Originally Posted by
SeamusSA
The
Hilton Palacio del Rio in San Antonio was constructed by HB Zachry for the 1968 Hemisfair World's Fair using prefab technology. It was reputedly the first hotel so built, and remains in operation.
Another famous example is Disney's Contemporary Resort (opened October 1, 1971). That's the A-frame hotel in Florida with the monorail that runs through the building.
Rooms were constructed in a factory a few miles away. They were transported and set into place with a crane.
Source:
http://boingboing.net/2013/07/27/bui...ontempora.html
There's an urban legend that states when rooms where to be renovated, they would simply slide them out and replace them with new modules. But, that plan failed because the building settled and locked the rooms in place.
From having worked at Disney World, I can say that this is a false rumor. The rooms were never intended to be removed, as they had balconies attached after installation. Additionally, the plans never had any contingencies for maintaining plumbing for rooms if a unit on a lower floor were removed from a stack.