ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the technical evolution of the prefabricated Variel units built and designed in the 1970s and 1980s in Belgium by studying five designs of the Belgian architect Willy Van Der Meeren. During that period the span of the modules increased, the construction of the concrete slabs changed and the composition of walls, floors and roofs evolved to comply with new standards. The chapter explores the findings of the archival and onsite analysis of five buildings constructed with Variel modules that were designed and constructed by architect Willy Van Der Meeren in Belgium between 1969 and 1981. The Variel system, developed by the Swiss architect Fritz Stucky, was serial produced in large quantities all over the world. In Belgium, Eternit became a licensee of Variel in 1970 and soon afterwards the first Belgian Variel factory was built in Seilles.
