Design for manufacturing and assembly (DfMA) or the concept of product architecture, already applied in various industries, have been put forward as strategies for applying the same methodologies to building production. Kieran and Timberlake’s manifesto (Refabricating architecture, 2004) and an abundance of literature since the publication seem to point to modularization, design platforms, and offsite fabrication as outlets for lean production. A recent example of this ideology explored by Bryden Wood, Platforms Bridging the Gap Between Construction and Manufacturing, develops similar notions including virtual modeling and prototyping and data harvesting to streamline the building process.
Even as platforms are being identified as ground-breaking, theories for increasing productivity and product architectures are not new concepts. Perhaps terminology has evolved but the type of systemic breakdown of a project’s components and logistics were central to Operation Breakthrough. Proposals were truly innovative in this regard as many were based on comprehensive logistical frameworks similar to what has been recently titled a building platform approach to DfMA (pDfMA).
One specific example and the only foreign project approved for US construction was the Descon-Concordia panel system. The sophisticated management plan included an open structural system of reinforced concrete factory-produced prestressed modular panels. From two storey to twenty-two storey high collective dwelling units, panels would be prepared in accordance to specific structural criteria while all other elements were to be shared between different designs and scales. Large reinforced concrete panels, off-the shelf components and mechanical sub-assemblies were part of the overall modular ideology shared between collaborating partners. This collective modular and dimensional coordination created an environment for manufacturers to produce all required elements concurrently for different sites, increasing production and productivity. Five modular panels for walls and four panels for ceilings made up the essential building blocks for a large number of designs. The proposer defined their system as a flexible management system and building kit : a type of product platform for reforming construction’s lagging challenges. Descon-Concordia, a consortium from Montréal, Canada was arguably the most advanced, forward-looking system in Operation Breakthrough and would certainly still be considered as a great innovation today in matters of applying factory production to building construction.
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Descon-Concordia building components and management system
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Michael Fieldman, of www.michaelfieldmanarchitect.com , now of New York was the design architect for the project at the time, in his Montreal firm, Bobrow/Fieldman Architects, and the firm was a partner of Descon Concordia specifically and only for OPERATION BREAKTHROUGH.
ReplyDeleteMichael Fieldman, of www.michaelfieldmanarchitect.com , now of New York was the design architect for the project at the time, in his Montreal firm, Bobrow/Fieldman Architects, and the firm was a partner of Descon Concordia specifically and only for OPERATION BREAKTHROUGH.
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