Design for the Masses Part 3: Mass Customisation
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The idea of quality and accessibility of design was initially sparked by a fear of the negative impact of technology on the production of designed objects and spaces. ‘Mass Customisation’ will investigate the full circle of this idea to show how technology is being used by designers to progress accessibility without impairing quality.
One of the constraints in high quality architectural design, particularly in the residential sector, is the huge cost, in terms of time, construction and custom systems, which tend to restrict the clientele to the wealthier end of society. ‘Design for the Masses Part 2: Kit of Parts‘ suggested an efficient DIY construction system that could allow home owners to access high quality residential design through ready to assemble construction systems, but what if there was a model of construction that could maintain the level of quality and cost of construction with even greater efficiency? Such a system is possible and it even predates flat packing- its the Ford production line model.
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Between 1908 and 1915 Henry Ford revolutionised the automobile industry through the development of an assembly line production system for the manufacturing of his vehicles. In recent years, computers have enhanced this process by enabling the customisation of potential outputs to suit the individual needs of consumers whilst still enabling an efficient and economical manufacturing process.
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In comparing the construction methods used by the automobile industry with those used in the built environment, Architectural Record made the following observations on what cars would be like if they were built the same way that we build houses:
Your car would be designed based on what kind of road you live next to. This process would take several years, even though there are already many cars on the street you live on. After your car is designed, your town government will have to approve it. Then your neighbors may complain and force you to redesign your car. When the design is finally finished, your car will be built from scratch. Parts will be sent to your garage, where the workers will then proceed to assemble your car. This will take 50% longer than you expected, and cost 100% more than expected.
The finished car will look nothing like some of the older cars, although it will run on the same engine. It will look very impressive from the front, less so on the side, and even less so on the back. This is because all parking is tail-in.
Every few years you will have to repaint your car, both on the outside and on the inside. Periodically you will reupholster your car. The car itself will last over a hundred years if properly maintained, though you may need to strengthen the frame by adding steel bars to the outside.
Eventually when you want to get a new car, you will have to dismantle the old one first. If you’re lazy you can simply blow up the car.
When considering the idea in the other direction, if architects built houses the same way that the automobile industry produces cars, we would have highly designed, material and labour efficient houses built on time and assessible to the wider public. If this is the case then why aren’t more houses built like cars?
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In the 1950s architects were beginning to produce housing in this way. The metabolist movement, which begun in Japan, adopted the notion of mass customisation, flexibility and resource efficiency. The ideas behind the movement are reimerging, in conjunction with technological advances, as a potential solution to current environmental concerns, created by the overconsumption of land resources causing expensive oversized homes and urban sprawl.
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Melbourne firm, Fender Katsalidis, have developed a new business arm called Unitised Building, based on this notion of mass customisation systems for medium to high density housing. The system replaces typical on site multistorey residential complexes with a series of unitised compartments that create individual residential compartments within a complex. The composition of these compartments forms the structural system for the whole development and the compartmentalised nature of the spaces enables superior levels of sound and fire separation. Each compartment is built off site in a large warehouse, complete with all interior finishes, fixed furnishings, fittings, plumbing and electrical and is transported to site where it is craned into position and simply connected into mains power and water supply and is then virtually ready for occupation.
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Their first development, a multiresidential in a small melbourne laneway, went from basic service framework to first occupants moving in only four weeks, a fraction of the time of typical urban construction. The project, aptly titled ‘Little Hero‘ has enabled the creation of affordable high quality, inner city housing that has the potential to simultaneously improve the sustainability and liveability of our cities. Although mass prefabrication has long been an option for affordable housing, mass customisation provides a model that fulfills consumer demands and facilitates the efficient delivery of architectural craftsmanship enabling the profession to make a significant contribution to the wider communities standard of living through design.
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Additionally, significant shifts in construction models, such as that developed by Unitised Building, are radically enabling not only the accessibility of high quality, affordable housing but in turn are shifting the perception of high density housing. Using design to create small residences that are spatially efficient, cost less to run yet feel bigger than their suburban counterparts is presenting a realistic, appropriate and attractive alternative to the dominant low density market. The social and health benefits of higher density communities are now becoming more and more evident and facilitating a shift towards more holistically sustainable housing, by combining clever design with cutting edge technology, is where architects are leading a subtle social revolution.
[...] will soon face the issue of accommodating an influx of citizens. This will result in increased housing developments, and for land-scarce urban centers, increase in high-rises. After all, if a city cannot or will not [...]
[...] will soon face the issue of accommodating an influx of citizens. This will result in increased housing developments, and for land-scarce urban centers, increase in high-rises. After all, if a city cannot or will not [...]