These examples of prefabricated structures range from luxurious floating villas to low-cost refugee camps. While traditional construction can be costly and time-consuming, prefabricated materials are both inexpensive and extremely quick to assemble.
One of the main reasons why architects and designers have turned to prefabricated materials is due to their economic and cost-effective design. Prefabricated construction means that less money is spent on expenses such as labor and additional building materials. The inexpensive cost of construction has made prefab construction ideal for building structures such as refugee shelters and affordable housing for low-income residents.
The other advantage to prefabricated structures is the speed at which these buildings can be constructed. Because each piece is pre-assembled, it is fast and easy for construction crews to set up structures. The advantage of rapid construction have made prefabricated structures an excellent solution for cities facing a housing crisis or consumers who choose to build in hostile environments.
45 Examples of Prefabricated Structures
From Floating Ocean Metropolises to Low-Cost Refugee Camps:
Katherine Pendrill — Aug 6, 2015 — Art & Design
41
Portable Prefabricated Rooms
Expand Your Home Space with Inoutside's Prefabricated Buildings
40
Boxed Bedroom Solutions
The LOIOS Houses Capsular Chambers Within an Old Historic Structure
39
Prefab Floating Houses
This Innovative Floating Home in Seattle Sits on Lake Union
38
Prefabricated Urban Homes
The Heijmans One Home is Targeted Towards Young Professionals
37
Compact Prefab Homes
This Modular Prefab Home Called 'The Passion House' Takes Two Days to Set Up
36
Rural Off-Grid Cabins
The Tintaldra Rural Cabin Blends in Seamlessly With its Rugged Surroundings
35
Off-Grid Tiny Homes
The POD-Indawo is Designed For Life in South Africa
34
Energy-Generating Prefab Homes
The P.A.T.H. Home Creates More Energy Than It Uses
33
Affordable Prefabricated Homes
The S-House Could Represent Suitable Housing For Vietnam's Poor
32
Cliff-Hanging Houses
Modscape Conceptualizes a Contemporary Home that Dangles Off of a Cliff
31
Versatile Prefab Cabins
2by4 Architects' Prefab Homes Can Function On and Off The Grid
30
Lonesome Lakeside Cottages
The Mulvagh-Crosby Cottage is in a Remote Location
29
Compact Glass Cabins
Modular Glass House Offers Broad Landscape Views from Every Transparent Face
28
Weatherproof Modular Housing
Cubicco Created This Resilient Dwellings Designed for Well-Being
27
Rapidly 3D-Printed Homes
A Chinese Company Constructed Ten 3D-Printed Homes In Less Than 24 Hours
26
Contemporary Prefab Housing
The Mini House by Jonas Wagell and Sommarnojen is a Tiny Getaway
25
Scenic Wood-Paneled Homes
The Far Pond House is a Durable Yet Panoramic Sanctuary
24
Woodsy Prefab Cabins
Chris Pardo Design's Small Prefab Home is Ideal for Cozying Up with Nature
23
Crooked Eco Abodes
The Huba Shelter Has No Right Angles, Yet it's Spot-On Amazing
22
Carbon Positive Houses
This Prefab Home Only Uses a Tiny Fraction of the Energy It Generates
21
Zigzag-Contoured Cabins
The Noa House Features Six Rhombus Facades for an Idiosyncratic Appearance
20
Affordable Timber Residences
This Low-Cost Home is the First of Its Kind in Copenhagen
19
Smart Spanish Abodes
This Smart Home is Controlled Thrtough a Mobile App
18
Tranquil Floating Villas
The SeaScape Floating Villa Features an Underwater Bedroom
17
Pentagonal Eco Abodes
The Oyster House Caters to the Natural Environment of the Seaside
16
Prefabricated Apartment Units
The 'La Casa Por El Tejado' Project Aims to Combat Urban Sprawl
15
Temporary School Architecture
The Mobile Classroom is a Refreshing Change from the Portable
14
Irregular Cubic Homes
This Prefabricated House is Low on Cost and High on Space
13
Rocky Cubic Architecture
The Karosta Kube is a Monolithic Mass Proposed as a Community Center
12
Conjoined Cubic Residences
Zamel Krug Architekten Designed Side by Side Houses
11
Smartphone-Controlled Homes
El Refugio Inteligente is Energy-Efficient Via Smartphone Control
10
Symbiotic Eco Dwellings
The Fab Tree Hab by Terreform One is a Living Graft Structure
9
Contemporary Oxford Homes
This Gabled House Features a Modern Spin
8
Speedy Prefab Building Systems
Using a Prefab System, the One9 Building Went Up in Just Five Days
7
Modular Mobile Living Spaces
2,5³ by Chmara.Rosinkes is Minimalist and Nomadic
6
Stilted Timber Cabins
The Charred Cabin Encapsulates the Bare Minimum for Living
5
Tree-Top Pavilions
The Vietnamese Pavilion by Vo Trong Nghia Takes Inspiration from Nature
4
Floating Ocean Metropolises
This Floating City Concept is Entirely Self-Sufficient
3
Piercing Crimson Architecture
The PathWest Research Lab is Located in the Australian Nedlands
2
Alpine Summit Refuge Cabins
The 'Bivacco Luca Vuerich' Cabin is Named After the Late Climber
1
National Housing Pavilions
The Chilean Pavilion Reflects on the Country's History
Related Ideas
Recycled Plastic Tiny Homes
Gary Bencheghib's Home in Bali is Made with 35,000 Plastic Bags
Expandable-Roof Tiny Homes
This Unique Tiny House Benefits From a Mechanically Liftable Roof
Shipping Container Homes
Rakhee Shobhit Design Associates Creates Two Residential Units in India
Flat-Pack Floating Home Systems
MAST Debuts a Flexible Methodology for Floating Home Construction
Rooftop Patio Tiny Homes
The Ticab House Tiny House N 2 Makes Use of All Available Space
Ultra-Modern Apartment Designs
No Architects Created a Multi-Functional Modern Apartment
Configurable Nomadic Tiny Houses
The 'PICNIC' House by Mauro Polondak Opens From All Sides
Transparent Teardrop-Shaped Tents
Yuko Nagayama & Associates Presents the Teardrops Structures
Elegant Low-Cost Homes
Plup! Creates a Pair of Beautiful Dwellings in the Costa Rican Jungle
Sculptural Refugee Shelters
This Refugee Shelter Design Focuses on Flexibility and Airflow
Generously Glazed Tiny Homes
This Vacation House Has An Ingenious Interior Layout
Floating Bamboo Houses
This Vietnamese House Aims to Protect Residents From Rising Water Levels
Experimental Low-Carbon Housing
Velux & EFFEKT Debut Is Low-Carbon Housing Designs in Copenhagen
Pink-Hued Shipping Container Homes
These Pink Shipping Container Homes by Ishita Ganguly are Chic
3D-Printed House Neighborhoods
EYRC and Mighty Buildings Develop the Suburbs of the Future
Compactly Cubical Camping Shelters
The 'Maverick' Offers Durable Dwelling Both On & Off the Grid
Cat-Centric Compact Homes
This Japanese Dwelling Embraces Feline-Friendly Design Choices
Minimalist Concrete Homes
FRG Architects Designs the Courtyard Residence in Melbourne
Cube-Combining Tiny Homes
This Unique Tiny Home Uses Modular Spaces to Enable Flexible Use
Displaced Persons House Designs
The Essential Homes Research Project Has a Bunker-Like Form
Futuristic Portable Pods
This Ventilated Pod is Designed For a Multitude Of Applications
Accessible DIY Housing Strategies
Manuel Cervantes Estudio Promotes "Assisted Self-Production"
Shipping Container Tiny Homes
UnContained Dreams Designs the Rising Sun Tiny Home
Fully Recyclable 3D-Printed Homes
The BioHome3D is Constructed from Sustainable Materials
Sustainable Pop-Up Shelters
The Maawa X is Ultra-Compact and Can Fit into a Suitcase
Eco-Minded Modular Cabins
The DUB Modular Cabin Has a Cost-Effective Construction
Ethiopian-Inspired Pavilions
Flea Folly Architects Uses Local Materials for This Pavilion
Future Building Material Exhibitions
The Farrell Centre Debuts Its Inaugural Exhibition
Supermarket-Style Pavilions
Venice Architecture Biennale's Latvian Pavilion Has a Familiar Form
Energy-Efficient 3D-Printed Homes
Haus.me Introduces Premium Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs)
Posh Prefabricated Passive Houses
The GO Logic 1200 Model Has Two Bedrooms and Ample Natural Light
Modern Compact A-Frame Houses
Linda Cedar Homes Boast Easy-to-Build and Affordable A-Frame Houses
Recycled Plastic Floating Homes
MAST Presents the New Floating House Concept Design
Affordable 3D-Printed Houses
Serendix's Fujitsubo is Remarkable in the Realm of Affordable Housing
Temporary Cabin Hotels
Overtreders W Utilized Locally Sourced Materials for This Project
War Plane-Inspired Off-Grid Homes
Peter Markos Designs the Tiny Monocoque Cabin
3D-Printed Hotels
A First-of-Its-Kind Hotel is Coming to Marfa, Texas
Prefabricated Miniature Home Concepts
i29 Creates the Câpsula Concept for Dutch Design Week
Vehicular Shipping Container Homes
The Conceptual Jeep Container Home Supports Off-Grid Living
Intricate Robot-Built Structures
The Adel Design Research Laboratory Debuts a Timber Pavilion
Futuristic Auto Micro Factories
Most Architecture Unveils a Modern Factory for Charge Cars
Prefabricated A-Frame Cabins
Diano Salvador Designs the SULA Cabin in Galapagos Islands
Building Block Tiny Houses
The LEGO Tiny House Was Designed by MOCbuilder on LEGO IDEAS
Low-Cost Modular Prototype Housing
The Industrialized Building System Prototype Can Be Configured
Ocean-Cleaning Island Cities
Estudio Focaccia Prieto Conceptualizes Self-Sustaining Island Cities
Sustainable Floating Cork Homes
Studio RAP Designs the Float Home Made from Cork and Timber
Low-Cost Ethical Housing
Austin Maynard Architects Builds Low-Cost Housing in Melbourne
Miniature Insulated Home Solutions
Ark Tiny Homes Designs a New Converted Shipping Container Home
Tranquil Elevated Tiny Homes
Jan Tyrpekl Designs the Cozy Zen House in Austria
Energy-Efficient Prefabricated Homes
The 'SON.DER' Home Offers Environmentally Responsible Living
Flax Fiber Floating Homes
The Conceptual 'Blue Nomad' Floating Home is Sustainable
Wooden Offcut Facades
Kolman Boye Architects Practice Sustainability with This New Project
Sustainable Smart Cottages
The LG Smart Cottage is a Compact Prefab with Cutting-Edge Tech
Backyard-Transformed Dwelling Units
Catch Architecture and Obreval Design the ADU Carpintaria
Bendable Bio-Inspired Materials
The HygroShell is a Self-Constructing Timber Building System
Upgraded Off-Grid Tiny Homes
Minimaliste Designs the Nomad 30 Small Home with Improved Interior
Geometric Structural Forest Homes
The C House by GetAway Projects has a Half-Hexagonal Shape
Modular Flat-Pack Cabins
Caspar Schols' Cabin Anna is Versatile and Cost-Affective
Comfy Printed Component Chairs
These 3D-Printed Chair Designs are Sustainable and Modern
Modern Multi-Purpose Japanese Buildings
Akio Isshiki Architect Overhauls an Old Wooden Building
Two-Volume A-Frame Houses
Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados Designs a Home near Mexico City
Ultra-Compact Bungalow Designs
Satish Jassal Architects Completes the Haringey Brick Bungalow
Bio-Cement Oceanic Structures
The 'Reef Rocket' Combats Coastal Flooding and More
Box-Like Innovative Apartment Designs
Photon Studio's Designs the Box in the Box Apartment
Inaugural 3D-Printed Social Housing
Lünen is Home to the New 3D-Printed Home Project
Aluminum Cladded Mountain Refuge
EX Creates the Pinwheel Shelter with Prefabricatef CLT Panels
Prefabricated Forest Saunas
Out of the Valley Creates an Elegant and Compact Sauna in Devon
Sizable Solar Panel Pavilions
V8 Architects & Marjan Van Aubel Studio Build an Installation
Greenhouse-Inspired Pavilions
Barila Designs a "Dynamic Ecosystem" with the Dune Pavilion
Laminated-Timber Minimal Houses
Ao-ft Designs the New Spruce House Using Cross-Laminated Timber
Modular Camping Furniture
'Owomo' Created a Line of Build-Your-Own Camping Panels
Modular Beach Houses
Resolution 4 Architecture's Coastal House is Prefabricated and Compact
Urban Structural Street Furniture
BLUE Architecture Studio Designs the Symbiotic Urban Furniture
Upcycled Tower Designs
3XN Shows How Sustainable and Cost-Cffective Reuse Can Be
Energy-Efficient Office Buildings
This Czech Office Complex is Outfitted With Eco-Friendly Designs
Award-Winning Housing Designs
Hong-En Lin Emphasizes the Importance of Clean Water Access
Captivating Modern Prefab Cabins
Lloyoll Prefabs Creates the SKALI BackCountry Cubiod
Reusable Material Office Buildings
The MVRDV 'Matrix ONE' is Capable of Being Easily Demounted
High Concrete Walled Homes
Cesar Mancillas Creates a Linear Home with Tranquil Elements
Prefabricated Timber Barn Residences
Lake Flato Architects Designs the North Fork Residence
3D-Printed Sturdy Homes
Progreso and COBOD Creates a Printed Durable Home Within Hours
Bio-Based Compact Housing
Woonpioniers Designs the Sustainable Sprout Ruben & Marjolein House
Bamboo-Inspired Cultural Buildings
This Cultural Center Seamlessly Blends Into its Surroundings
Monolithic Concrete-Clad Pavilions
Alberto Campo Baeza Collaborated with Miguel Quismondo
Flood-Mitigating Wooden Homes
Ushijima Architects Designs a New Small Home in Shiga Prefecture
Puzzle-Inspired Modern Dwellings
Gheorghe's Puzzle Link Apartment Features Striking Elements
Accelerated Modular Housing Construction
David Baker Architects Pushes for Housing in San Fran
Caterpillar-Shaped Apartment Buildings
Undecorated Developed an Eye-Catching Metal Building
Economical Modular Wooden Homes
The Cake House Reinvents Housing in the Czech Republic
Elevated Timber-Clad Homes
Habitable Form Designs the Victory Bay House on Kiawah Island
Seaweed-Topped Pavilions
Rex Skov Arkitekter Explores the Potential of Seaweed in Architecture
Tent-Like Exhibition Pavilions
Buero Wagner Creates the Adaptable Black Pavilion in Rome
Y-Shaped Community Pavilions
Sam Crawford Architects Creates a Red-Roof Pavilion in Sydney
Upcycled Plastic Construction Companies
'Kubik' Uses Plastic Waste as a Sustainable Material
Self-Sustaining Houses
Archiopteryx Designs the People Tree House in Noida, India
Prefabricated Exposed Structural Homes
Workshop Architecture Inc Designs the Unfinished House
Lake-Bordering Timber Cabins
3AE and Les Archinautes Join on a New Cabin in Czech Republic
Fish Scale-Resembling Facades
Renzo Piano Building Workshop Designs the Istanbul Modern
Ancient Construction Campus Buildings
Henning Larsen Designs a New Campus in Foroe Islands
Concrete-Glass Contrasting Pavilions
Jenny Peysin Architecture Designs a New Home in the Hamptons
Rustic Recycled Wood Tables
The 'Primitive Structures' Table Design by Jongwon Lee is Stone-Like
Modern Concrete Hayfield Homes
Omer Arbel Designs the 75.9 House in the Canadian Pacific Northwest
Industrial Concrete Structural Offices
Diez + Muller Arquitectos Designs a New Office for Novopan
Welcoming Prefabricated Student Housing
Ignacio Prego Architectures Designs New Student Housing
Local Craft-Shown Bamboo Pavilions
AtArchitecture Designs the Northeast Pavilion for an Art Fair
Locally Sourced Angular Cabins
Juri Troy Architects Designs the Straw Flea House in Murstetten
Steel-Cladded Social Housing
Christ & Gantenbein Creates a Block of Social Housing in Paris
Community Hub Timber Pavilions
The Craft Not Carbon Pavilion Raises in London's Park
Modern Mobile Futuristic Homes
Nestron Presents its Range of Contemporary Tiny Homes
Concrete Monolithic Pavilions
Pezo Von Ellrichshausen's Less is Attention-Grabbing
Glass Bridge-Connected Small Homes
PJCArchitecture Finishes a Micro-Home Design in Ecuador
Carbon Concrete Cubic Buildings
Henn and the Technical University of Dresden Design the Cube
Geometric African Homes
Gregory Katz Architecture Designs the Great Primary Shapes Home
Waterfront Social Housing
Studioninedots Designed Stepped Buildings in Amsterdam,
Cast-Concrete Cooling Homes
The FR House by CAZA Optimizes Natural Cooling Structures
Modular Wooden Holiday Homes
Arsenit Designs the Piil Home Resting in an Estonian Forest
Sustainable Cubic Homes
Appels Architekten Designs a New Wooden Home in Germany
Log Cabin-Inspired Modern Homes
Balbek Bureau Renovates a Home in Ukraine with Steel and Concrete
3D-Printed Public Pavilion Prototypes
Hassell Works with Nagami on a New Public Pavilion
Lighthouse-Functioning Concrete Structures
Lin Architecture Creates the Concrete Pavilion in China
Latticed-Steel Transport Hub Columns
Tremend Designs the Metropolitan Station in Lublin
Low-Carbon Student Housing Crescents
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios Designs Housing in Cambridge
Reinforced Concrete Housing Sets
Atelier Rampazzi Designs the Residenza Carèsg Row of Homes
Modular Tent Classroom Designs
Zaha Hadid Architects Designs a Series of Classrooms for Refugees
Pyramidal Roof Steel-Framed Homes
Niall McLaughlin Architects Designs the Saltmarsh House
Timber Wooden Pavilion Installations
The Mass is More Installation Updates the Barcelona Pavilion
Wooden Multi-Building Brazilian Convents
Mixtura Unveils a New Convent in Salvador de Bahia
Mass-Timber Transport Hubs
BIG and A+ Architecture Build the Marengo Multimodal Transport Hub
Climate-Friendly Waterfront Homes
From 4 to 1 Creates Three Pavilions in Copenhagen
Illuminating Water-Based Pavillions
Daniel Ryabakken Installs the Shelter Pavilion in Stockholm
View-Overlooking Portable Wooden Saunas
BIVAK Studio Designs the Portable New SAUNABIVAK
Textured Concrete Tiered Homes
Nomo Studio Designs the Shift House Holiday Residence
Preserved Townhome Concrete Facades
Rieder Joins Faerber on Preserving an Original Structure
Sleek Timber-Constructed Sheds
Fabric Designs the Nightlight Shed in Akaroa, New Zealand
Wooden Pavilion Seaside Homes
LAND Arquitectos Designs the House of Circumstances in Chile
Pre-Fabricated Fire Stations
Wittman Estes Forms the Rapid Assembly Fire Station 67
Disaster-Ready Housing Prototypes
Holcim & Norman Foster Join on the Essential Homes Project
Climate-Sensitive Pavilion Structures
Querkraft Designs the Pavilion Inspired by Wind Towers
Distinctive Airlifted Structures
Arête Architects and Makers Fabrication Design the Karka Tower
Interfaith Family House Complexes
Adjaye Associates Designs the Abrahamic Family House