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Dezeenwire: European architects are becoming more enthusiastic about using prefabricated elements according to a report by Rotterdam research agency Arch-Vision. See press release below.

European architects positive about design possibilities of prefab

The operational advantages of prefab elements were acknowledged by architects shortly after their introduction. However, the limited diversity was a frequently heard complaint made by architects. The application of prefab elements was said to be at the expense of the architectural design, due to the uniformity of prefab. Since then, prefab elements have been further developed successfully. As a result, architects are nowadays much more enthusiastic about the application of prefab elements.

The European Architectural Barometer shows that 86% of the Dutch architects say they can create good looking architectural design by using prefab nowadays. Architects in Italy (75%), France (67%) and the UK (53%) confirm this notion. Only the German architects (29%) do not agree. On the contrary, even 47% of the German architects (strongly) disagree.

Nonetheless, 61% of the German architects expect an increase in application of prefab elements due to a shrinking labour market. Also French (63%) and Dutch (53%) architects expect an increase for the same reasons.

These and many other results are shown in the European Architectural Barometer, an international research among 1200 architects in Europe. Four times a year, this study is conducted by Arch-Vision in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. The research covers the developments of architectural turnover and order volumes. Besides these economic statistics, a topic is highlighted each quarter. This is because architects are not only a good indicator for future building volumes, but they also are a main influence on how projects are built and what kind of material is used.

www.arch-vision.eu