Snt,—YOur correspondent, Sebastian Stafford, asks for'the correct meaning
of the words pre-fabrication and standardisation. -
Bricks, the earliest unit of building construction, are both' pre-fabricated and standardised. They were pre-fabricated because it was more economi- cal to manufacture them on the site from which their principal con- stituents were obtained. They were standardised because it was economical to build walls with units which did not vary in their comparative measure- ments and were of a size, to be easily handled. At the present time most things are pre-fabricated: window-frames, doors, fireplace surrounds, Ras-stoves, baths, fittings. Generally speaking they are also standardised, for without standardisation all replacements would have to be " made to measure,t' involving long, exasperating delay and great expense. • In the future, pre-fabrication may well be extended to much larger units: compkte walls with window-openings already provided for fitting pre-fabricated and standardised window-framer, whole roofs in slab form, &c. In England this has already been donc with simple buildings : dog- kennels, greenhouses, garages and bungalows. Both pre-fabrication and standardisation of the component parts of buildings are economically necessary, but this does not mean, and need never mean, that buildings and towns will be standardised in the sense that they will all look precisely the same. It is the architect's job to influence design so as to avoid undue repetition and achieve architectural unity.
Pre-fabrication cannot be avoided, standardisation is desirable and must be accepted.—Yours, &c., H. A. N. BROCKMAN. 55 Lissenden Mansions, London, N.W. 5.
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