The use of wood in architecture is often linked with ideologies that address environmental sustainability, building material appropriateness, and climatically responsive design. As well, the wood industry is concerned about mass production, global markets, and resource management. Where does prefabricated housing fit into this picture? Prefabrication takes advantage of mass production with its promise of global markets, yet as a housing strategy it is often considered unresponsive to local climates and conditions. Since World War II, prefabrication has been extensively explored as a method of constructing houses in Canada and the United States as well as Japan, but with very different acceptance rates. In North America, the prefabricated house is often perceived as a less durable and less desirable form of housing. Somewhat ironically, this negative perception partly stems from the success of the low-cost, manufactured-mobile home market in the United States. In contrast, the prefabricated house in Japan represents a large percentage of new housing starts for all income levels.1 Why then are prefabricated houses considered so desirable in Japan? What can North Americans learn from the Japanese design and construction of prefabricated housing? And can a prefabricated wood-frame house be durable as well as responsive to local conditions? This case study looks at these questions by examining a prefabricated house from Japan's northern prefecture of Hokkaido: the KST-Hokkaido House.

World Conference on Timber Engineering, Whistler Resort, British Columbia, Canada July 31 - August 3, 2000 Online source