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Industrialised Construction

Area: Design, planning and building

Industrialised Construction, also referred to as Modern Methods of Construction in the UK (Ministry of Housing, 2019) and Conceptueel Bouwen (Conceptual Building) in the Netherlands (NCB, n.d.), is a broad and dynamic term encompassing innovative techniques and processes that are transforming the construction industry (Lessing, 2006; Smith & Quale, 2017). It is a product-based approach that reinforces continuous improvement, rather than a project-based one, and emphasises the use of standardised components and systems to improve build quality and achieve sustainability goals (Kieran & Timberlake, 2004). 

Industrialised Construction can be based on using a kit-of parts and is often likened to a LEGO set, as well as the automotive industry's assembly line and lean production. Industrialisation in the construction sector presents a paradigm shift, driven by advancements in technology (Bock & Linner, 2015). It involves both off-site and on-site processes, with a significant portion occurring in factory-controlled conditions (Andersson & Lessing, 2017). Off-site construction entails the prefabrication of building components manufactured using a combination of two-dimensional (2D), three-dimensional (3D), and hybrid methods, where traditional construction techniques meet cutting-edge technologies such as robotic automation. Industrialised construction is not limited to off-site production, it also encompasses on-site production, including the emerging use of 3D printing or the deployment of temporary or mobile factories. Industrialised Construction increasingly leverages digital and industry 4.0 technologies, such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), Internet of Things, big data, and predictive analysis (Qi et al., 2021). These processes and digital tools enable accurate planning, simulation, and optimisation of construction processes, resulting in enhanced productivity, quality, and resource management. It is important to stress that Industrialised Construction is not only about the physical construction methods, but also the intangible processes involved in the design and delivery of buildings.

Industrialised construction offers several benefits across economic, social, and environmental dimensions. From an economic perspective, it reduces construction time and costs in comparison to traditional methods, while providing safer working conditions and eliminates delays due to adverse weather. By employing standardisation and efficient manufacturing processes, it enables affordable and social housing projects to be delivered in a shorter timeframe through economies of scale (Frandsen, 2017). On the social front, Industrialised Construction can enable mass customisation and customer-centric approaches, to provide more flexible solutions while maintaining economic feasibility (Piller, 2004). From an environmental standpoint, industrialised construction minimises waste generation during production by optimising material usage and facilitates the incorporation of Design for Disassembly (Crowther, 2005) and the potential reusability of building elements, promoting both flexibility and a Circular Economy (EC, 2020). This capability aligns with the principles of cradle-to-cradle design, wherein materials and components are continuously repurposed to reduce resource depletion and waste accumulation.

Challenges remain in terms of overcoming misconceptions and gaining social acceptance, the slow digital transformation of the construction industry, high factory set-up costs, the lack of interdisciplinary integration of stakeholders from the initial stages, and adapting to unconventional workflows. However, Industrialised Construction will undoubtedly shape the future of the built environment, providing solutions for the increasing demand for sustainable and affordable housing (Bertram et al., 2019).

References

Andersson, N., & Lessing, J. (2017). The Interface between Industrialized and Project Based Construction. Procedia Engineering, 196, 220–227. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2017.07.193

Bertram, N., Fuchs, S., Mischke, J., Palter, R., Strube, G., & Woetzel, J. (2019). Modular construction: From projects to products.

Bock, T., & Linner, T. (2015). Robotic industrialization: Automation and robotic technologies for customized component, module, and building prefabrication. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139924153

NCB. (n.d.). Over Netwerk Conceptueel Bouwen. Retrieved November 8, 2023, from https://www.conceptueelbouwen.nl/netwerk

Crowther, P. (2005). RAIA/BDP Environment Design Guide: Design for Disassembly - Themes and Principles.

EC. (2020). Circular economy principles for building design.

Frandsen, T. (2017). Evolution of modularity literature: a 25-year bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 37(6), 703–747. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-06-2015-0366

Kieran, S., & Timberlake, J. (2004). Refabricating Architecture: How Manufacturing Methodologies are Poised to Transform Building Construction. McGraw Hill Professional. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1531-314x.2005.00008.x

Lessing, J. (2006). Industrialised House-Building: Concept and Processes [Licentiate Thesis, Lund University, Department of Construction Sciences]. https://www.lth.se/fileadmin/projekteringsmetodik/publications/Lessing_lic-webb.pdf

Ministry of Housing, C. & L. G. U. (2019). Modern Methods of Construction: introducing the MMC definition framework. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modern-methods-of-construction-working-group-developing-a-definition-framework

Piller, F. (2004). Mass Customization: Reflections on the State of the Concept. International Journal of Flexible Manufacturing Systems, 16, 313–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10696-005-5170-x

Qi, B., Razkenari, M., Costin, A., Kibert, C., & Fu, M. (2021). A Systematic Review of Emerging Technologies in Industrialized Construction. Journal of Building Engineering, 39, 102265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2021.102265

Smith, R. E., & Quale, J. D. (2017). Offsite Architecture: Constructing the Future. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315743332

Created on 09-11-2023 | Update on 23-10-2024

Related definitions

Area: Design, planning and building

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is the process of creating a set of digital representations which consists of both graphical and non-graphical data for the entire building cycle  (Eastman et al., 2011). This process involves documenting, gathering, organising, and updating this information throughout the whole life cycle of a building from conception to demolition (Eschenbruch & Bodden, 2018). Beyond the demolition stage BIM can also support circular principles; managing the re-use, recovery, and recycling-potential of a building (Akbarieh et al., 2020; Xue et al., 2021). Whilst the concept of BIM as a process is supported by the International Organisation for Standardisation in ISO 19650-1:2018 (ISO, 2018), the National BIM Standard describes BIM as a digital technology (NBIMS-US, 2015). Despite the origins of BIM dating back to the 1970s, it did not become widely adopted by the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry as a computer design tool until the 2000s (Costa, 2017). The digital building information model uses intelligent objects to store information in the form of three-dimensional geometric components along with its functional characteristics such as type, materials, technical properties, or costs (Eschenbruch & Bodden, 2018). This model forms the basis of a shared knowledge resource to support the various digital workflows of multidisciplinary stakeholders (Chong, Lee and Wang, 2017; Barile et al., 2018). Moreover, it serves the purpose of visualisation, clash detection between different building components, code criteria checking, environmental analysis, and cost estimation to name a few (Kamel & Memari, 2019; Krygiel & Nies, 2008). Therefore, utilising BIM can improve construction accuracy and enhance the built asset’s performance (Kubba, 2017; Love et al., 2013). The building information model facilitates the knowledge transfer between experts and project participants to satisfy end-user needs and support early-stage decision-making (Chong et al., 2017; Lu et al., 2017). Therefore, BIM can be considered a transdisciplinary practice as it communicates AEC, computation, and science (Correia et al., 2017). In the AEC industry implementing BIM involves several stages, which are known as BIM maturity models. The maturity here means the extent of the user’s ability to produce and exchange information. These stages are the milestones, or levels, of collaboration and sharing of information that teams, and organisations aspire to. Defining these milestones is the main purpose of the different BIM maturity models that exist nowadays (Succar et al., 2012). The European Commission (EC) encourages step-by-step maturity models starting from BIM level 0 up to 4, to move the industry from a traditional modelling approach towards an open BIM approach. According to the EC, to reach BIM level 4 “all project, operational documentation and history are linked to objects in the model” (European Commission, 2017). Due to growing concerns over the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the built environment, BIM is increasingly used to facilitate various sustainability analyses. In this regard, the concept of Green BIM initiated as the systematic digitalisation of building life cycles to accomplish established sustainability goals (Barile et al., 2018; Wong & Zhou, 2015). As such BIM has been integrated with Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), Life Cycle Costing Analysis (LCCA), and recently with Social Life Cycle Analysis (S-LCA) (Llatas et al., 2020). Today several BIM applications perform sustainability analysis in conjunction with Green Building Rating Systems (Sartori et al., 2021). In relation to housing BIM plays a crucial role in addressing affordability and sustainability issues from creation to maintenance, as well as the beyond end-of-life phases. However, many challenges remain for it to be fully and inclusively integrated within the AEC practice and for the full potential of BIM to be realised.

Created on 16-02-2022 | Update on 23-10-2024

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Mass Customisation

Author: C.Martín (ESR14)

Area: Design, planning and building

Mass customisation (MC) is a process by which a company approaches its production in a customer-centric manner, developing products and services according to the needs and requirements of each individual customer, while keeping costs near to mass production (Piller, 2004). MC establishes a new relationship between producers and customers which becomes crucial in product development  (Khalili-Araghi & Kolarevic, 2016). Alvin Toffler (1970, 1980) was the first to refer to the MC concept in his books “Future shock”  and “The third wave”. Stanley Davis (1987) later cemented the term in his book “Future Perfect”. But it was not until 1993, when Joseph Pine  developed its practical application to business, that the concept started gaining greater importance in research and practice (Pine, 1993; Brandão et al., 2017; Piller et al., 2005). Nowadays, MC is understood as a multidimensional process embracing a combination of mass production, user-driven technologies, big data, e-commerce and e-business, digital design, and manufacturing technologies (Brandão et al., 2017). In the last twenty years, almost every sector of the economy, from industrial production to consumer products and services, has been influenced by mass customisation. The difference between mass customisation and massive customisation is the ability to relate the contextual features to the product features. This means that a random generation of design alternatives would not be sufficient; these alternatives should be derived from the cultural, technological, environmental and social context, as well as from the individual context of the user (Kolarevic & Duarte, 2019). As a business paradigm,  MC provides an attractive added value by addressing customer needs while using resources efficiently and avoiding an increase in operational costs (Piller & Tseng, 2009). It seeks to incorporate customer co-design processes into the innovation and strategic planning of the business, approaching economies of integration (Piller et al., 2005). As a result, the profitability of MC is achieved through product variety in volume-related economies (Baranauskas et al., 2020; Duray et al., 2000). The space in which it is possible to meet a variety of needs through a mass customisation offering is finite (Piller, 2004). This solution space represents the variety of different customisation units and encompasses the rules to combine them, limiting the set of possibilities in the search of a balance between productivity and flexibility (Salvador et al., 2009). The designer’s responsibility would be to meet the heterogeneities of the users in an efficient way, by setting a solution space and defining the degrees of freedom for the customer within a manufacturer’s production system (Hippel, 2001). Therefore, an important challenge for a company that aims at becoming a mass customizer is to find the right balance between what is determined by the designer and what is left for the user to decide (Kolarevic & Duarte, 2019). Value creation within a stable solution space is one of the major differences between traditional customisation. While a traditional customizer produces unique products and processes, a mass customizer uses stable processes to provide a high range of variety among their products and services (Pine, 1993). This would enable a mass customizer to achieve “near mass production efficiency” but would also mean that the customisation alternatives are limited to certain product features (Pine, 1995). As opposed to the industrial output of mass production, in which the customer selects from options produced by the industry, MC facilitates cultural production, the personalisation of mass products in accordance with individual beliefs. This means that the customer contributes to defining the processes, components, and features that will be involved in the flow of the design and manufacturing process (Kieran & Timberlake, 2004). Products or services that are co-designed by the customer may provide social benefits, resulting in tailor-made, fitting, and resilient outcomes (Piller et al., 2005). Thanks to parametric design and digital fabrication it is now viable to mass-produce non-standard, custom-made products, from tableware and shoes to furniture and building components. These are often customizable through interactive websites (Kolarevic & Duarte, 2019). The incorporation of MC into the housebuilding industry, through supporting, guiding, and informing the user via interactive interfaces (Madrazo et al., 2010), can contribute to a democratisation of housing design, allowing for an empowering, social, and cultural enrichment of our built environment. Our current housing stock is largely homogeneous, while customer demands are increasingly heterogeneous. Implementing MC in the housing industry could address the diverse consumer needs in an affordable and effective way, by creating stable solution spaces that could make good quality housing accessible to more dwellers. Stability and responsiveness are key in the production of highly customised housing. Stability can be achieved through product modularity, defining and producing a set of components that can be combined in the maximum possible ways, attaining responsiveness to different requests while reducing the complexity of product variation. This creates customisation alternatives within the solution space which require a smooth flow of information and effective collaboration between customers, designers, and manufacturers (Khalili-Araghi & Kolarevic, 2018). ICT technologies can help to effectively materialise this multidimensional and interdisciplinary challenge in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, as showcased in the Sato PlusHome multifamily block in Finland[1]. Nowadays, there are companies that have integrated a systematic methodology to produce mass customised single-family homes using prefabrication methods, such as Modern Modular[2]. On the other hand, platforms such as BIM that act as collaborative environments for all stakeholders have demonstrated that building performance can be increased and precision improved while reducing construction time. These digital twins offer a basis for fabricated components and enable early cooperation between different disciplines. Parametric tools have the potential to help customisation comply with the manufacturing rules and regulations, and increase the ability to sustainably meet customer requirements, using fewer resources and shorter lead times (Piroozfar et al., 2019). In summary, a mass customisable housing industry could be achieved if the products and services are parametrically defined (i.e., specifying the dimensions, constraints, and relationships between the various components), interactively designed (via a website or an app), digitally fabricated, visualised and evaluated to automatically generate production and assembly data (Kolarevic, 2015). However, for MC to be integrated effectively in the AEC industry, several challenges remain that range from cultural, behavioural and management changes, to technological such as the use of ICTs or those directly applied to the manufacturing process, as for example automating the production and assembly methods, the use of product configurators or managing the variety through the product supply chain (Piroozfar et al., 2019).   [1] Sato PlusHome. ArkOpen / Esko Kahri, Petri Viita and Juhani Väisänen (http://www.open-building.org/conference2011/Project_PlusHome.pdf) [2] The Modern Modular. Resolution: 4 Architecture (https://www.re4a.com/the-modern-modular)

Created on 06-07-2022 | Update on 23-10-2024

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Design for Disassembly

Author: A.Davis (ESR1)

Area: Design, planning and building

Design for Disassembly (DfD), also referred to as Design for Deconstruction or Construction in Reverse, is the design and planning of the future disassembly of a building, in addition to its assembly (Cruz Rios & Grau, 2019). Disassembly enables the non-destructive recovery of building materials to re-introduce resources back into the supply chain, either for the same function or as a new product. Designing buildings for their future disassembly can reduce both the consumption of new raw materials and the negative environmental impacts associated with the production of new building products, such as embodied carbon. DfD is considered the “ultimate cradle-to-cradle cycle strategy” (Smith, 2010, p.222) that has the potential to maximise the economic value of materials whilst minimising harmful environmental impacts. It is therefore a crucial technical design consideration that supports the transition to a Circular Economy. Additional benefits include increased flexibility and adaptability, optimised maintenance, and retention of heritage (Rios et al., 2015). DfD is based on design principles such as: standardised and interchangeable components and connections, use of non-composite products, dry construction methods, use of prefabrication, mechanical connections as opposed to glues and wet sealants, designing with safety and accessibility in mind, and documentation of materials and methods for disassembly (Crowther, 2005; Guy & Ciarimboli, 2008; Tingley & Davison, 2011). DfD shares commonality with Industrialised Construction, which often centres around off-site prefabrication. Industrialising the production of housing can therefore be more environmentally sustainable and financially attractive if building parts are produced at scale and pre-designed to be taken apart without destroying connecting parts. Disassembly plays an important role in the recovery of building materials based on the 3Rs principle (reduce, reuse, recycle) during the maintenance, renovation, relocation and reassembly, and the end-of-life phases of a building. Whilst a building is in use, different elements are expected to be replaced at the end of their service life, which varies depending on its function. For example, the internal layout of a building changes at a different rate to the building services, and the disassembly of these parts would therefore take place at different points in time. Brand’s (1994) Shearing Layers concept incorporates this time aspect by breaking down a building into six layers, separating the “site”, “structure”, “skin” (building envelope), “services”, “space plan”, and “stuff” (furniture) to account for their varying lifespans. DfD enables the removal, replacement, and reuse of materials throughout the service life of a building, extending it use phase for as long as possible. However, there is less guarantee that a building will be disassembled at the end of its service life, rather than destructively demolished and sent to landfill.

Created on 18-10-2023 | Update on 23-10-2024

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Open Building

Author: C.Martín (ESR14)

Area: Design, planning and building

Open Building is a term that was coined in the mid-1980s but is rooted in ideas from some twenty years earlier, when John Habraken first introduced the Support/Infill concept as a response to the rigidity and uniformity of the post-war mass-housing produced in the Netherlands (Habraken, 1961). Its fundamental principle involves separating the supporting structure of a building, considered a collective resource designed for durability, from the infill components, such as the walls and partitions that can be easily adapted to individual preferences and changing needs. This design approach places a strong emphasis on flexibility and adaptability, allowing buildings to evolve over time and be effortlessly modified or renovated to meet changing requirements. Furthermore, it encourages the participation of building occupants in the design and management of their homes, and it emphasizes the importance of creating buildings that are well-suited to their local context (Kendall, 2021). The Open Building concept introduces a holistic approach to enhancing the adaptability of the built environment, considering social, technical, and organizational aspects (Cuperus, 2001). From a social perspective, Open Building advocates for an open architecture that empowers users to customize their living spaces according to their needs and preferences, accommodating unforeseen changes in the future. On an organisational level, it proposes a redistribution of the design control, enabling top-down decisions to establish a framework within which bottom-up processes can thrive. Lastly, from a technical perspective, it pursues a systematisation of building that allows for the installation, upgrading, or removal of industrialized sub-systems with minimal implications for the overall stability of the building. This approach addresses some of the pressing challenges of the construction industry, offering the potential to enhance housing affordability and sustainability. By allowing greater flexibility in interior design and layouts, spaces can be easily reconfigured to meet changing needs, encouraging a shift towards long-term planning and fostering adaptable, future-ready living environments. Moreover, this strategy reduces the need for costly renovations and discourages demolitions, thus improving construction resilience and facilitating the seamless integration of new technologies. It successfully aligns the diverse objectives of multiple stakeholders, providing builders with a consistent support system, offering developers the freedom to experiment with layouts and ensure long-term functional performance, and granting users the possibility to make personalized choices. For decades, this inherent adaptability has been successfully applied in diverse building types, including shopping centres, office buildings, and hospitals. These buildings necessitate facilities that are 'change-ready', capable of accommodating changes over time, with a focus on long-term adaptability rather than short-term design adequacy (Kendall, 2017; Leupen, 2004). Open Building promotes environmental sustainability through its ‘levels concept’, acknowledging that building components have varying lifespans. The disentanglement and clarity of these hierarchical levels and their interfaces promotes the longevity of infrastructures while enabling incremental renewal and innovation, an increasingly common need in the construction sector. Higher levels provide a framework for the lower levels, setting the overall parameters and constraints in which the lower ones can operate (Habraken, 1998). Additionally, Open Building encourages the separation of building elements into the ‘Shearing layers of change’ articulated by Steward Brand in 1994 (Brand, 1994). These layers provide flexibility and adaptability to the buildings as they can be designed, built, and maintained independently from each other, facilitating design for disassembly practices. Additionally, through a modular coordination of standardised components, not only it is possible to increase the collaboration in the design and construction process of housing, but also to encourage a proliferation of technical subsystems that can be continuously upgraded and scaled-up within an open framework (Kendall & Dale, 2023b). In the housing realm, a key difference between traditional design and the Open Building approach is their underlying methods. Traditional design examines diverse household types and lifestyles from an anthropologic perspective, suggesting various typologies. In contrast, Open Building focuses on creating an open system with no predefined designs. Instead, it operates with a framework of rules, zones and categories to enable the customisation of each dwelling by the user (Habraken, 1976). The adoption of Open Building was a response to the rigidity and waste caused by continued adherence to functionalism where buildings were designed according to the “form-follows-function” principle and became obsolete or impractical for the coming generations and costly to maintain. On the other hand, open architecture can cater to local and cultural demands, embracing the complexity of the built environment by acknowledging that it cannot be fully controlled or shaped by a single agent (Kendall, 2013; Kendall & Dale, 2023a; Paulichen et al., 2019). This encourages community involvement in the design and construction process, creating a sense of ownership and fostering inclusivity. There are many examples across Europe of residential Open Building such as Gleis 21 in Austria, R50 Cohousing in Germany, or Stories in Netherlands. Other cases have been developed as open systems rather than individual projects, replicated and adapted to diverse locations but following the same strategy, as for example the Superlofts by Mark Koehler Architects, which since 2016 has built seven projects in the Netherlands out of this system. Determining whether a project is an Open Building and the degree of flexibility it offers can be measured through a classification chart developed by the Open Building Collective, which is based in the principles showcased in their Manifesto. The dissemination of these exemplary projects through publications (Schneider & Till, 2007), awards, conferences and the Open Building Collective, has stimulated the exchange of knowledge between researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders, spreading the interest in this concept and its practical implementation. Despite its potential benefits, the implementation of Open Building in multi-family housing faces challenges due to entrenched traditional practices, regulatory barriers favouring fixed layouts, and the short-term perspectives among developers, investors, and clients (De Paris & Lopes, 2018; Montaner et al., 2015). However, successful Open Building projects around the globe demonstrate that its capacity to address holistically the social, technical, and organizational aspects of a changing society. It encourages the space appropriation at the infill level while ensuring resilience and robustness in the support level, fostering enduring and inclusive buildings that allow diverse households to coexist and evolve over time (Kendall, 2022).

Created on 14-11-2023 | Update on 23-10-2024

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Flexibility

Author: C.Martín (ESR14)

Area: Design, planning and building

Flexibility is defined as the ability and potential of a building to change, adapt, and rearrange itself in response to evolving needs and patterns, both in social and technological terms (Schneider & Till, 2007). Additionally, a flexible building can maximise its value throughout its lifecycle, reducing the need for demolition and new construction by becoming resilient to market demands (Schmidt III et al., 2010). When applied to housing, flexibility ensures that homes can respond to the volatility of dwelling needs. Changes in household occupancy impact space requirements, but these changes, such as variations in family size, structure, or lifestyle, are unpredictable and uncontrollable. Only a flexible housing system can effectively respond to both foreseeable and unforeseeable changes (Estaji, 2017). The concept of flexibility emerged during the modern movement, linked to the idea of the 'open plan,' which was stimulated by new construction technologies in the 1920s (Montaner et al., 2019). Decades later, theories about building flexibility and transformation by John Habraken and Yona Friedman encouraged the theory of supports and the experimentation with growing megastructures. The idea of Open Building is tightly linked to the concept of flexibility, as it advocates that everything except the structure and some circulation elements can be transformable through differentiating levels of intervention, distributing control, and encouraging user participation (Habraken, 1961). Many architects have argued that buildings should outlast their initial functions, emphasising the importance of flexibility to meet new housing demands. More recently, the works of Lacaton & Vassal highlight that flexibility should be achieved through the generosity of space. They believe that confined spaces for living, working, studying, or leisure inhibit freedom of use and movement, preventing any potential for evolution. Therefore, they are in favour of  providing much larger spaces, which through their flexibility, can be appropriated for various uses in private, public, and intermediate contexts (Lacaton & Vassal, 2017). The term flexibility should not be confused with adaptability, although they are often used synonymously in literature. Flexibility is the capability to allow different physical arrangements, while adaptability implies the capacity of a space to accommodate different social uses (Groak, 1996). Adaptability is attained by designing rooms or units to serve multiple purposes without making physical changes. This is achieved through the organisation of rooms, the indeterminate designation of spaces, and the design of circulation patterns, providing spatial polyvalency as seen in the Diagoon Houses by Herman Hertzberger. This de-hierarchisation of spaces allows the dwelling to serve various purposes without needing alterations to its original construction. More recently, this approach has facilitated the development of gender-neutral housing solutions, as seen in the 85 dwellings in Cornellà by Peris + Toral Arquitectes or the 110 Rooms by MAIO, making domestic tasks visible and encouraging the participation of all household members. Flexibility, on the other hand, is achieved by modifying the building's physical components, such as combining rooms or units, often using sliding or folding walls and furniture. A paradigmatic example of this flexibility is the Schröder House by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld in 1924. These changes can be either temporary or permanent, allowing the same space to meet different needs. Embedded flexibility in a building would allow for the partitionability, multi-functionality, and extendibility of spatial units in a simple way, meeting additional user demands (Geraedts, 2008). In relation to affordable and sustainable housing, flexibility plays a key role. “A sustainable building is not one that must last forever, but one that can easily adapt to change” (Graham, 2005). Implementing flexibility strategies can lead to efficient use of resources by designing housing that can be reconfigured as needs change, minimising the environmental footprint in the long term by avoiding early demolition. Incorporating Design for Disassembly practices would ease the adaptation of spaces and the circularity of building components, improving the building’s lifespan (Crowther, 2005). This approach also facilitates the incorporation of energy-efficient technologies and sustainable materials, reducing the operational costs of housing and enhancing affordability. Nevertheless, regulatory and societal challenges remain. Overcoming strict building standards, which often dictate room sizes and follow a hierarchical distribution of dwellings, has proven to be a significant challenge for the development of alternative and more flexible housing solutions. However, transdisciplinary collaboration among housing authorities, developers, architects, and users has shown to be highly effective in achieving high degrees of flexibility in both technical and regulatory aspects, as demonstrated in Patch 22 in Amsterdam.

Created on 19-06-2024 | Update on 23-10-2024

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Product Platform

Author: C.Martín (ESR14)

Area: Design, planning and building

  Product platforms are a set of standardised components, processes, and knowledge used to create a variety of products and services. Borrowed from the software and manufacturing industries, this concept supports rapid innovation and growth by leveraging shared elements to achieve economies of scale and production flexibility (Lessing, 2006).  A product platform is closely related to the concept of solution space, highlighted by many authors as being one of the fundamental capabilities to implement mass customisation strategies (Salvador et al., 2009). A solution space refers to the range of potential designs or configurations that can be generated within the constraints of a given product platform. It encompasses all the possible variations and customisations that can be achieved using the standardised components and processes defined by the platform (Piller, 2004). Therefore, the product platform provides the kit-of-parts, production processes and knowledge, while the solution space defines the extent to which those elements can be varied to meet specific needs and preferences. Product platforms are central to the development of customised and industrialised housing solutions. By sharing standardised components across various housing products, companies can achieve significant cost reductions while allowing for customisation to meet specific market demands. This balance enhances the ability to provide affordable and tailored housing without sacrificing quality or functionality. Other industries, such as automotive and electronics, have demonstrated the efficiency benefits of product platforms by streamlining production processes, reducing costs, and quickly adapting to market changes. Adopting a similar approach in housing can accelerate innovation and reduce overall costs in the construction sector. Product platforms provide a structure for predefined technical solutions, requiring thorough documentation and continuous improvements, and serving as a backbone for technical information and related processes in a company and its supply chain (Jansson et al., 2014). Robertson and Ulrich (1998) identified four elements that constitute a product platform: components, processes, knowledge, people and relationships. These platforms must integrate common elements and technologies across a range of products, considering manufacturing capabilities and constraints early in the process. This integration ensures that the product platform is not only flexible in the early definition of a housing solution but is also practical and efficient to produce. Flexibility is both key to the success of a product platform in housing and a challenge for scaling manufacturing. It is crucial to find the right balance between standardisation and customisation to meet customer demands efficiently. Therefore, it is vital to integrate customer focus in product-oriented house-building processes (Barlow et al., 2003) and to define the Customer Order Decoupling Point (CODP) in the production process – the point in which the product will be customised to meet specific needs. The CODP determines the production strategy of a product platform, which will consequently affect its inventory management, lead times, and overall supply chain strategy. The production strategy defines the boundaries and degrees of customisation within a product platform, classified into four levels: Made-to-Stock (MTS), Assembled-to-Stock (ATS), Made-to-Order (MTO) or Engineered-to-Order (ETO) (Barlow, 1998; Smith, 2019). Product platforms allow us to understand a building in a systematic way, as a group of components or smaller subsystems that can be designed independently yet function together as a whole. This approach enables continuous improvement of the platform, as insights from one project can drive more efficient use of components in subsequent projects, creating learning loops that enhance overall productivity and innovation. Additionally, a product platform developed with Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) and Design for Disassembly (DfD) principles can significantly contribute to a circular economy. Standardised components can be easily repurposed or reconfigured, reducing waste and promoting environmental sustainability. This flexibility ensures that buildings can adapt to changing needs over time, extending their lifespan and minimising the environmental impact of demolition and new construction. Finally, there are four principles that should be considered when developing product platforms for the delivery of housing: (1) Modularity:  Product modularity enables a manufacturer to absorb changes in customer needs by reconfiguring and adapting modules based on a set of parameters within a defined solution space.  (2) Automation: Integrating digital workflows to automate repetitive tasks such as manufacturing instructions, building reports or a bill of quantities would ease the development of a variety of housing solutions in an efficient way. (3) Platform rules: The rules and relationships between platform components would have to be properly defined to ensure that consistency in quality and performance are maintained even when designs are customised or scaled. (4) Parametric software tools: The success of a product platform relies on how data generated in the manufacturing and assembly phases is encapsulated within the components and incorporated into the early stages and project planning. Parametric software can facilitate the iteration of options without leaving the product platform’s solution space, optimising the design based on performance data, environmental parameters, or user feedback.

Created on 19-06-2024 | Update on 23-10-2024

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Circular Economy

Author: A.Davis (ESR1)

Area: Design, planning and building

Circular Economy (CE), also referred to as circularity, is a sustainability concept applied to various industries – including the built environment – which aims to improve the way products are made and consumed, and essentially to prevent the unnecessary destruction of resources. The CE idea is founded on the rejection of the current take-make-waste model and instead supports a system that is “restorative or regenerative by intention and design” (EMF, 2013, p.7). The European Commission defines CE as “a system which maintains the value of products, materials and resources in the economy for as long as possible and minimises the generation of waste” (EUR-Lex, 2021). CE builds upon concepts such as Cradle-to-Cradle (McDonough & Braungart, 2002) and The Performance Economy (Stahel, 2010). The term has recently grown in popularity, as evidenced in a study by Kirchherr et al., who identified 221 CE definitions, though the meaning of the term remains largely ambiguous (2023). CE encompasses both design and business considerations to better ensure products are responsibly managed and retained at their highest value possible within the value chain, rather than being destroyed. Business strategies include shifting consumption from selling products to services; this can take the form of Product-as-as-Service models or take-back schemes (Tukker, 2015). Several prominent theoretical frameworks support the CE transition, these include the R-Ladder outlining a decision-making hierarchy (Potting et al., 2017), the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Butterfly diagram which distinguishes technological materials from biological materials (EMF, 2013), and Bocken et al.’s four strategies defining the need to close, slow, narrow, and regenerate resource loops (2016). Key circular construction approaches that facilitate circularity in a systematic way include design for disassembly and industrialised construction. Several political instruments under the European Green Deal promote the progression towards a circular economy in buildings and housing, most notably the Circular Economy Action Plan (European Commission, 2020) and the Waste Framework Directive (EC, 2008). Despite these initiatives and the potential for the CE transition to improve both the environmental sustainability and affordability of housing, it is still in the early stages in Europe. This is largely due to building complexity, short-term financial barriers, and the persistence of common practices such as the extraction of raw materials and building demolition. However, several practical advancements that have been implemented include Circular Economy Statements within the London Plan (GLA, 2022), the Building Circularity Indicator (BCI) in the Netherlands (Alba Concepts, n.d.), and the Building Circularity Tool by OneClick LCA (n.d.).

Created on 30-09-2024 | Update on 23-10-2024

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Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

Author: A.Davis (ESR1)

Area: Design, planning and building

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a standardised method to comprehensively quantify environmental impacts caused by the production of goods and services, which can be used to inform decision-making in building design. Measurable indicators include Global Warming Potential (GWP), acidification, eutrophication, and water use to name a few (European Commission, 2010). LCA can be used to account for all input and output flows related to the entire building life cycle, from raw material acquisition, manufacture, use and maintenance (e.g. while the building is occupied), to the deconstruction and beyond End-of-Life phase (Sartori et al., 2021). Calculating an LCA requires information for building products and processes usually found in the Bill of Quantities, which includes the type of material and its density combined with the amount of material, measured in either volume or area. The European standard EN 15978 (2011) provides guidance for the calculation method, which breaks down the life cycle into phases A to D, these are: A Production and Construction, B Use, C End-of-Life, and D Beyond End-of-Life. It should be noted however, that it is difficult to compare different buildings using LCA, as methodologies and assumptions vary, impacting results (Ramboll, 2023). An LCA that includes stage D is known as a ‘cradle-to-cradle’ assessment, this supports a circular approach and considers scenarios relating to the building after its ‘useful service life’. It is crucial for stakeholders to consider the beyond End-of-Life impacts when planning and designing housing to support the circular economy transition, primarily through promoting future material reuse. LCA is an increasingly relevant component of sustainability assessments for buildings following demand for transparency from the construction industry and trends in performance-based design (Sartori et al., 2021). The LCA method has been incorporated into the European Level(s) framework (Dodd & Donatello, 2020), and BREEAM and LEED assessments. The European Commission advocates for LCA, describing it as the "best framework for assessing the potential environmental impacts of products" (European Commission, n.d.). LCA therefore plays an increasingly prominent role in supporting EU policy and meeting the ambitions of the European Green Deal and related initiatives, such as the Circular Economy Action Plan (European Commission, 2020). At the national level, several European countries utilise LCA to regulate embodied carbon, with other countries expected to follow suit in the coming years (Röck et al., 2022).

Created on 30-09-2024 | Update on 23-10-2024

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