The
twentieth century introduced a plethora of new services to buildings in order
to enhance comfort. From electrical services to plumbing and air conditioning,
simple pre-industrial building culture evolved into a complex entanglement of
systems and services. Management of this entanglement became a dominant theme
of building technology. Modern methods of construction are for the most part
concerned with setting clear, synthetic, efficient and interchangeable paths
for each building system. Evolving from an elucidation of systems, «open
building» theory was articulated to the sorting out of building systems and
facilitating their flexibility over time.
This
type of «open» and «evolving» approach to building was characteristic of
prefabrication strategies during the latter decades of the twentieth century.
The avant-garde experiments of the early twentieth century and the early
failures of the factory mass-produced dwelling gave way to a new
generation of architects arguing for mass produced flexible and adaptable
component systems that would respond to the variable needs of the modern
dweller.
The
well-known French designer and architect Jean Prouvé was recognized for his
research into industrial processes and notably for his exploration of the
curtain wall. His legacy is well documented in architectural history. His dream
of an industrialized architecture was also carried by his son Claude Prouvé and
was expanded through the invention in 1973 of a modular monocoque component
system. The father and son collaboration on the
«Société industrielle de recherche et de réalisation de l’habitat»
industrial research for housing project was based on the clustering of
geometrically compatible structural foam injected shells for floors, walls and
columns.
The
post and panel component system could evolve over time, be repurposed, replaced
and even disassembled once no longer needed. The main differentiating point
between this open system and the plethora of component systems designed during
this period was its vertical mechanical shaft used to distribute mechanical and
electrical services. The shaft was used as a core element around which the
dwelling’s services, bath and kitchen, were articulated leaving the remainder
of the composition open to a modular assembly of 3.8, 5.3, 7.6m sided volumes
with a height of 2.5m. Only one of these prototypes was completed. These meta-industrialized systems failed to
take root, as housing, collective and single dwellings, continued to be produced
independently.
 |
| Axonometric drawing - system components |
No comments:
Post a Comment