From the beginning, advocates of
factory-built housing promised cheaper,
better, and faster housing. None of
these goals have been met; a good
designer and builder of stick-built
homes can match or exceed a similar
factory-built product on all these
counts. Yet the industry grows and
prospers. The reason in simple: Factory-
built homes are predictable in their
design and construction.
Why Clients Need
Predictable Designs
I like to use a diagram (see illustration
below) to describe the design
process. Each line from the center represents
an individual design issue
requiring a decision: framing,
cladding, paint, electrical service, etc.
The distance the line reaches out
from the center represents the emphasis
placed on that decision, properly
weighted, including its cost.
In a perfect design,