Witold Rybczynski on the Prefab Fad

Witold Rybczynski does another one of his trademark slideshows on Slate, noting that the first house he ever designed was a prefab and it has stood the test of time. However he continues with " the current vogue for prefabs is more about industrial chic than affordability." and ends with quoting Colin Davies: " "The strength of the prefabricated house lies in its popularity, its cheapness and the industrial base from which it operates," he writes. "These are precisely the areas in which modern architecture is weakest. Modern architecture is unpopular, expensive and divorced from industrial production. That is why whenever it has tried to extend its field to include the territory of the prefabricated house it has failed and been forced to retreat." Rybczynki concludes "The current generation of Modernist prefabs is unlikely to fare any better." I hope he is wrong. ::Slate