Methodologies from mass to lean production have propelled architectural experiments that would direct industrial principles toward the construction of edifices. Primarily, these experiments were fostered through applying standardization and replicability already used in commodity production. Military-industrial alliances, reconstruction after disasters or massive migration patterns all increased provisional demand for prefabrication. Specifically in the area of volumetric modular construction, to address housing shortages, factory produced dwelling sized chunks would be stacked and clustered into dense and low-cost variable compositions.
Along with the required dimensional normalization associated with mass production, the Toyota model and subsequent lean production tenets introduced the central concept of interoperability; The ability to leverage one type of cog or task toward a great number of arrangements according to preset design or fabrication parameters. In architecture, interoperability guided a systems theory approach where each building sub-assembly could be assembled and rearranged according to underlying ordering principles leading to a comprehensive and flexible adaptability of parts and pieces.
This idealized union of flexibility and interchangeability also sustained a new type of urbanism that conceived the city as a field of tall buildings planned as infrastructure support hubs. Manufactured modular dwellings could be attached, detached, placed or even replaced on these towers attuning to the evolving city. The Plug-in Capsule Tower (Kurokawa-1971) and Future House (Angela Hareiter-1967) famously portrayed this utopian vision for mobile citizens, moving their dwellings as required. Half a century after these foreword-looking experiments, a new generation is embracing similar themes of densifying cities though high rise modular and scalable edifices. Y design Office (a research and design collaborative) imagined an adaptable skyscraper for the centre of Hong Kong. The proposal is not only a modular support tower but is also intended to build itself. The support structure provides infrastructure connections and common spaces. Dwellings are composed from the same basic 2,6x2,6x2,6 m box-unit. They are lifted and positioned according to sizes from small (4 modular units) to extra-large (20 modular units) and plugged-into service connections that can easily be disconnected to relocate one’s dwelling. Each unit is part of an adaptable and interoperable whole as volumetric apartments could be delivered, lifted and placed or replaced within minutes.
Kurokawa Capsule Tower (left) Y Design Office (right)
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