Dezeen Wire: Rotterdam research agency Arch-Vision reports that architects' enthusiasm for using prefabricated elements has continued to increase since their report on prefab use in Europe this time last year.
Above: responses to the statement "Nowadays you can create architectural good looking buildings with prefab materials as well"
See all Arch-Vision reports on Dezeen Wire.
Here are some more details from Arch-Vision:
European architects even more positive about design possibilities of prefab than last year
The operational advantages of prefab elements were acknowledged by architects shortly after their introduction. However, the limited diversity was a complain frequently heard among architects. The application of prefab elements was at the expense of the architectural design, many architects said, and this because of the uniformity of prefab. Since then, prefab elements have been further developed successfully.
The results of the O2 2011 research of the European Architectural Barometer confirm again that nowadays architects are much more enthusiastic about the application of prefab elements, with the Dutch and Spain architects leading. According to the results, 88% of the Dutch and 83% of the Spanish architects indicate that they can create good looking architectural designs by using prefab nowadays. Most of the architects in other countries confirm this. Compared to last year (Q2 2010), the number of architects that (strongly) agrees with the statement increased in most countries.
In addition, a majority of French, Spanish (both 66%) and Dutch (51%) architects expects an increase in application of prefab elements because of a shrinking labour market. The number of architects with this expectation has increased compared to last year. This shows that the expected future labor shortages in these countries have a stimulating effect on the use of prefab.
Nowadays you can create architectural good looking buildings with prefab materials as well.
These and many other results are shown in the European Architectural Barometer, an international research among 1,200 architects in Europe. Four times a year, this study is conducted by Arch-Vision in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Besides indicators to forecast European building volumes, a topic is highlighted each quarter. This is because architects are not only a reliable indicator for future building volumes, but they are also very influential in how projects are built and which materials are used.
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