Prefabricated materials are practically unavoidable in the construction industry today, and there is no reason to try and avoid them. Variable levels of prefabrication in many ways allows for more flexibility in design. Timber joints, for example, vary in column caps from Simpson Strong Tie© (right) to a proprietary connector designed by Anderson + Anderson, a design-build firm out of Seattle, Washington. The connections allow prefabricated pieces to be as site specific as site-built. The relationship to the landscape can become exponentially more personal than the “precast” stereotype leads itself to be. The stigma that comes with “prefab” needs specificity.
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