The mass production of precise and
quality controlled bits and pieces transformed construction. Nails, bolts and
rivets replaced stone and mortar and handcrafted joinery in wood construction. The
steel nail for the wooden balloon frame or the bolt and rivet for the steel post
and beam skeletal structure epitomized this revolution. The paradigm shift from
artisans to mass production also introduced a new architectural language founded
on manufacturing output. From Walter Gropius to Buckminster Fuller and from
ready-cut houses to modules or capsules, architecture as well as the
manufactured housing industry promoted the kit of prefabricated parts as a valid
approach for the development of housing.
Employing industrial components to
achieve intelligible and reversible building systems responded to the
prospective evolution of lifestyles becoming increasingly mobile. The simple assembly and
disassembly of building systems allowed for movement and rendered the task of
anchoring oneself to a particular place, uncomplicated. The continuous
production of interchangeable components streamlined this necessary flexibility
and adaptability.
Along with the commonly used steel
and wood, advances in other materials such as plastics and aluminum contributed
to the development of lightweight kits for assembling buildings and dwellings.
The George Nelson design company of
New York designed a variable, flexible and adaptable open aluminum skeletal
system of «hollow rectangular prisms». Developed in the early 1960’s and based on a
12-foot modular grid, the aluminum frame and aluminum supports that replaced «costly concrete foundations» demonstrated
the era’s zeitgeist in terms of off the shelf kits, moveable building units and
capsule architecture. Lightweight (3
times lighter than steel), corrosion and mildew resistant, aluminum was a no-maintenance
alternative to traditional construction materials. The 12-foot square open
volumes could be tailored and combined to suit any spatial configuration. A
multi-material panel skin system enclosed the volumes. The translucent or
coloured panel roof flooded the interior with indirect light or generated a
Chinese lantern cluster of dwelling spaces. The varied coupling of these 12-foot modules
with 4-foot corridor capsules expressed a functional and rational approach to
planning.
Foreshadowing open industrialized kit
systems such as Kieran and Timberlake’s 2006 Loblolly house, the George Nelson
aluminum open modules evoked themes of adaptability and reversibility valued for
today’s demand for sustainable and resilient building systems.
 |
| The «hollow aluminum prisms» from Science and Mechanics - August 1960 |
No comments:
Post a Comment