Prefabs

A History of the UK Temporary Housing Programme

Brenda Vale

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000553703
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Architektur
• Subtopic: Architekturgeschichte

Originally published in 1995, this book unravels the history of the 'temporary bungalow' and shows that perhaps it was more a question of providing a new peace-time product for factories than a means of providing accommodation for the homeless. Built in a period of housing history which remains fascinating for architects and planners and admired by some of their first occupants but berated by others, those prefabs remaining today are subject to preservation orders but also perhaps offer a solution to the ongoing housing crisis in the UK. The book includes chapters on the development of the prefab house in the UK; comparisons with temporary housing programmes in the USA, Sweden and Germany; political and economic considerations to the UK Temporary Housing Programme and a discussion of the design of the Arcon, Uni-Seco, Tarran and Aluminium Temporary Bungalows.

1 THE PREFAB AND ITS PEOPLE

‘It had a built-in fridge - a real luxury in them days.’¹

INTRODUCTION

In comparison with today’s architectural aesthetics the prefab is small, boring and probably unworthy of extensive study. Nor in terms of housing statistics is the impact of the prefab in the post-war world very significant. It is the tenacious nature of the prefab which is the first surprise. Some 156,623 temporary bungalows² were produced for rent under the aegis of the 1944 Temporary Housing Programme, each with a design life of 10–15 years, though many have lasted much longer.³ The last temporary bungalow was handed over in March 1949 (see Chapter 6), so the country should theoretically have been cleared of them by 1964. However, by this date in England and Wales there remained some 67,353 prefabs still in use as temporary accommodation under the arrangements of the Programme, and a further 21,014 which had been purchased by the local authorities and were still occupied. By the middle of 1964, of the original allocation of 124,455 bungalows in England and Wales only 29 per cent, or 36,088 had been removed.⁴ By the end of the period 1945–1966, in Scotland of the 32,176 bungalows completed 13,585 were still in occupation under the Programme, 671 had been transferred to the local authorities, and 56 per cent, or 17,920, had been removed.⁵ By the end of 1971, in Scotland the remaining bungalows, some 3,505 or 11 per cent of the original allocation were no longer considered temporary dwellings and were treated as permanent houses for statistical purposes.^6,7

The prefab, however, was not one design, but rather a series of different methods of framing and cladding a basic set of accommodation stemming from a prototype by the Ministry of Works (commonly called the Portal Bungalow after the Minister, Lord Portal). This prototype was an all steel product and incorporated a combined prefabricated kitchen and bathroom unit, also the brainchild of the Ministry of Works (see Chapter 5). From the beginning of May 1944 the Portal Bungalow was on exhibition daily, except for Sundays, at the Tate Gallery. Tickets were necessary for admission. These were issued initially to local authorities for further allocation. Provision was also made for a similar exhibition in Scotland. From the start the prototype was seen as experimental, and comments were invited from the world at large as to any improvements and modifications that might be thought necessary. The Portal bungalow was designed to be exposed to public gaze: one was even exhibited in Cairo for inspection by the armed forces:

Five thousand years later, a number of British warriors found themselves in a similar position to the ancient Egyptian monarch, except that they required homes. Representations were accordingly made on their behalf. Although some 300,000 workers were eager to start, it was only after considerable delay that plans were eventually made. With the applied experience of five thousand years, the modern version of prefabrication took shape in the form of a ‘Portal’. One was erected in the vicinity of the Pyramids.⁸

The Portal prototype was never put into production although a revised version was again exhibited in London in the autumn of 1944. However, a number of manufacturers were asked to supply bungalows based upon the prototype. Again, three of these (the steel framed Arcon house clad in asbestos cement with its own plan; the Uni-Seco which adapted an existing system of timber framed, asbestos cement clad panels to the revised Portal plan; and the Tarran which adapted an existing reinforced concrete panel and light timber frame construction to the revised Portal plan) were included in this further exhibition at the Tate Gallery, which was open to the public.⁹ The aluminium bungalow was exhibited separately in the summer of 1945.¹⁰

These four new bungalows used materials that were in short supply because of the war (for example, timber) in the most economical way possible or, alternatively, used materials that were available but which had not previously been associated with housing (for example, aluminium). Of all the various types of bungalow produced under the programme only these four were made in any quantity - the Arcon (38,859), Uni-Seco (28,999), Tarran (19,014 for three types using the same system) and the Aluminium (54,500).¹¹ Not only do the four differ in their materials but also in their methods of design approach and manufacture. The quantities in which these four types were produced are also sufficient to be described as mass-produced. Most of the other types never exceeded the size of run that might be thought suitable for a prototype (see Chapter 6). In terms of a visual representation of the Temporary Housing Programme, it is these four types of bungalow which are most likely to be found in use.

THE ARCON BUNGALOW

Ultimately, the most sophisticated arrangement of the standard two bedroom accommodation was probably that of the Arcon Mark V bungalow (figure 1.1). The two-bedroom Arcon had all rooms, apart from the kitchen, leading off a hall which contained the WC and a built-in meter and coat cupboard. The airing cupboard, which was part of the prefabricated bathroom/kitchen unit, also gave into the hall. Partitions between the living room and bedroom 1 and bedroom 2 and the hall were partly composed of cupboard units. The kitchen, apart from its cooker, sink etc, which were combined with the bathroom plumbing and wiring, also contained a larder with ventilation direct to the outside, and a folding table. A separate shed was to be provided in the garden space for the storage of bicycles and tools. All the bungalows were variations of similar accommodation.

Figure 1.1. Arcon Mark V bungalow plan. (Source: Ministry of Health/Ministry of Works, 1944a)

A complete Arcon Mark V exists at the Avoncroft Museum of Building at Bromsgrove, (figure 1.3) but the bungalow has survived in use well beyond its design life as is evidenced by the large estate of Arcons that still exists at Newport, Gwent (figure 1.2). Other Arcons can also be seen recycled for a variety of purposes. The corrugated asbestos cladding and curved ridge at the gable ends gave the bungalow a distinctive outline that made it the typical prefab in many eyes (figure 1.3).

Figure 1.2. Arcon bungalow in Newport, Gwent, 1994.

Figure 1.3. Arcon bungalow preserved at Avoncroft Museum of Buildings, Bromsgrove. (By courtesy of Avoncroft Museum of Buildings)

The Arcon group included a firm of architects, a group of industrialists and a building contractor.¹² From the beginning the architects of the group were interested in houses:

In April, 1943, Arcon formed the opinion that a minimum-area demountable house, susceptible to mass production, would be required in order to take the ‘razor edge’ off immediate post-war demand. The work of developing such a house fell clearly into two sections: the structure or covered space; the service or mechanical core.¹³

The Arcon group first began work on the development of prefabricated construction for permanent housing, together with the development of a mechanical core where the kitchen (figure 1.4) and bathroom units were placed back to back.¹⁴ In fact the Ministry of Works prefabricated bathroom/kitchen unit was exhibited in Spring 1944, before the Arcon version had been completed (although the former was, perhaps, less sophisticated as it failed to combine the WC in the prefabricated plumbing unit). Simultaneously Arcon had started work on a demountable house using data obtained from their investigation of prefabrication. At this point, for Arcon, the ‘temporary’ nature of the house was not seen as being a matter of limited life but only of limited life related to location, with the demountable house being moved on once other accommodation was available. This initial approach to a temporary house may in part account for the variety of Arcon bungalows that now exist in other guises.

Figure 1.4. The kitchen of the Avoncroft Museum Arcon bungalow. (By courtesy of Avoncroft Museum of Buildings)

The development of the Arcon temporary house was known to Lord Portal and Arcon were consequently invited to exhibit their house, based on the tenets above. The Arcon Mark II was, therefore, put up in the spring of 1944 amidst flying bomb attacks. The fact that any available building labour had been redirected to repair bomb damaged buildings meant that by the Saturday evening prior to Lord Portal’s inspection on the Monday the bungalow was up but not painted. The general atmosphere surrounding the development of this new house from the factory is revealed by the following description:

The Arcon staff rallied round and mobilised their wives and friends, and on that Saturday painted relentlessly while the sirens wailed in the June sky. It was on this Sunday that the bomb that fell on St. Thomas’s Hospital - three hundred yards away across the river - found us painting busily on the roof. There was no time to reach the ground and the safety of our blast wall, so we dropped flat on the asbestos cement we had just painted. In spite of all, the house was ready for the Minister’s insp...