Why are Kingdom Halls sometimes built in the "quick-build" manner?

Question

Wikipedia has an article on Kingdom Halls that states:

In many countries, a number of standard designs of construction are used that can be built in just a few days. The act of constructing a Kingdom Hall in this manner is called a quick-build, although typically the preparation work involving the structural foundation and surrounding surface may take several weeks prior to the scheduled build. For various reasons, not all Kingdom Halls are constructed as quick-builds or using the standard designs.

Seeing many issues that can go wrong with building something so quickly I figure there is some sort of theological importance in doing this, however, not all are quick-builds, so it cannot be all that important.

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses build their Kingdom Halls in three days?

^{Please provide quotes and links to official sources}

Answer 1

As another answer stated, we get the building done in 3 days for convenience mostly. The whole thing is amazingly organized and thus moves quickly.

Nothing is done to be cheap. That would be disrespect to Jehovah. The main concern is to not take time away from the builders lives and to continue the preaching work. The preaching work is the #1 priority to us. Look at Acts 6:1-4. A situation arose where the Greek widows weren't getting food, but the Hebrew ones where. Instead of taking up the time of the Apostles with fixing this the twelve assigned reputable men to take care of distribution. What is their motive? Furthering and focusing on the preaching work.

Like the apostles, we too focus mainly on our ministry. We use our resources and time wisely, so as not to slow the preaching works.

I don't know why we decided on 3 days, but we do it and do it well. The level of education doesn't matter. It matters only that you are motivated to do so. If you don't know how to do anything, then chances are you are going to learn a lot. There are a lot of skilled brothers on site working on whatever section is their trade.

We get a lot of volunteers from all over the state and some out of state. Here is a video showing the building of a kingdom hall. This one actually only took 2 days. Quickbuild

Most of us tend to not have a ton of money, but that is because we work to pay bills and provide for what we need. A lot only work part time, so that they have more time to go out and preach.

When building we want 3 things Quality, safety, speed. I think we achieve those remarkably well. Safety. To attest to the quality of the building, just attend a meeting. The building is not extravagant, but also not cheap. The buildings are made to last and are well maintained.

I am currently an unbaptized publisher working towards baptism. I am prospectively looking at going to trade school for something like electrician, HVAC, etc.. sometime early 2014. I will most likely be helping with quick builds very soon :)

Answer 2

The short answer, taken from the 2016 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses is for reasons of economy:

Speeding Up Kingdom Hall Construction: To speed up the work in the most cost-effective way, the Governing Body has been implementing adjustments to our various construction departments.

Construction: Standardized designs and materials will be suited to local circumstances and will be based on guidelines from the Publishing Committee of the Governing Body. The buildings will be low maintenance and durable, yet attractive and economical.

Maintenance: Volunteers in each congregation will be trained to care for and prolong the use of our places of worship.

Source: https://www.jw.org/en/library/books/2016-yearbook/highlights/speeding-up-kingdom-hall-construction/

All Kingdom Halls are paid for by the members of the congregation, and they are also responsible for maintenance costs. However they no longer own the property or the land. A few years ago all previous loans (for building new Kingdom Halls) were cancelled in exchange for ownership. They now belong to the Organisation. Recently a Californian Kingdom Hall sold for almost $12 m. and the proceeds went straight to Head Office.

Interestingly, Jehovah’s Witnesses plan to consolidate media production into a new facility to be constructed in Ramapo, New York. The property is located approximately two miles from world headquarters in Warwick, New York. The goal is to begin construction in 2022 and complete it by December 2026. During the peak of construction, the project will require an estimated 1,500 volunteers per day.

Source: https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/global/2019-Annual-Meeting-Summary/

The organisation may not be using the quick-build method everywhere, but they continue to be blessed by the volunteers who give of their time and their talents in the service of Jehovah.

Answer 3

It is because we like to use our time wisely... so the less hours we put in a building the more hours we have left for our meetings... and preaching work. Furthermore we build our Kingdom Halls with volunteers. Most of the time they come from all over the state(s) so its more efficient if we do the job in only a few weekends with hundreds of workers. It has nothing to do with money as one suggested. We can afford anything but we just build what we need.

Answer 4

So, not to be too blunt about it, but JWs are demographically typically drawn from the least well-off amongst society. Put crassly, they tend to be the poorest and least-educated Christians in the United States.

Furthermore, this is a very cheap method of putting together a building. Especially when you consider the amount of volunteer labor (think Amish barn-raising) what you may be seeing could simply be a manifestation of resource constraints.

In other words, they might not be able to afford anything else.

It may very well be just a matter of economics.