From Mass Prefab to Mass Customization

Modern Methods of Constructions from Experimentation to Manufacturing

verfasst von: Ornella Iuorio

Verlag: Springer Nature Switzerland

Buchreihe : SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Über dieses Buch

This book provides an overview of the latest innovations in prefabrication. It analyzes how digital, material, and process innovations are transforming the mass prefabrication of homes, schools, and offices into mass customization. It provides an understanding of available manufacturing processes, including distributed ownership of manufacturing, platform approaches, and robotics. It discusses how the integration of cutting-edge advanced construction techniques, coupled with robotic manufacturing and assembly from the earliest stages of building system design, has the potential to unlock new formal and technical paradigms.

Investigating the impact of prefab in the context of climate emergency, the book analyzes the capacity and shortfall in delivering net zero emissions. It discusses the opportunities that Modern Methods of Construction provide to enable the transition towards circular constructions, from reuse to retrofitting. Including the users' experience, it demonstrates the importance of developing methodologies for capturing users' occupancy evaluation, as a means for understanding real performances, benchmarking indicators, and tuning systems to target the long-term well-being of the occupants.

Referring to a plethora of emblematic cases, this work demonstrates the importance of investing in research and development to optimize construction systems, reduce material use, facilitate lean construction, advance mechanical and environmental performances, and move toward circular systems to close the loop.

This book is aimed at practitioners, architects, technologists, researchers, and students in architectural engineering.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Historical Evolution of Prefabrication

Abstract

The term Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) is typically used to denote forms of prefabrication. Although not a new phenomenon in and of itself, it has recently come to be recognized as an essential instrument in tackling the global housing shortage, and the ecological challenges, while providing resilience to disruptive phenomena. This chapter scrutinizes some of the main historical transformations of the concept of prefabrication, from initiations, through the major developments in the period around the World Wars, up to the most recent re-categorization within the framework of Modern Methods of Construction, which includes also the cutting-edge technologies which are disrupting the construction industry. By examining the historical context in which these methods developed, this chapter aims to bring the reader to reflect upon the potential they hold for transforming the built environment in response to contemporary challenges, while also providing a memory of the fall they have gone through in history. Finally, this section provides a synopsis of the MMC industry’s recent rise to prominence as a self-described disruptor of conventional on-site building.

Ornella Iuorio

Chapter 2. Additive Manufacturing and Automation in Construction

Abstract

The two most disruptive innovations entering the construction sector in the last decades are additive manufacturing (AM) and automation in construction, which are indicated in the new categories of MMC as categories 4 and 7. This chapter aims to frame the development in these fields by adopting an approach that goes from the material to the construction process scale, highlighting the importance to adopt fully integrated design and manufacturing processes. Material advancements through AM in clay, earth-based, steel, and bio-composites are discussed to reflect about the mainstreaming of AM processes to create high-performance low-carbon building components. It presents a generalized four streams framework for robotics in construction, that can be used for understanding and analyzing advancements in a field in continuous transformation. This chapter discusses immersive reality as complementary to automation to explore multiple design opportunities and to monitor construction and maintenance phases. In an ideal world where robotic manufacturing and assembly are considered from the inception of building design, the domains of robotic, advanced manufacturing, architecture and building construction can influence each other opening up new formal and technical languages, rooted in traditional sciences.

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Chapter 3. Engineering the Systems: The Role of Research and Development

Abstract

The prefab market is extremely competitive, and recently its strength is based on the capacity to offer high performances (structural and environmental) while containing the execution times and the costs. The sector’s robustness is increasingly contingent upon the ability to innovate and integrate advanced systems that enhance overall efficiency and sustainability. Entities that excel in this market are typically those that allocate substantial resources towards research and development (R&D), enabling them to develop and implement groundbreaking technologies and delivery approaches. This chapter presents the pivotal role played by R&D in three recent emblematic MMC construction systems. They represent research and development in: a. volumetric light gauge steel system for large-scale manufacturing, b. wooden-based cassette system to be delivered through flying factories, c. a platform approach to be applied for a variety of functions and contexts. For each of them the idea, the main research strands and exemplary applications are presented.

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Chapter 4. The Role of Prefab in the Context of Climate Emergency

Abstract

Building performance, embodied carbon, responsible material use and circularity are the drivers for sustainable buildings. Digital technology is used in smart systems to support processes for environmentally friendly design, construction, and operation. This chapter analyses the balancing act of Modern Methods of Construction between innovation and climate emergency. It discusses the latest innovations embedded in prefab systems to deliver low-carbon systems, advance circularity in the built environment and retrofit the existing building stock. This section draws a methodology to assess the sustainability performance impact on inhabitants, to reflect upon the complexity of delivering indoor comfort in a changing climate. It reflects upon life-cycle analysis of prefab systems developed to be highly energy efficient and seismic resilient, while reducing carbon footprint. It opens up to the challenges of deconstruction and reuse, discussing the opportunity to reuse lightweight façade systems to shed light on the carbon benefits of closing the loop.

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Chapter 5. Emblematic Prefab Systems

Abstract

This chapter presents prefab cases for the construction industry. It does not intend to show them per se, but to articulate how research and development have shaped them, so they can serve as a reference for future development of the construction industry. Therefore, for each case studies, it discusses the historical development of the company, and the pivotal role that research and development have played in the system’s evolution. The chapter provides essential information about the systems, including notable examples, demonstrating their real-world use and effectiveness. The selected cases are ordered according to their prefabrication complexity and primary material adopted, offering insights into the manufacturing and assembly challenges and solutions. Examples are categorised also according to their applicability as new constructions or if they have also been developed for retrofitting existing buildings. This structured approach allows for a systematic comparison and understanding of the technological advancements and applications in the field of MMC.

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Titel: From Mass Prefab to Mass Customization
verfasst von: Ornella Iuorio
Verlag: Springer Nature Switzerland
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-73327-7
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-73326-0
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-73327-7