The bureaucratic mechanisms of the temporary home: Examining the development of prefabricated house-types through trade contracts between Finland and Israel, 1948-1958

In the 1940s and 1950s, Finland became a major exporter of wooden prefabricated detached houses. The growth of this industry coincided with a great global demand for housing which followed the Second World War. Different companies and sawmills were active on the Finnish market, among them, the sales organizations Puutalo Oy and Puurakenteiden myyntiyhdistys. One of the biggest importers of the Finnish houses in the early post-war years was Israel. Gaining independence in 1948, the country had to resettle thousands of displaced refugees, arriving from Europe and the Mediterranean in need of a home. Israel’s trade agreements with Finland laid the foundation for a long-distance planning process when the state and other agents negotiated the designs of the houses with the Finnish manufacturers. The aim was to develop types suited especially for the Israeli needs. Based on ongoing research, this paper presents the complex diplomatic, economic, and political story of the import of the houses and the development of the models. The case is a challenging opportunity to learn from this period in mass housing history, building a methodology based on the paper trail left in official documents, correspondences, and architectural drawings, as well as in contemporary media, to discover the bureaucratic, political and economic mechanisms that shaped it.