Carl Koch (architect)

Albert Carl Koch
Born	11 May 1912 Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Died	03 July 1998 Cambridge, Massachusetts
Nationality	USA
Occupation	Architect
Practice	Carl Koch & Associates
Buildings	Techbuilt System

Carl Koch ( May 11, 1912– 3 July 3, 1998) was a noted American architect. He was most associated with the design of prefabricated homes and development of the Techcrete building system.

He was born Albert Carl Koch in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was educated at Harvard College and received his Master of Architecture degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He completed his studies in 1937. The time he spent at Harvard overlapped with arrival of Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus in Germany.

After completing his education, he moved to Sweden where he worked for Sven Markelius for six months. There he blended what he had learned in his formal education with clean Scandinavian design. These influences were evident in his work, especially the Techbuilt homes.

Koch believed that the American lifestyle would be best served by a housing system which could be easily assembled, disassembled and reconfigured. This passion led him to pioneer prefabrication technologies. His Techbuilt series of homes was designed to be built with prefabricated panels for the walls, floor and roof.

His prime legacy is the Techbuilt system of home construction. In the Techbuilt house, the master bedroom is upstairs while the other bedrooms, kitchen and living space are all on the first floor.

Carl Koch is known for his successful early designs for prefabricated housing. He created the Techbuilt System of home construction. Progressive Architecture magazine gave him the unofficial title "The Grandfather of Prefab" in 1994. In total, over 3,000 Techbuilt homes were sold. He outlined his thoughts and experiences on prefabrication in a book which he wrote with Andy Lewis entitled At Home With Tomorrow (NYC: Rinehart Rinehart and Company, Inc., 1958.)

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