Photo: architecturaldigest.com
Projects are getting more complicated today than ever before. Higher expectations for sustainability, quality and the regulatory process are all key drivers.
Toyota and Ford both grew through mass producing vehicles, albeit with different approaches to manufacturing. Toyota systems thinking has been credited with improvements in other industries developing principles like Just In Time (JIT) and Lean Manufacturing. The automotive industry depends on its supplier network to build a car based on a kit of parts. I can’t imagine a world today, not to say that Elon won't figure it out, where you have design flexibility for every feature in a car and still deliver the product through mass production on schedule at a pre agreed price to the same quality, every time.
Offsite construction is more like manufacturing than conventional construction based on the process it follows requiring integration within the supply chain. Standardization should not be limiting to a point that the building use is compromised, instead working with a kit of parts to further reduce time for design, fabrication and installation. Fabricators are experts at this.
The drawback to standardization is how it limits the design options. This can be a challenge when working with projects that require a lot of customization due to the site, quality requirements or the owners preference. Speaking with several architects there has been an underlying theme that standardization is not interesting work and custom projects are more aligned to the type of buildings they enjoy giving the impression that design inflexibility is their kryptonite. Other architects have appreciated that standardization has benefits and the extra rigor produces a better quality regardless of on or offsite approaches.
In either case a strong Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DfMA) strategy will help align the project execution to the owners desired outcomes. If that approach does not work then the question should be asked; Is this a project that is better suited to a site build?
Comments