Website official release, Fall, 2023
Fabrication
Anthropologists suggest that sustainable development requires at the very least more inclusion of the people who the project aims to target to be involved in the creation, management and decision-making process in order to improve development. However, for decades, the construction industry has had a reputation for being very labor-intensive, low-paying, and dangerous, which doesn’t appeal to younger generations. What’s more, it doesn’t help that many educational institutions push students into college, painting it as the only path to success. In cultures where professional careers are highly prized, there can be a shortage of skilled manual workers, leading to lucrative niche markets in the trades. The United States has a construction labor shortage that will likely get worse. In April, (2022), the US construction industry had roughly 440,000 job openings, and the US manufacturing industry had more than one million—the highest levels recorded since industry-level jobs data were first collected. This prompts the question: Who will fill the hundreds of thousands of additional jobs the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) will create each year (peaking above 300,000 in 2027 and 2028) across the construction value chain in the next decade? Data shows that vocational education can provide a respectable income at a lesser cost in time and money for training. Even ten years after graduation, there are many people with a certificate or associate degree who earn more money than those with a B.A.
"Without lamps there'd be no light."
– John Bender
Prefabrication
A prefabricated, (or Prefab), product is one that is built indoors in a factory-like setting. The finished products are covered and transported to their new locations, where they are assembled by a builder. A prefab home is not a mobile home; it is simply a home that is built off-site, as opposed to on-site. These homes are often called factory-built, system-built or modular homes. Prefab and manufactured homes are not the same. Manufactured homes are not placed on permanent foundations. Manufactured homes, sometimes referred to as (but are not always) mobile homes, can be moved from one location to another. There are specific laws and regulations regarding these relocations. The theory behind the method is that time and cost is saved if similar construction tasks can be grouped, and assembly line techniques can be employed in prefabrication at a location where skilled labour is available, while congestion at the assembly site, which wastes time, can be reduced. The method finds application particularly where the structure is composed of repeating units or forms, or where multiple copies of the same basic structure are being constructed. Prefabrication avoids the need to transport so many skilled workers to the construction site, and other restricting conditions such as a lack of power, lack of water, exposure to harsh weather or a hazardous environment are avoided. Prefab home facts: Prefab homes appraise the same as their on-site built counterparts do; they do not depreciate in value. Prefab homes can be customized. Most prefab home companies have in-house engineering departments. Prefab home designs vary in style and size. Prefab construction can be used for commercial applications, including office buildings. Prefab homes are permanent structures — “real property.” Prefab homes can be built on crawl spaces and basements. Prefab homes are considered a form of green building. Prefab homes are faster to build than 100 percent site-built homes. Home loans for prefab homes are the same as site-built homes. Insurance premiums for Prefab homes are the same as site-built homes. Taxes on Prefab homes are the same as site-built homes. Prefab homes can be built to withstand 175-mph winds. Prefab homes can be built for accessible living and designed for future conveniences.
Repurposing
Repurposing is as old as human civilization, with many contemporary scholars investigating the way that different societies re-appropriate the artifacts of older cultures in new and creative ways. More recently, repurposing has been celebrated by 21st century hobbyists and arts-and-crafts organizations such as Instructables and other Maker culture communities as a means of creatively responding to the ecological and economic crises of the 21st century. Recent scholarship has attempted to relate these activities to American left- and right-libertarianism.
Shipping Container
The use of shipping containers as a building material has grown in popularity due to their strength, standard dimensions, wide availability, and relatively low cost. However, it is important to note that all designs can be built with alternative materials using the standard Intermodel Freight standard dimensions.
