Nearly every day we see reports that there is too little housing and what there is, is unaffordable. The inflation of land cost, construction material, and labor combined with energy conservation provisions and systems complexity has doubled the cost of housing on roughly a ten-year interval. Our wages cannot possibly keep up..
At the same time we see regular suggestions that manufacturing techniques can reduce the cost of housing if only we could organize ourselves to take advantage of them. Of course there are reasons why this approach is rare.
Manufacturing typically produces a repeatable product, and most products represent a modest investment. Even an automobile – most people’s second largest lifetime purchase – is at most ten percent of the cost of a home. Housing production, given this expense, is very susceptible to market dynamics. When the economy dips construction stops. This makes it hard to support the constant overhead manufacturing requires for payroll, research, development, prototyping, and equipment. Modular construction companies fail at an alarming rate. And housing – given variations of taste, site, and climate - tends to be idiosyncratic. Where an automobile manufacturer may offer twenty or so models housing variability is endless
There is, however, an exception, and that is the Mobile Home or as HUD calls it Manufactured Housing. HUD regulates mobile homes, and their standards are rapidly approaching conventional construction. Mobile home leverage common elements, bulk purchasing, and volume manufacturing to create value. When designed to appeal to contemporary tastes with durable materials, increased insulation, and efficient heating and cooling systems, a two bedroom mobile home can be manufactured for as little as $125,000. This is less than half the cost of conventional construction.
The second condition that makes Manufactured Housing inexpensive is that it is often placed on leased land. Land typically represents thirty percent of the cost of a home and site infrastructure adds another ten percent. Leased land with common infrastructure is less costly and is typically subject to a monthly fee. While the land is often privately owned and sometimes subject to speculation there is a growing movement toward the community land trust model where the land is commonly owned.
The Mobile Home Park is as ripe for reimagining as the mobile home itself. Typically aligned in military formation surrounded by a sea of gravel and asphalt the main impression is that of a used car dealership. With a bit of regulatory ingenuity these buildngs can be sited in a variety of ways, automobiles can be made inconspicuous , and greenery can replace much of the asphalt. Mobile homes are essentially single story housing blocks with the potential to make streets, courtyards, and the variety that is typical of any good townscape.
Client
Private
Status
Designed
Status
2024
Residential
1,000 sf
The perception of the Mobile Home Park as a place for the down and out is a matter of taste and context. Although mobile homes are often derided as housing of last resort this was not always the case. Veterans returning from WW2 were offered mobile homes with future forward styling and innovative convenience. Well considered location, design, and landscape, are all that is necessary to change that perception.
We owe it to ourselves to take advantage of an affordable and flexible housing solution with potentially innovative land ownership models. When the regulatory context forces the usual models we need to summon the will to explain the potential in changing it.
Of course the next question is, can we leverage this approach to construct multi-story housing. If we can accept the limitations of the manufacturing process and find a way to smooth out the vagaries of our bust and boom cycles there is everything to gain by doing so.