Refabricating Architecture
Book Review
Refabricating Architecture
By Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake
McGraw-Hill 2004
In an historical context, the process of building design and construction has not changed greatly. Architects envision the building and contractors and material suppliers try to deliver that vision. The designers prepare the construction documents. The contractor then takes the documents, and brings to the jobsite all the craftspeople and construction materials necessary to assemble the building. This is a linear process, with a distinct segregation of skills. The authors point out that CSI adds to the structure of this process with MasterFormat.
In the future, the authors feel that architects will need to focus on the construction process, not simply the results. As examples, they show the advances made in the manufacturing industries of the automobile, aircraft, and ship building. These heavy industrial processes have several advantages over the typical building construction process.
For example, automobiles are designed, fabricated, and assembled as modules, rather than discrete components. A subcontractor assembles a complete dashboard with all the pieces, including various options. The dashboards are delivered (just in time, so no inventory) to the final assembly plant where they are joined with all the other modules from all the other suppliers to produce the completed car. The authors speculate that at some point, there will be automobile companies that do no assembly at all. They will be, in effect, marketers of a brand and not industrial manufacturers.
Shipbuilding and aircraft manufacturing follow similar procurement/assembly processes. The advantage to the customer is that the assembly takes place indoors in a controlled environment. The work environment is safer and not prone to weather related interruptions. The design allows for “plug and play” modules with fewer connections or interfaces with other parts. All of these factors mean higher quality and lower cost to the customer.
To demonstrate how the authors’ approach to the construction process might be carried out, there is a chapter devoted to the assembly and delivery of a house. They visualize the use a converted Boeing assembly plant in Washington State as the manufacturer of houses. The various module suppliers are located nearby. All the components are assembled on the factory floor and then the completed house is disassembled into “grand blocks” for packing and shipping. No delays and everything fits as designed.
I appreciated the authors’ premise. I encourage you to get a copy of this book and read it for yourself. It is available at discount on the CSInet.org website. The single chapter on how a house might be assembled at the Boeing plant was particularly enlightening. I wish there were more examples like this for other types of construction. As a roofing consultant, I see many examples of field assembly problems, particularly between systems. The interface between a roof system and a rooftop mechanical system is prone to leaks. The interface between the roof and the wall is another problem example. How can we design and fabricate our buildings to prevent these types of problems? The authors seem to be on a track that deserves our consideration.
Author James Timberlake, FAIA will give the Keynote presentation at the CSI Show in Baltimore, MD on June 20.
Refabricating Architecture
By Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake
McGraw-Hill 2004
In an historical context, the process of building design and construction has not changed greatly. Architects envision the building and contractors and material suppliers try to deliver that vision. The designers prepare the construction documents. The contractor then takes the documents, and brings to the jobsite all the craftspeople and construction materials necessary to assemble the building. This is a linear process, with a distinct segregation of skills. The authors point out that CSI adds to the structure of this process with MasterFormat.
In the future, the authors feel that architects will need to focus on the construction process, not simply the results. As examples, they show the advances made in the manufacturing industries of the automobile, aircraft, and ship building. These heavy industrial processes have several advantages over the typical building construction process.
For example, automobiles are designed, fabricated, and assembled as modules, rather than discrete components. A subcontractor assembles a complete dashboard with all the pieces, including various options. The dashboards are delivered (just in time, so no inventory) to the final assembly plant where they are joined with all the other modules from all the other suppliers to produce the completed car. The authors speculate that at some point, there will be automobile companies that do no assembly at all. They will be, in effect, marketers of a brand and not industrial manufacturers.
Shipbuilding and aircraft manufacturing follow similar procurement/assembly processes. The advantage to the customer is that the assembly takes place indoors in a controlled environment. The work environment is safer and not prone to weather related interruptions. The design allows for “plug and play” modules with fewer connections or interfaces with other parts. All of these factors mean higher quality and lower cost to the customer.
To demonstrate how the authors’ approach to the construction process might be carried out, there is a chapter devoted to the assembly and delivery of a house. They visualize the use a converted Boeing assembly plant in Washington State as the manufacturer of houses. The various module suppliers are located nearby. All the components are assembled on the factory floor and then the completed house is disassembled into “grand blocks” for packing and shipping. No delays and everything fits as designed.
I appreciated the authors’ premise. I encourage you to get a copy of this book and read it for yourself. It is available at discount on the CSInet.org website. The single chapter on how a house might be assembled at the Boeing plant was particularly enlightening. I wish there were more examples like this for other types of construction. As a roofing consultant, I see many examples of field assembly problems, particularly between systems. The interface between a roof system and a rooftop mechanical system is prone to leaks. The interface between the roof and the wall is another problem example. How can we design and fabricate our buildings to prevent these types of problems? The authors seem to be on a track that deserves our consideration.
Author James Timberlake, FAIA will give the Keynote presentation at the CSI Show in Baltimore, MD on June 20.
posted by Robert Dye at 10:58 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home