In the middle of the last century, there was a tidal shift of design sensibility right here in Southern California. It was partly in response to the case study program, launched to address the post-war housing crisis. Art and Architecture magazine published a heartfelt and sincere call to ‘good architects’ and ‘good manufacturers’ to design an economical, contemporary house, which could be duplicated, and which addressed several mandates including:
- It would be ‘conceived within the spirit of our time’.
- The architect would employ ‘old or new materials considered best for the purpose’
- The client would be ‘an average American in search of a home in which he can afford to live’
The designs that resulted from that post war challenge, many of which are still in use and beloved to this day, have given shape not only to Southern California architecture, but to American Modernism itself, which reflects a strategy to address natural, social, and economic forces of the time through design.
The high ideals of the case study program which envisioned mass production of these modern gems never materialized. Even now, architects and developers are trying with varying levels of success to bring pre-fabrication within reach. Pre-fab has instead been limited to dazzling, and very expensive second homes and pet projects for wealthy clients.
Over 75 years ago in Los Angeles, the forces in the design community converged to tackle the affordable housing crisis, in the shadow of a devastating war. Today, affordable housing in Southern California is even less attainable. As we approach the middle of a new century, scarred by the first global pandemic of our era, drought, environmental destruction, unbridled consumerism and waste, the design community has an obligation to encourage a tidal shift towards housing solutions which are conceived in the spirit of our times.
The next tidal shift is POST-FABbrication.
PostFab is born of the spirit of the case study movement, committed to bringing the average American a home in which they can afford to live.
PostFab is responsive to the spirit of our time, which addresses the urgency of stewardship of the built environment, and to the fact that the most sustainable building is the one already built.
PostFab wants to bring freedom, through responsive design, to everyone.
PostFab 