Prefabricated components and modular building methods: projects and technical articles on design, fabrication, assembly and the details of serial construction.
Speed comes at a price, and the magic box has its limits. Modular construction is both a blessing and a curse. For years, politicians have promised that modular building would deliver housing faster and more cheaply, yet in 2026 the number of new homes is heading for its lowest level in years. Extremely fast building sites on the one hand, greater planning effort on the other. A look at modular construction, between promise and the reality on site.
In 1980, Jean Nouvel's Collège Anne Frank in the south of Paris reduced the state-mandated model for industrialised school buildings to the level of farce. Mars Architectes has now renovated the dilapidated building and helped to give new relevance to this architectural provocation.
From yoga to retro parties: with the Markelfingen multi-purpose hall on Lake Constance, Steimle Architects have designed a meeting place for all generations. Beneath the widely cantilevered coffered ceiling, adaptable spaces have been created using timber construction.
Timber room modules supported by a timber frame plinth construction constitute a pilot project for future-proof building designed by Riehle Koeth. They developed an ice storage system for use as a thermal battery.
With its industrial facade and concrete room module loadbearing structure, the highrise building in Poblenou refers to the history of the former factory district. The high degree of prefabrication shortened construction time to only three weeks.
Textured prefabricated concrete elements emphasise the modular character of the new pharmaceutical company headquarters at the urban fringe of Køge. They provide the necessary thermal mass to enable safely storing medicinal products.
How can a narrow infill site in the inner city be redensified as simply as possible? A modular housing structure in Cologne by Aretz Dürr Architektur offers an efficient answer with a compelling design based on minimalist elegance.
The New Customs University in Rostock is more than the largest timber modular building in Europe. Here, Sauerbruch Hutton demonstrates just how individualised mass-produced construction can be. The 600 students are delighted.
Border controls are being stepped up once again. In Rostock, over just two years Sauerbruch Hutton has built a new training centre for 600 aspiring customs officers: a timber modular building - complete with a student hall of residence.
The refurbishment of the 'Kosmalt' student hall of residence in Košice, Slovakia, demonstrates how prefabricated buildings from the 1960s can be given a new lease of life. The XS flats accommodate up to two people in a space of just 21 m².
In our interview, Elli Mosayebi, Swiss architect and professor at ETH Zurich, explains why experimental concepts for sufficiency-driven indoor climate can be applied to conventional housing types.
Advertorial Opened in October 2025, the Moabiter Kinderhof in Berlin is designed as an open space for the daily lives of children and young people in an urban environment. Kersten Kopp Architekten responded to the unique location between the park and the neighborhood with a complex of buildings consisting of several cubes reminiscent of building blocks, which blend harmoniously among the surrounding trees. The new building was constructed using timber; its structural framework consists of prefabricated modules that were manufactured in the factory and assembled on-site. The architecture is understood as a framework for openness, participation, and orientation. This guiding principle is consistently reflected in the choice of materials: Inside, the rubber flooring norament 926 with the iconic round pastille provides the ideal foundation for children constantly moving in and out between the playground and the building.