For such a simple term, "prefab" brings with it a burdensome mess of political and ideological associations. Plainly put, prefabrication is the practice of readying the components of a building project off site before they are assembled on site. The term can be applied to works ranging from dinky ski huts transportable by helicopter to any building that incorporates pre-cut panels.
In Britain it still carries with it the taint of unlovely post-second world war housing but during the past decade the concept has been picked up and brushed off: for some buyers it has become the route to affordable modern housing; for others, it is simply a less stressful way to build.
