Is prefab housing about to shake off its low-quality, post-WWII image? New London Architecture’s research paper and exhibition ‘Factory-made Housing’, suggests this is the case.

Advances in high-tech design and construction mean increasing numbers of components can be manufactured off-site. That means buildings can go up more quickly and quietly, with less materials wasted – an enticing prospect given London’s housing crisis.

To accommodate modular house-building, developers are building their own factories, and architects are getting ever more ambitious in their designs. Here are five of our favourite London modular housing designs.

Robins Court in Clapham by Surface to Air Architecture

Due for completion March 2019 These five units are from the townhouse range of the Urbane toolkit. Each prefab house is manufactured in a day and installed on site in 24 hours. Render courtesy of Surface To Air Maryon Road in Greenwich by Facit Homes

Completed July 2015 The only access to the site was a small tunnelled driveway, so components were designed to be manageable by hand, by just two people, meaning no cranes were needed. Photography: Facit Homes Maryon Road in Greenwich by Facit Homes

Completed July 2015 The only access to the site was a small tunnelled driveway, so components were designed to be manageable by hand, by just two people, meaning no cranes were needed. Photography: Facit Homes Savoy in West London by HTA Design LLP

Completed May 2018 This seven-storey student accommodation was built of 338 modules. It stands in a conservation area and is clad in hand-set brick and cast stone. Photography: HTA Design LLP Savoy in West London by HTA Design LLP

Completed May 2018 This seven-storey student accommodation was built of 338 modules. It stands in a conservation area and is clad in hand-set brick and cast stone. Photography: HTA Design LLP The Boiler House in Hayes by Studio Egret West & executive architect Stride Treglown

Completed May 2018 Part of developer U+I’s Old Vinyl Factory development, the block comprises 54 apartments above two commercial units. The structure above the ground floor is a cross-laminated timber frame that was manufactured off-site. Photography: Stride Treglown Ravens Wharf in Greenwich, by Craftworks

Due for completion 2021 This prefab tower – or ‘plyscraper’ – for developer Land Edition will hold more than 100 apartments. It will be constructed of cross-laminated timber panels joined in different combinations to create different-sized homes. Renders courtesy Craftworks Ravens Wharf in Greenwich, by Craftworks

Due for completion 2021 This prefab tower – or ‘plyscraper’ – for developer Land Edition will hold more than 100 apartments. It will be constructed of cross-laminated timber panels joined in different combinations to create different-sized homes. Renders courtesy Craftworks

Read next:

5 prefab homes you can build in under 24 hours

Meet the new generation of ‘plyscrapers’