Finding aid for the MOD-X Building System records, 1952-1967
Finding aid prepared by Jennifer Maiko Kishi
Descriptive Summary
Title: MOD-X Building System records
Date (inclusive): 1952-1967
Number: 2001.M.14
Creator/Collector:
Harrison, D. Dex (Donald Dex), 1909-1987
Physical Description:
6.6 linear feet
(8 boxes)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The MOD-X Building System records document the brief life of this product as its creators sought to find a niche for it in
the post World War II efforts to industrialize building design and construction through prefabrication. Consisting primarily
of legal and financial records and correspondence among the various stakeholders, as well as drawings and photographs, the
archive provides insight into one of the most critical issues that the architectural profession faced during the period spanning
the second half of the 1940s until well into the 1960s: how to design buildings that could be mass produced by big construction
companies while at the same time maintaining sufficient artistic freedom to make the buildings interesting and attractive.
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Language: Collection material is in
English.
Biographical/Historical Note
In November 1952, the London-based architectural firm of Harrison & Seel applied to trademark the name "MOD-X" for a prefabricated
modular building system it had developed. Both the role of inventor and a commitment to industrialized architecture were new
directions for a fairly conventional small firm, whose largest and most lucrative project up to that moment had been the Festival
Gardens in Battersea Park for the Festival of Britain (1951). Yet, the seeds for such a shift were present. The firm of Harrison
& Seel had three partners, Donald Dex Harrison (known as Dex), his brother Norman Harrison, and Ernest Seel, but one of them,
Dex Harrison, was especially committed to a new paradigm for architecture in the post-war world.
Dex Harrison (1909-1987) had met Ernest Seel when they were both students at the Leeds School of Architecture, and they worked
together from around 1938 through much of the 1950s. However, during World War II, while Seel continued in his architectural
practice, Harrison took a different path. He served with the government in the Ministry of Works, Directorate of Post-War
Building. In this role, he conducted a comprehensive and seminal survey on prefabrication in Great Britain, the United States
and Europe and was a lead author in its publication in 1945. After the war, Harrison furthered the discussion of standardization
and modular construction with his publication of
An Introduction to Standards in Building in 1947. Harrison had an opportunity to put this theoretical commitment into limited practice in 1949 when Harrison & Seel
received spill-over work outsourced to private companies by the County Council in Hertfordshire, where an innovative and high-profile
program of modular prefabrication of schools was already underway. Harrison's creation of the MOD-X Building System was the
tangible expression of his theories.
The MOD-X Building System was based on factory-built components designed in "modular co-ordination." The sized, drilled and
finished MOD-X parts could be assembled at the building site by unskilled laborers using the MOD-X connectors. The components
consisted of support elements in varying materials (timber, steel, a planned aluminium alloy) as well as cladding and infill
materials. The key element of the MOD-X system was that there were many ways that these parts could be put together. It was
up to the builder or architect to determine the actual form of the structure. Since the versatility of the system allowed
the creation of any size or shape building up to three stories tall, including trussed forms, the horrible repetitiveness
of many earlier prefabricated buildings could be avoided. The promotional slogan was "MOD-X produces, not standard buildings,
but standard parts." The product promised to have broad appeal to potential customers in the post-war development market.
For the design-conscious architect, there was a Bauhaus imprint. The MOD-X kit of building parts that could be assembled in
a variety of ways was a descendant of Walter Gropius and Adolf Meyer's 1923 Baukasten im Grossen. For the average builder
and the British public, it called forth memories of the possibilities of the childhood Meccano or erector set.
Having invented this system, the issue for Harrison & Seel became how to put it into broad production. The first step was
to protect their asset. In the summer of 1952 the firm started applying for patent protection for elements of their system
including their modular system, the tensioned frame, clamping plates and strap connectors first in Great Britain and then
overseas. The next step involved the actual implementation of the MOD-X system. It appears that from an early point Harrison
& Seel decided not to take an active role in the production of the system. In 1952, the firm encouraged two associates to
form a company which would be licensed to manufacture and sell the MOD-X system in return for royalty payments. This company
soon became MOD-X Holdings Limited, which in turn operated MOD-X Structures Limited in Great Britain and other subsidiaries
overseas.
In August 1954, Dex Harrison bought out Ernest Seel and Norman Harrison's interest in the MOD-X system, making it independent
from the firm of Harrison & Seel, which dissolved shortly afterward. As the new sole owner of the patents, Dex Harrison also
entered into a new contract with MOD-X Holdings, continuing their role as the licensed agent of the system. At the same time,
Harrison stated his intention that this sole ownership would be a temporary situation. He intended to vest all his rights,
assets and liabilities relating to the MOD-X system in a company rather than hold them personally. This company would also
take over debt Harrison had incurred.
To that end, Dex (Prefabrications) Limited was incorporated in March 1955 with the MOD-X System patents and intellectual property
as its prime asset. Harrison held 90% of the shares of the new company with his wife holding another 5% and acting as the
Secretary of the company. C.T. Hawkes held the final 5% and was named as Chairman of the company. Dex (Prefabrications) continued
the licensing arrangement with MOD-X Holdings and served as a patent holding company, whose only business activity appears
to be the maintenance of the patents and the collection of royalties.
The Mod-X Building System was modestly successful for a brief period. The royalty statements from Mod-X Holdings list their
sales. Domestically, much of their work was for public projects in England and Wales, particularly with schools and British
Railways structures. Their housing appears to have had a more international appeal, such as a pilot housing project for the
Ashanti Goldfields Corporation in Ghana. Yet for the most part, the projects were small and the costs were high, with large
scale, profitable contracts eluding them. In the end, the small companies marketing the MOD-X Building System were unable
to compete with bigger corporations in the building industry. By the middle of 1959, MOD-X Holdings had quit paying royalties
to Dex (Prefabrications) and had ceased doing business. In early 1961, Dex (Prefabrications) instructed their patent agents
to let the patents laps, since they were producing no income. The attempt to collect unpaid royalties continued through most
of the 1960s. Mod-X Structures, previously a subsidiary, seems to have succeeded Mod-X Holdings and it is from this company,
with new directors and a new location in Kent, that Dex (Prefabrications) tried to collect its debt. Finally in 1967, Dex
advised its solictors to abandon the collection attempts and the MOD-X system reached an official end when Dex (Prefabrications)
was formally dissolved in 1970.
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
MOD-X Building System records, 1952-1967, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2001.M.14.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa97r58
Acquisition Information
The MOD-X Building System records were acquired in 2001.
Processing History
Jennifer Maiko Kishi rehoused and created the collection inventory in 2013, under the supervision of Ann Harrison.
Scope and Content of Collection
The MOD-X Building System records document the brief life of this product as its creators sought to find a niche for it in
the post World War II efforts to industrialize building design and construction through prefabrication. Consisting primarily
of legal and financial records and correspondence among the various stakeholders, as well as drawings and photographs, the
archive provides insight into one of the most critical issues that the architectural profession faced during the period spanning
the second half of the 1940s until well into the 1960s: how to design buildings that could be mass produced by big construction
companies while at the same time maintaining sufficient artistic freedom to make the buildings interesting and attractive.
The material preserved in the archive falls into two main groups: design records, and legal and financial records. The design
records provide documentation of the system itself. Notes, sketches, architectural drawings, structural calculations and testing
reports, and materials sourcing information, as well as photographs, trace the development of the MOD-X Building System. The
photographs show multiple aspects of the system, from the prototype bungalow erected in Kidbrooke to marketing campaigns such
as the MOD-X stand at the British Industries Fair or the display of a mocked-up hospital treatment room.
The legal and financial records document the attempt to bring this new building system to market and turn it into a viable
business enterprise. Documentation created by Dex Harrison, the firm of Harrison & Seel and the two companies formed specifically
to implement the system, MOD-X Holdings Ltd. and Dex (Prefabrications) Ltd., comprises this section of the archive. Deeds
of trust, account statements, corporate minutes, contracts and correspondence with patent agents, solicitors and accountants
write the history and ultimate failure of this modular construction system.
A third, very small group of materials belonging to Dex Harrison, but unrelated to the MOD-X system, completes the archive.
Arrangement
The MOD-X Building System records are arranged by topic.
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Topics
Buildings, Prefabricated--Design and construction
Buildings, Prefabricated--Great Britain--History
Modular construction
Prefabricated houses--Design and construction
Genres and Forms of Material
Black-and-white negatives
Black-and-white prints (photographs)
Contributors
Dex (Prefabrications) Limited
Mod-X Holdings Limited
MOD-X Building System records
Design records for the MOD-X Building System,
1952-1958, undated
General documentation,
1952-1958, undated
Box 1, Folder 1-2
Building design binder,
1952-1954, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes material from binder with an index. Handwritten notes, calculations, specifications, sketches, brochures, and correspondence,
relating to various topics including costs, building erection, insulation, loading, packaging, shipping and handling, specifications,
timber, structural design, joints, and weight limits, as well as notes on potential overseas projects in San Salvador, Trinidad,
British Guiana. Includes three photographs of loading tests on models.
Box 1, Folder 3-4
Building materials and structural testing,
1952-1955, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes notes and correspondence regarding evaluation and sourcing of building materials, as well as numerous materials and
structural tests with photographs.
Box 1, Folder 5-6
Miscellaneous design notes,
1955-1958, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes notes, sketches and brochures. Some of the material relates to MOD-X system, such as connector plates and bolting;
other material relates to turbines, cooling and water systems.
Projects,
1953-1954, undated
Prototype bungalow at Kidbrooke,
1953
Scope and Content Note
Also referred to as the demonstration house.
Box 1, Folder 7
Documentation
Scope and Content Note
Includes technical notes on erection of prototype March-May 1953.
Box 8*, Folder 1
Promotional display board
MOD-X stand at the British Industries Fair,
probably 1954
Scope and Content Note
Includes documentation of model for the stand, construction of stand and finished display.
Hospital treatment room display,
undated
Unidentified projects,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Possibly includes Ashanti Goldfields project and a Barking project.
Plans and elevations,
undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes prototype bungalow, as well as other houses and a school.
Box 7
Glass negatives
Scope and Content Note
Most images not printed.
Legal and financial records regarding the MOD-X Building system,
1952-1967
Patents,
1953-1961
Scope and Content Note
Includes materials relating to patents held initially by the firm of Harrison & Seel and then transferred through Harrison
to Dex (Prefabrications) Ltd.; primarily legal documents and correspondence with patent agents regarding the application for
and maintenance of patents in a range of countries.
Box 8*, Folder 2
Oversize connector drawings, with notes and photographs
Box 4, Folder 5
Trademarks,
1952-1959
Scope and Content Note
Includes documents and correspondence concerning the registry of the "MOD-X" trademark by the firm of Harrison & Seel and
the subsequent transfer to Dex (Prefabrications), Ltd., and registration of MOD-X Holdings, Ltd. as an authorized user.
Box 4, Folder 12
Client leads and correspondence,
1954-1958
Records relatings to MOD-X Holdings Ltd.,
1952-1959
Box 4, Folder 6
Creation of MOD-X Holdings,
1952-1954
Scope and Content Note
Legal documents and correspondence relating to the creation of MOD-X Holdings Ltd. as the licensee for the MOD-X System.
Box 4, Folder 7
Financial documents,
1954-1959
Scope and Content Note
Correspondence regarding royalty payments and consulting fees.
Records relating to Dex (Prefabrications) Ltd.,
1954-1967
Box 4, Folder 8
Corporate and legal documentation,
1954-1958, undated
Scope and Content Note
Includes legal documents and correspondence with their solicitor; also includes some documents relating to the transfer of
assets from Harrison & Seel to Dex Harrison personally.
Box 4, Folder 9-10
General financial documentation,
1955-1961
Scope and Content Note
Includes correspondence with accountants, tax documentation, bank documents, annual accounts.
Box 3
Corporate minute book,
1955-1960
Box 4, Folder 11
Correspondence regarding the collection of outstanding royalties,
1960-1967
Box 1, Folder 8
Miscellaneous personal papers of Dex Harrison,
1955-1960
Scope and Content Note
Personal items relating to Dex Harrison and his wife Ruth Harrison, an animal-rights activist, including a newspaper clipping,
car registration for a vintage Isotta Fraschini, information on a battery hen watering device and brochures.
