Post-WWII prefabricated residential buildings
SLOVENIA
The National Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Slovenia conducted a research that focused on prefabricated residential buildings in Slovenia during the early stages of the Second World War, when a new form of building emerged in response to the needs of forced resettlement. A comparable typology appeared in Poland during the same historical period. Hence, the Institute invited EHHF members to share their answers to the following questions:
- What are the origins of this construction method and the authorship of the standardised architectural plans in your country?
- Does your administration possess useful information and documentation on the topic?
- If any, do you have a contact person within your administration who is dealing with a similar topic?
CZECH REPUBLIC
- What are the origins of this construction method and the authorship of the standardised architectural plans in your country?
It is difficult to judge from the small pictures, but we think these are buildings based on the Christoph & Unmack system. This was based on an original Danish patent and was put into production in the German town of Niesky in 1891. Most of the production was subsequently transferred to the Frýdlant region, which became part of Czechoslovakia in 1918. From 1939 onwards, mass production also took place in many other companies in various countries.
The only preserved house in Czechia we know of is Černousy 63. It is not listed as a cultural monument, but we know that it was designed specifically for the company’s chief architect, Konrad Wachsmann (so he is an author).
2. Does your administration possess useful information and documentation on the topic?
We have no research on this topic. It is certainly an interesting area for future research—if it were possible to obtain a grant and involve students/interns.
3. If any, do you have a contact person within your administration who is dealing with a similar topic?
Mr. Petr Svoboda, head of the Methodological Centre for Modern Architecture in Brno (a branch of Czech National Heritage Institute): svoboda.petr@npu.cz
FINLAND
1. What are the origins of this construction method and the authorship of the standardised architectural plans in your country?
The origins of standardised architectural plans for residential building date back to the late 18th and 19th centuries, when they were first adopted for military barracks and then for railway buildings, including workers’ housing. These plans were created by national administrative bodies.
In the 20th century, this tradition was combined with the emerging concept of prefabrication, forming a new trend in architectural modernisation. The first major effort was the Käpylä housing area in Helsinki, where the traditional building type for workers’ settlements was modernised by testing prefabrication on site. The buildings were constructed using a system in which standard-length pieces of wooden logs were piled onto a frame structure. The houses, which were based on a standard selection of plans, varied in terms of colour and details, in the style of Nordic Classicism.
During the Second World War, significant progress was made in the development of wooden prefabricated construction. In collaboration with the Finnish Architects’ Association and the wartime administration, the RT-building file cards were created, and this system is still in use today. This work was carried out by the Standardisation Institute, which was divided into a section that worked with standards and a section that provided type plans for houses. At the same time, methods of utilising traditional log techniques in semi-industrial manufacturing processes were tested behind the battlefronts. The wood industry also developed new products, such as veneer tents, to meet wartime needs. Finnish architects participated widely in these eorts, including Alvar Aalto, who was director of the Standardisation Institute. Further information can be found in The Work of Architects: The Finnish Association of Architects 1892–1992. Edited by Pekka Korvenmaa. Rakennustieto/Finnish Association of Architects, 1992.
By the time the war ended, Finnish industry was ready to start producing wooden prefabricated housing. The company Puutalo Oy, founded in 1940 and jointly owned by a few dozen wood industry companies, started producing standard house models for national and international markets. Meanwhile, private citizens also used plans produced by the Standardisation Institute and other public bodies to build their own type houses. Further information can be found in Kristo Vesikansa, Philip Tidwell & Laura Berger, New Standards – Timber Houses Ltd. 1940–1955. Helsinki: Garret Publications, 2021.
2. Does your administration possess useful information and documentation on the topic?
Central Archives for Finnish Business Records’ (Elka) (https://elka.fi/en/home/) Contact, https://elka.fi/en/contact/
Collections / Architecture and Design Museum (https://admuseo.fi/en/) Contact, Head of Collections (https://admuseo.fi/en/sta/)
3. If any, do you have a contact person within your administration who is dealing with a similar topic?
Juhana Lahti, senior researcher, Finnish Heritage Agency / Cultural Environment Services (juhana.lahti@museovirasto.fi)
NORWAY
1. What are the origins of this construction method and the authorship of the standardised architectural plans in your country?
In Norway, a comparable reconstruction effort took place after the Second World War, especially in the northernmost regions of Finnmark and Northern Troms which were completely devastated during the German retreat in 1944–45. The rebuilding process there represents the most extensive state-led housing reconstruction efforts in Norwegian history. The reconstruction of Finnmark and North Troms was coordinated by the Directorate for Reconstruction (Gjenreisningsdirektoratet), established in 1945. A large number of architects and engineers were engaged in developing type houses (standardised designs) adapted to the Arctic cimate and local building traditions.
The architectural work was influenced by functionalistic planning ideals. Cleanliness and hygiene were key principles, reflecting contemporary public health concerns. The layout of the homes aimed to make domestic work more efficient, particularly for housewives, in line with the ideal of the rational and modern household.
Type houses were classified by size and materials (wood or brick), and the designs emphasised good lighting, practical kitchens, and easy acsess to fresh air. Households that applied for loans through the State Housing Bank (Husbanken, established in 1946) were required to choose among these approved standard designs to qualify for financial support.
2. Does your administration possess useful information and documentation on the topic?
Extensive documentation exists in the National Archives of Norway (Riksarkivet), particularly in the collections of the Directorate for Reconstruction.
3. If any, do you have a contact person within your administration who is dealing with a similar topic?
Museene for kystkultur og gjenreisning i Finnmark (The Museums of Coastal Culture and Reconstruction in Finnmark) also holds photographic and architectural material documenting reconstruction houses (gjenreisningshus) and settlement patterns across the region.
UK - NORTHERN IRELAND
1. What are the origins of this construction method and the authorship of the standardised architectural plans in your country?
Prefabricated housing in Northern Ireland reflects broader post‑Second World War developments across the UK. ‘Prefabs’, as they were popularly known, were introduced as a rapid and economical solution to replace war‑damaged housing and address the wider wartime construction shortfall. Intended as temporary accommodation with an estimated lifespan of around ten years, they were designed to meet immediate needs while permanent housing was built.
Unlike the Slovenian and Polish examples—which from the photographs provided appear to have followed traditional forms and materials—prefabs in Britain and Northern Ireland adopted a more modern appearance and utilised manufacturing techniques developed during the war itself, in many cases using non-traditional materials including aluminium, steel, and precast concrete.
For further reading, the following publications are recommended:
Elisabeth Blanchet and Sonia Zhuravlyova, Prefabs: A Social and Architectural History (Historic England, 2018)
Elisabeth Blanchet, Prefab Homes (Shire Publications, 2014)
2. Does your administration possess useful information and documentation on the topic?
The Historic Environment Record of Northern Ireland (HERoNI) holds some material relating to local prefabs, particularly ‘Orlit’ houses—precast concrete dwellings that, unlike many UK prefabs, were commonly two‑storey and sometimes arranged in terraces. HERoNI can be contacted at: HERoNI@communities-ni.gov.uk
3. If any, do you have a contact person within your administration who is dealing with a similar topic?
No one within Historic Environment Division is currently dedicated specifically to prefabs. For any further queries regarding these or other historic buildings in Northern Ireland, please contact: HED.secondsurvey@communities-ni.gov.uk
0 Comments