ABSTRACT
In the era of the second phase, the “box delivery industry” took shape, disconnected from struggles with power and concerns about breaking away from modernity, but rather by dealing with the tough realities of the market. The industry grew to provide inhabitants with various choices and the possibility of participating in the creation of their own living environment. In Chapter 3, I will discuss the clear example of the housing industry.
In the 1970s, for example, prefabricated houses began to be offered with increased choices in terms of sizes and layout, as well as roof shapes and slope inclination. In the field of multi-family housing, the public housing authority in Japan, called the Japan Housing Corporation, focused its efforts on a system separating the infill from the support, which allows individual inhabitants to select the layout of the infill.
During the 1980s, the degree of freedom in the size and layout of the prefabricated houses increased dramatically. In the 1990s, factories introduced the “production by house” system. Some manufacturers even claimed that the number of housing component types under manufacturing control exceeded several million. The variation in the floor plans even within one condominium increased dramatically. In the 2000s, services that accept floor plan arrangements and specifications by residents have become common.
In Chapter 3, I also focus on the importance of understanding the role of salespeople, who worked to form relationships with inhabitants, as well as the tatami module, which is unique to Japanese architecture. These points are related to the development of the third phase.
