The Prefab Bathroom

This congenial graphic architectural history examines the significance of the prefab bathroom in the history of prefabricated technologies in the built environment. The cultural aspects of ritual and sanitary necessities of hygiene have added to complexities in bathroom design, and driven the development of various alternative construction methods, specifically prefabrication.
First introduced with Buckminister Fuller’s 1936 Dymaxion Bathroom, and subsequently revisited by many architects and designers, the prefab model has expanded to “pod” and “plug-in” concepts on the building- and city-scale.

Deborah Schneiderman is an associate professor of interior design at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Her research and design has been published most recently in Interior Design, Metropolis, Dezeen, and Inhabitat as well as in peer reviewed journals and as chapters in books.
Bishakh Som is an artist, illustrator and graphic designer. His previous work has appeared in The Graphic Canon (vol. 3), The Brooklyn Rail and Specs Journal,. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Deborah Schneiderman and Bishakh Kumar Som
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 136
Bibliographic Info: full color illustrations, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-7600-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1655-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 1

01 A Brief History of the Bathroom 3

02 Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion Prefab Prototype 15

03 The Influence of Modernism on Prefab Architecture 35

04 Plastic and Polyester 62

05 Prefab Inside Out 77

06 Prefab Bathroom Now 94

Conclusion 113

Prefab Architects of Note 114

Bibliography 121

Index 125