Architects are increasingly enthusiastic about the application of prefab elements, with the Dutch and Spain architects leading, according to Arch-Vison, a European Market research company.

The results of the O2 2011 research of the European Architectural Barometer, an international research study among 1,200 architects, confirm that nowadays architects are much more enthusiastic about the application of prefab elements, with the Dutch and Spain architects leading.

According to the results, 88% of the Dutch and 83% of the Spanish architects indicate that they can create good looking architectural designs by using prefab nowadays. Most of the architects in other countries confirm this. Compared to last year (Q2 2010), the number of architects that (strongly) agrees with the statement increased in most countries.

In addition, a majority of French, Spanish (both 66%) and Dutch (51%) architects expects an increase in application of prefab elements because of a shrinking labour market. The number of architects with this expectation has increased compared to last year. This shows that the expected future labor shortages in these countries have a stimulating effect on the use of prefab.

These and many other results are shown in the European Architectural Barometer, an international research among 1,200 architects in Europe. Four times a year, this study is conducted by Arch-Vision in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Besides indicators to forecast European building volumes, a topic is highlighted each quarter. This is because architects are not only a reliable indicator for future building volumes, but they are also very influential in how projects are built and which materials are used.