Prefabrication and the individual

Abstract

This thesis attempts to address the perceived failure of the manufactured housing industry to adequately speak to issues of universality and specificity. The universal is investigated and redefined according to two specific circumstances: two communities, two Lots and two houses, in two very different places. Hillside sites were selected in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and in Los Angeles, California. A set of principles (the universal) was derived through the analysis of conditions on the two sites (the specific), and a new prefabricated construction system was developed in response. The universal acts as a platform for the individual; the prefabricated components are combined with sitebuilt elements, both systems having their role to play in the evolution of life on a hillside.