Plugin House: Modern Pre–Fab Architecture

An inspirational manifesto of innovative pre-fab solutions to the urgent housing problems around the world from a progressive young practice.

A manifesto for a new age of architecture, Plugin House is a guide to the innovative, sustainable and community-driven solutions to the global housing crisis. Challenging conventional architectural practices, the book champions the prefabricated house as an affordable and practical way to address homelessness, housing scarcity or gentrification. An empowering model for small studios and self-builders worldwide, Plugin House proposes an architectural revolution through houses that can be built quickly with limited tools and experience.

The book presents a diverse array of Plugin House projects by international architecture studio People’s Architecture Office (PAO), brought to life by photography of these structures in situ. Located in China and the US, the projects shine a spotlight on the shared issues underlying the global housing crisis and the transformative ideas that can be replicated or adapted to different contexts around the world.

Insights into barriers to accessible housing and potential ways to overcome them are revealed through personal stories, each its own mini graphic novel. Illustrated assembly manuals reveal how Plugin Houses are put together, and a comprehensive atlas of each Plugin House to date details their design and construction.

A visually striking and inspiring handbook, Plugin House boldly paints a vivid picture of a new architectural paradigm, igniting a call to action for architects and urban planners worldwide.

About the Author

People’s Architecture Office (PAO) is an international architecture practice based in Los Angeles, Beijing and Shenzhen. Founded in 2010 by James Shen, He Zhe and Zang Feng, the firm focuses on work that fosters social interaction and diverse perspectives. The Plugin House Company is an offshoot of the studio’s work that seeks to solve housing problems through low-cost prefabricated homes.