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The wonders of prefab never cease to amaze me. Architect Richard Rogers took a page from China's style of constructing buildings: Do it lightning fast, baby!

But Rogers' method is different. He is pioneernig a new generation of flatpack prefab housing.

The architect is the subject of a retrospective at London's Royal Academy, and as part of an expansive show, the Academy is highlighting his work with prefab. Curators invited Rogers and his team to build a three story prefab housing units, all of which typically takes less than 24 hours to construct.
The panels have the advantage of being lightweight, very fire and water retardant, and even earthquake and hurricane proof. A patented jointing system ensures high levels of both acoustic and thermal insulation and the system offers the potential to reduce energy bills by up to 90%, thereby helping to alleviate fuel poverty, a growing issue in Britain today.
The model was used to build Rogers' 2007 housing development in Oxley Woods. While it didn't spark a prefab revolution in London, it's still some pretty damn impressive stuff. Check out the time-lapse below: [Guardian]