior view
[Fig. 5] Lustron House, advertisement, Life, October 11, 1948
10
[Fig. 6] Sears Modern Home 115, Sears Catalog, 1908
Introduction
and roof, establishing a clear visual connection
A Brief History of Prefabricated Interior Design
between the interior and exterior.5 Although the
The articulation of the prefabricated interior
Lustron House did not achieve its goal of true
has been critical in the development of modern
mass production, the integration and significant
prefabrication techniques. The design of interior
placement of its interior components informed the
partitions or walls; of whole spaces, including
evolution of the prefabricated interior.
the bathroom, the kitchen, and the office; and of
In the late twentieth and early twenty-first
furniture has both contributed to defining interior
century, many well-known designers turned to
space through placement and program and been
prefabrication, including those that pursue afford-
a critical step in the development of prefabricated
able, efficient, and environmentally sustainable
construction techniques on a greater scale, from
solutions, such as LOT-EK, Wes Jones, Michelle
the building to the city. Prefabricated interior
Kaufmann, Su11 architecture + design, Anderson
design includes both distinct elements and pre-
and Anderson, KieranTimberlake, Adam Kalkin,
fabricated wholes. Interior components, such as
and Jennifer Siegal, among others. Artist/architect
decorative elements, staircases, and mantles, have
Kalkin, for example, repurposes shipping contain-
a long tradition of prefabrication. Even gypsum
ers as dwellings, as in his 12 Container House
board, which was introduced in the early
(2003) and his Quik House (2003), which is cur-
twentieth-century Sears kit homes, serves as an
rently available to order. Siegal’s Office of Mobile
example of an interior element that is fabricated
Design (OMD) has also repurposed material, as
off site and brought to the house ready to install.6
demonstrated in the 2003 Seatrain Residence
[Fig. 6]
(Los Angeles), using shipping containers for the
nents follow three basic construction types, which
In general, prefabricated interior compo-
fabrication of living spaces and grain containers
are used singularly or combined. These include
for the construction of a lap pool and koi pond,
planar construction (utilizing the screen as a
as well as incorporating steel found on site. Based
planar element to divide space, either as a rela-
on the notions of new nomadism and mobility,
tively fixed or readily movable object), modular
many of Siegal’s projects explore architecture at
construction (using the module—a standardized
the intersection of portability and sustainabil-
component of a system—as a building block of
ity. Siegal’s 2006 prefabricated ShowHouse, for
customizable prefabricated space), and unit con-
example, exhibits ideas of portability and flexibil-
struction (employing a singular unit element that
ity and incorporates environmentally sustainable
is designed as an all-inclusive piece).
design solutions, including solar panels, radiant heat panels, a tankless water heater, and a variety
Planar Construction: the Screen
of sustainable floor and wall materials.
The earliest example of a prefabricated interior element is the screen. Although most people associate the advent of the paper screen with Japan, the first paper folding screen appeared in China, with literary references dating its inception back to 300 or 400 BCE, far predating the first prefabricated houses. The relatively permanent Chinese screens evolved into the Japanese shoji, a system of screens dating to as early as 200 BCE.
11
Introduction
These folding, fixed, or sliding screens could be
[Fig. 7]
used to create walls, doors, window coverings,
the topic of prefabrication, resulting in numer-
and standing partitions. In the West, the screen
ous works, including the iconic 1946 undulating
was first introduced in the mid-sixteenth century,
plywood folding screen.10 [Fig. 8]
but it did not gain popularity until the nineteenth
Charles and Ray Eames broadly investigated
Two significant sustainable twenty-first-
century, when, in 1853, the American government
century screens combine planar and modular
sponsored a trip by Commodore Matthew Perry
construction in their design. Nomad (2007) by
to Japan to inspire a trade relationship between
Jaime Salm and Roger Allen (of Mio) is a system of
the East and the West. From this visit began the
recycled, recyclable, and affordable two-dimen-
importation of Japanese and Chinese screens to
sional cardboard modular elements that assemble
European cities. Also increasing their popular-
without tools or hardware into customizable
ity was their display at the 1867 International
screens or partitions. [Fig. 9] [Fig. 10] Andrew Wilson
Exhibition for Industry and Art in Paris.
and Aza Raskin’s Bloxes (2008), designed by Jef
7
During the twentieth century the screen
Raskin, are also fabricated from two-dimensional
was most notably used as an architectonic
cardboard elements, which are folded into three-
domestic interior element in the works of Frank
dimensional modules and assembled into any
Lloyd Wright, Walter Gropius, Gerrit Rietveld,
shape; the screen is only one of many possibili-
Eileen Gray, and Charles and Ray Eames. The
ties. [Fig. 11] [Fig. 12]
Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto with its movable
In the commercial environment, it was
exterior and interior walls, its interchangeability of
not until the 1950s that office design incorpo-
modular components, and its use of prefabrication
rated prefabricated screen-based wall systems
in particular inspired Gropius, who experimented
to divide space, as evidenced in the Skidmore,
with similar concepts and techniques in his living
Owings & Merrill (SOM)/Knoll–designed interiors
spaces. Rietveld created perhaps the most influ-
for the 1957 Connecticut General Life Insurance
ential translation of the Japanese-style screening
Company.11 The German Quickborner Team revo-
of interior space in his archetypal de Stijl mas-
lutionized the use of the screen in prefabricated
terpiece of 1924, the Schröder House (Utrecht,
office space in the 1950s with their concept of a
the Netherlands). In a remarkable manner, the
Bürolandschaft. This “office landscape” utilized
Schröder House defined interior space through
a system of lightweight screens that could easily
the implementation of sliding walls, much like
be reconfigured as individual and organizational
those of a traditional Japanese residence, result-
needs changed.12
ing in a highly flexible modernist living space.
The Herman Miller Company, in particu-
Similarly, Gray’s architectural projects, including
lar designers Robert Probst and George Nelson,
her seminal E. 1027 house (Roquebrune-Cap-
has been credited with the design of the cubicle.
Martin, 1925–29) and the apartment on rue
The company’s 1964 modular Action Office is
Chateaubriand (Paris, 1931), utilized the screen
considered by many as the first prefabricated
as a primary place-making element.8 While
office space. Through his rigorous research, Probst
throughout her career, Gray made screens from
developed the concept and plan for the flex-
an array of materials, she is best known for her
ible movable furniture system, which was given
1923 Lacquered Block Screen, whose finish and
three-dimensional form by Nelson.13 [Fig. 13] While
fabrication is reminiscent of Japanese screens.
the design for the original Action Office received
12
9
Introduction
[Fig. 7] Black lacquer Brick screen, one of a small number of variants executed by Eileen Gray of the design first exhibited in 1923
[Fig. 8] Eames Molded Plywood Folding Screen, Charles and Ray Eames, 1946
13
[Fig. 9] Nomad Screen modules, Jaime Salm and Roger Allen (of Mio), 2007 [Fig. 10] Nomad Screen assembled
Introduction
[Fig. 11] Bloxes modules, Jef Raskin, Bloxes, 2008 [Fig. 12] Bloxes assembled
[Fig. 13] Action Office I, Robert Probst and George Nelson for Herman Miller Company, 1964 [Fig. 14] Action Office II (when first released), Robert Probst for Herman Miller Company, 1968
14
[Fig. 15] Resolve system, Ayse Birsel for Herman Miller Company, 1999 [Fig. 16] Joyn, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra, 2002
Introduction
much critical acclaim, it did not sell well, and the
balloon or platform construction, with prebuilt inte-
Herman Miller Company proceeded to develop
rior and exterior panels trucked to the job site ready
Action Office II, a lightweight, interchangeable,
to assemble. Descended from the balloon frame,
and easily reconfigured office system.
structural insulated panels (SIPs) are made of insu-
14, 15
The
prefabricated partition screen of the Action Office
lating foam core that is sandwiched between two
II, introduced in 1968, was structural, freestand-
sheets of plywood or oriented strand board. SIPs
ing, and movable.16 [Fig. 14] A contemporary office
were first introduced in 1935 but did not become
system by Herman Miller Company, the Resolve
readily available until the 1960s. Advancing CAD/
system (1999), designed by Ayse Birsel, reestab-
CAMM technologies in the 1990s made their
lishes a critical element of the original cubicle,
implementation more practical. The planar screen-
Probst’s concept of using 120-degree angles
like elements, which are produced off site, are used
between screen panels.17 [Fig. 15] By incorporating
to fabricate both interior and exterior structural and
canopies in her workstations, Birsel has advanced
nonstructural walls.18
the notion of the prefabricated office space a step
The screen is completely exteriorized in
further, recognizing that the typically ignored
curtain wall constructions, which first appeared in
overhead plane is critical to the construction of
the late nineteenth century and were increasingly
three-dimensional space.
implemented after World War II. The introduction
Twenty-first-century screen-based prefab-
of skeletal framing systems released the require-
ricated office designs continue to pursue adapt-
ment for the exterior wall to be load bearing,
ability within office environments, as evidenced
enabling the nonstructural panels or screens of the
in notable diversions from the standard cubicle
curtain wall to—like their interior counterparts—
model. Examples include communal worktables,
programmatically function as dividers, separating
such as Vitra’s 2002 planar Joyn system designed
interior from exterior.19
by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec [Fig. 16], and the consciously sustainable mass-customizable 2004
Modular Construction
Dirtt (Doing It Right This Time) demountable wall,
The module plays an important role in Japanese
floor, electrical, and accessory system designed
interior design. Traditionally, the design of the
by Mogens Smed. Such systems challenge the
Japanese house relied on a regularized post and
permanence of the traditionally constructed wall,
beam system, allowing for the interior elements,
embracing instead the prefabrication of a system
including shoji, fusuma, and tatami, to be manu-
of parts that can be readily configured and recon-
factured by individual craftspeople and assembled
figured on site.
seamlessly on site.20 Proportional prefabricated
The use of screens has also informed exte-
building systems are recorded in Japan as early
rior elements, both structural and nonstructural.
as the Nara period (710–794 CE), though the
According to architectural historian Colin Davies,
measurements varied by region. The kiwari jutsu
prefabricated planar constructions were first evi-
system (dating to 1608) defines the modulariza-
denced in architecture in 1833. With the balloon
tion of space from the scale of the building itself
framing construction, walls can be assembled on or
to that of furniture elements, even including the
off site horizontally on the ground from studs and
proportions of the shoji screen. The tatami module
plates. Once assembled, the wall panels are lifted
has an overarching architectural significance in
into place. Tract houses today are still built using
the system, as the mats are utilized as units of
15
Introduction
measure. Room dimensions are described by the number of tatami that fit inside.21 [Fig. 17] The module also has a prominent place in
Around the turn of the twentieth century, both Lillian Gilbreth, industrial engineer and designer, and Christine Frederick, home econo-
Western design. One of the most basic architec-
mist, lecturer, and author, recognized that in order
tural modules is the brick, while in interior design
for a kitchen to work efficiently, it must allow
systems of modules are used in any number of
for adaptability, which was achieved through a
elements, from furniture to kitchens to office envi-
modular design.26 With her 1926 Frankfurt kitchen
ronments. On its own, the module, like the brick,
design, Margarete (Grete) Schütte-Lihotzky is
typically does not serve its intended function.
credited as the designer of the modern kitchen.27
However, when repeated, it can create defined
The Frankfurt kitchen is a hybrid of the modular
spatial environments. Modules constitute the basis
and unit typologies. [Fig. 19] Its individual elements
for much of the prefabricated interior.
are modular by nature, but those elements were
Within the domestic interior the module
assembled into a complete kitchen off site, which
is most significantly represented in the design of
was then integrated into the larger structure.28 The
kitchens and furniture. The systematic design of
Frankfurt kitchen established the significance and
the kitchen was first pursued by home econo-
potential of modern interior prefabricated ele-
mists in the United States as an academic and
ments and foreshadowed contemporary prefabri-
scientific endeavor, incorporating a multitude of
cation techniques. Today developer firms such as
studies in efficiency and workspace organization.
First Penthouse, founded in 1992, expand on the
Later, architects also laid claim to kitchen design;
Frankfurt kitchen’s concept of installing a com-
their approach embraced rationalist-functionalist
plete environment into a site-fabricated building,
principles and machine aesthetics. It is not
constructing complete apartment modules off site
surprising then that the kitchen has been a vehicle
that, like the Frankfurt kitchen, are craned into
for exploration of the mechanics of prefabrica-
place on site, in the case of First Penthouse the
tion in architecture and interior design. Early
rooftop of a previously constructed building.29
22
investigations into the design of the kitchen by
In 1945 Helen E. McCullough, associ-
educator Catherine Beecher and writer Harriet
ate professor of home economics at Cornell
Beecher Stowe in the nineteenth century stemmed
University, differentiated the typology of the pack-
from the desire to professionalize the work of the
aged kitchen of the mid-twentieth century from
housewife.23 Their proposed kitchen, the “sink
the unit kitchen, defining the packaged kitchen as
and cooking form,” is credited as a predecessor
one in which the manufacturer sells all necessary
of the twentieth-century kitchen, driven in large
equipment in one package—typically a modular
part by the necessity for organized storage. The
system with its own structural frame—and the
sink and cooking form was not merely a piece of
unit kitchen as a cast element that includes all
furniture but foreshadows the prefabricated pack-
equipment and cabinetry.30 The modular and
aged kitchen of the mid-twentieth century with
unit versions of these prefabricated kitchens are
an integrated mechanical core, including water
capable of transforming any room into a modern
heating and ventilation systems. While it was
kitchen regardless of the given architectural condi-
not itself prefabricated nor did it really gain wide
tion, as neither relies on the existing structure.
acceptance, its concept inspired the designers that
Charles C. White’s 1946 kitchen, called The White
followed.25 [Fig. 18]
Kitchen Compact, and the visionary 1953 Cornell
24
16
Introduction
[Fig. 17] Tatami proportion [Fig. 18] Sink and cooking form, Catherine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1869
17
[Fig. 19] Frankfurt kitchen, Margarete (Grete) Sch端tte-Lihotzky, 1926
Introduction
[Fig. 20] Cornell Kitchen packaging and transportation concept, Glen Beyer, Mary Koll Heiner, and Cornell University students, 1953 [Fig. 21] Cornell Kitchen construction, 1953
[Fig. 22] Glenn Beyer standing in the Cornell Kitchen, 1953
18
[Fig. 23] Universal Kitchen Snack Station, faculty and students, Architecture, Interior Architecture, and Industrial Design departments, Rhode Island School of Design, 1998
Introduction
Kitchen represent the modular packaged typol-
within the system, the Casier Standard was also
ogy. While the former was primarily concerned
designed to define space in the open plan house.
with efficiencies of construction, the design of the
Like Le Corbusier, Breuer had his roots in interior
latter also focused on user needs and ergonom-
and furniture design and experimented with the
ics. The Cornell Kitchen was executed through
module in his 33 design of 1925. The Breuer
Cornell University’s Housing Research Center
0system was based on a measure of thirty-three
as a collaborative effort among the students,
centimeters and comprised small modular cabi-
Home Economics Associate Professor Mary Koll
nets that could be placed against the wall, hung
Heiner, and Glenn Beyer, director of the center
from the wall, or supported on tubular steel legs.
and professor of housing and design. The basic
These modules appeared in virtually all of his
kitchen functions were grouped into five prefabri-
commissions going forward.34
cated movable “centers”—mix, serve, range, sink,
In the mid-twentieth century, Nelson,
refrigerator/oven—which could be arranged in any
the Eameses, and the Herman Miller Company
configuration and adjusted in height, and com-
devised several modular furniture systems. Nelson
prised a self-supporting structural system. With the
conceptualized his 1944 visionary Storagewall as
exception of the sink center, they had identical
a built-in element that would not only house all
base cabinets so that inner organizational compo-
storage necessary for the home within the typical
nents were interchangeable.31 [Fig. 20] [Fig. 21]
space of a wall but would also entirely replace
[Fig. 22] A
the wall with modular furniture-like elements.
contemporary example that similarly
addresses vertical dimension is the Rhode Island
The Storagewall is customizable by design, as
School of Design’s 1998 Universal Kitchen
the modules are selected by the user and can be
project, which resulted in the Min and the Max
assembled in any arrangement or direction, thus
kitchen, essentially kits of interchangeable
creating the opportunity to serve two rooms at
modular components. Each element is chosen by
once.35 The Storagewall is reminiscent of, yet more
the user and can be installed at varying heights
inclusive than, the prefabricated built-in ele-
and depths. [Fig. 23] Today’s standard kitchens are
ments of the Lustron House. It also foreshadowed
typically constructed from modularized pieces of
Shigeru Ban’s 1995 Furniture House, in which the
rational measurements constructed off site but are
prefabricated built-in elements become the actual
installed at a fixed standard height.
structure of the house.
The design of furniture also has a rich
The Eames Storage Units (ESUs) of 1950
history of modular construction. A 1909 Sears,
were the first mass-produced mass-customizable
Roebuck and Company catalog already adver-
storage elements. Their back and side panels
tised mass-produced sectional bookcases, but Le
were available in multiple materials, including
Corbusier (along with Breuer) has been cred-
Masonite and perforated aluminum, and were
ited as the first architect to conceive of modu-
available for order in an array of colors. ESUs can
lar furniture and thus of prefabricated interior
be combined as shelves or desks with open (or
space.32 Le Corbusier, with Pierre Jeanerette and
closed) storage in addition to drawers, creating an
later Charlotte Perriand, developed the Casier
infinite range of possible configurations.36 [Fig. 24]
Standard, a system of modular container elements,
[Fig. 25]
in 1925. Envisioned to serve all storage needs
sors, Joe Colombo’s 1969 Tube Chair and 1967
through various elements of storage available
Addition seating system are highly customizable,
33
19
In a marked departure from his predeces-
Introduction
[Fig. 24] Eames Storage Units brochure, Charles and Ray Eames, 1950 [Fig. 25] Eames Storage Units, 1950
[Fig. 26] Tube Chair, Joe Colombo, 1967 [Fig. 27] Cell Brick House, interior, Yasuhiro Yamashita/Atelier Tekuto, 2004
20
[Fig. 28] Hoosier Manufacturing Company advertisement for the Hoosier Kitchen Cabinet, 1919
Introduction
composed of modular upholstered elements that
the rational principles of domestic reformers
are nonfunctional and nonrecognizable as single
Christine Frederick and Erna Meyer. When closed,
elements.37 [Fig. 26] Yasuhiro Yamashita’s (of Atelier
the unit appeared to be an ordinary wardrobe,
Tekuto) 2004 Cell Brick House is a culminating
but when opened, it revealed a working kitchen.
investigation of prefabricated modular furniture
In his 1963 Minikitchen, Colombo reconceived
as place-maker. The typologies of the module as
the Hoosier Kitchen Cabinet typology of the late
programmatic interior element and as a building
nineteenth century as a prefabricated package that
block are fused in the house, as its construction
was even more compact, mobile, and utilitar-
relies on the modular furniture, which becomes its
ian. Melanie Olle and Ilja Oelschlägel’s twenty-
structure. [Fig. 27]
first-century kitchen, Oma’s Rache (“Grandma’s Revenge” in German), is a contemporary variation
The Unit
of the unit kitchen, which provides opportunities
The unit is often confused with the module as a
for cooking, dishwashing, dining, refrigeration,
building block. As a primary defining element
food preparation, and storage (see pages 50–53).
of prefabricated interior design, however, the
Predating and informing the unit kitchens
term describes elements that are created in their
were the office secretaries of the late nineteenth
entirety as single all-inclusive pieces. For example,
century, such as the Wooton Patent Cabinet
the unit kitchens of the 1950s consisted of a single
Office Secretary, which contained an entire office
object housing all elements necessary for the
environment for the individual user.39 [Fig. 29] In
kitchen, including cabinetry and appliances.
Wright’s 1906 Larkin Building clerical worksta-
As early as the 1890s, the United States
tion, the chair is cantilevered off the desk, forming
witnessed the first unit-based prefabricated
an integrated work environment delivered in
kitchen furniture elements in the form of factory-
a ready-to-use form.40 The 1951 design for the
produced freestanding “dressers” that were
Knoll Planning Unit’s own workspace premiered
designed to store kitchen equipment and dry
multifunctional furniture pieces that included a
goods. These dressers or wardrobes foreshadowed
tilting drafting surface, a built-in divider panel,
the prefabricated packaged unit kitchens of the
and storage.
mid-twentieth century in that they were originally
Notable contemporary unit workspaces
designed as large all-inclusive elements. Among
include prefabricated movable worker pods such
the manufacturers of this early kitchen furniture
as Planet 3 Studio’s 2009 Out-of-Box Workstation,
was the Hoosier Manufacturing Company, which,
which can be transformed from a portable
influenced by Beecher’s designs, produced a
luggage-shaped container into a home office, and
variety of kitchen cabinets. The Hoosier Kitchen
the 2009 OfficePOD by the eponymous company
Cabinets, which were often on wheels, included
that can be placed in a variety of environments
clearly defined areas of storage for all kitchen
(see pages 112–15). A less traditional workplace,
needs, as well as pull-out work areas, bins for
commissioned in 1994 by the architecture pro-
sugar and flour, and a rotating spice rack with
gram at Parsons The New School for Design, Allan
jars. [Fig. 28] At the 1931 German Building
Wexler’s Parsons Kitchen revisits the relationship
Exhibition in Berlin, modernist designer Lilly
between the unit kitchens and the office secretar-
Reich exhibited a fixed cabinet-type kitchen in her
ies. The cratelike element can be stored in a wall
Apartment for a Single Person that demonstrated
crevice in the department’s reception area (whose
38
21
Introduction
form inspired its design) and unfolds to become
interiorized appliance. The unit was designed to
an in-house bar as well as a meeting place for
transform any room into a bathroom and included
public events and receptions (see pages 46–49).41
all fixtures, a toilet, bathtub, shower, and lavatory;
The idea of the prefabricated unit as an interior element took hold not only in the design
it also incorporated storage and lighting.45 In his seminal 1966 investigation of the
of kitchens and workplaces but also of bath-
bathroom, Alexander Kira proposed his own pre-
rooms. Early plumbed interior bathrooms of the
fabricated designs. What separated Kira’s concept
nineteenth century were materially similar to
from those of his peers was his rigorous study of
traditional domestic spaces and included wood
anthropometry. His prefabricated proposal, the
furniture, rugs, and curtains. At the turn of the
“Experimental relaxing/washing facility,” provided
twentieth century, hygiene theories caused a shift
for the incorporation of “controls, support devices,
in bathroom design to an industrial aesthetic with
storage shelves, ventilation, lighting, etc.” To
nonporous equipment, priming bathrooms for the
ensure that all fixtures were properly located for
precision of prefabricated technologies.42
the best functionality, he held that the elements
Many architects and designers have
should be fabricated in a controlled environment,
explored the design of prefabricated bathrooms,
hence making prefabrication a pragmatic choice
including Le Corbusier and Perriand, but Fuller
to insure quality control.46 A notable contem-
is frequently credited with the design of the first
porary example, the 2008 Vertebrae Vertical
prefabricated bathroom. His Dymaxion Bathroom
Bathroom by Design Odyssey, is, in contrast to
unit of 1930 included a tub/shower module and
Kira’s bathroom, designed for efficiency rather
a lavatory/toilet module, all contained within
than ergonomics. Seven stacked elements rotate
five square feet of floor space and weighing only
around a central cylinder and include a sink, toi-
about as much as a conventional bathtub.43 [Fig.
let, container for storing water, two cabinets, and
30] The
two showers at different heights.
kinetic nature of Fuller’s bathroom pod,
often referred to as plug-in or pod-in architecture,
The ability of the unit to fabricate a com-
inspired a cross-cultural architectural move-
plete interior environment has its earliest roots
ment, with projects in Europe, Asia, and North
in furniture and is well represented by the boxed
America, including Peter Cook and Archigram’s
bed typology, in particular the lit clos (French for
1964 Plug-in City study, Moshe Safdie’s Habitat
“closed bed,” a seventeenth-century cabinetlike
Apartments (Montreal, 1967), Kisho Kurokawa’s
structure). When closed, the lit clos fully encap-
Nakagin Capsule Tower (Tokyo, 1972), and Zvi
sulates the bed, forming a room within a room.47
Hecker’s Ramot Housing (Jerusalem, 1975).
Colombo explored the inclusiveness of the unit
44
Early prefabricated bathrooms were typi-
with his 1969 Living Machines, which included
cally units designed for the assembly of a bath-
the Cabriolet Bed and the Roto-Living machine.
room in its entirety, incorporating the room’s
The Cabriolet Bed, inspired by both the lit clos
enclosure. In 1947 the magazine Architectural
and convertible automobiles, became an enclosed
Forum introduced a unique new concept, the
room within a room when its soft top was elec-
Standard Prefabricated Bathroom, an integrated
tronically closed. The Roto-Living unit was a
unit designed by Bertrand Goldberg that fit
kitchen and dining element with a central rotating
through a conventional door and incorporated
table. Colombo’s investigation into prefabricated
all bathroom functionality in a fully prefabricated
units culminated in the form of an entire house
22
Introduction
with his Total Furniture Unit, exhibited in the 1972 show Italy: The New Domestic Landscape at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The Total Furniture Unit housed everything necessary for the home in a single unit. [Fig. 31] [Fig. 32] In the same exhibition, Ettore Sottsass, Jr., introduced his visionary mobile multifunctional fiberglass furniture. In these designs individual furniture elements, including a kitchen and bathroom, are reduced to equipped containers, which can either be linked together or stand alone. The elements can continually be reconfigured to make up the most appropriate interior environment.48 The interior envelope is turned inside out in Wexler’s 1991 Crate House investigation. This conceptual study externalizes the interior into four programmed crates—living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom—which, when not in use, fit into an 8-foot interior cube. The crates are individually rolled into and out of the cube 23
[Fig. 29] Wooton’s Patent Cabinet Office Secretary, advertisement, The Popular Science Monthly 6, no. 4, 1875
[Fig. 30] Dymaxion Bathroom, lower quadrants, R. Buckminster Fuller, 1937
Introduction
[Fig. 31] Total Furniture Unit, Joe Colombo, 1972 [Fig. 32] Total Furniture Unit, kitchen detail, 1972
[Fig. 33] Crate House, Allan Wexler, 1991 [Fig. 34] Crate House, office detail, 1991
24
[Fig. 35] Lit Clos, Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, 2000