Prefabrication experiments - 318 - Icons - 08 - Shipbuilding

The convergence and influence of manufacturing methodologies on modernism in architecture have been largely considered in literature.  Henry Ford's assembly line, the Toyota production method and other manufacturing strategies have been fostered and federated by architects and industrialists to proclaim efficient ways forward for building construction. Along with automobile production, naval architecture’s multifunctional constitution and largescale shipyard management model was cited by Le Corbusier in Towards a New Architecture (1923). Megaship production was seen and is still mentioned as closely related to and as a pattern for the construction of edifices. 

 

Like buildings, pre-industrial ships were produced in a linear process; tasks were completed sequentially. Through industrial advances, many systems in today's ships are manufactured decentrally and concurrently: cabins or other systems are completed in factories, delivered, and fitted into place while the mega hulls take shape. This overlap of tasks makes scheduling more efficient.

 

As acute labor shortages affect building productivity, costs and schedules, shipbuilding has again garnered attention by industrialized construction protagonists for multiple reasons: first, the scale and scope of shipbuilding compares to building construction, second, the number of systems and components that require a coherent interconnectedness and weathertightness resembles the systemic complexity in architecture. Finally, supply chain management of enumerable disparate pieces and components dwarfs the logistics demanded in buildings. Shipbuilding inspires modular building approaches showcasing largescale assembly of factory-made volumes and sections.

 

Further, construction management in naval yards, which function as open-air building factories, exemplifies integrated project delivery.  An umbrella firm superintends the coordination of all trades and their subassemblies. Using a mega-block strategy common in the industry, «giant blocks» weighing as much as 1000 tons a piece are made in assigned workshops and integrated in the naval yard. The giant-chunks, which contain every functional and technical requirement are welded together to form the monocoque structure and shell.  

 

Another interesting area of overlap between architecture and shipbuilding is the required adaptability over time. Ships like buildings need to be retrofitted. This systemic adaptability is achieved through intelligent nesting. Long-lasting elements are permanent while exchangeable short-term pieces are unitized and designed to facilitate their removal and replacement. 

Ships as multifunctional buildings : representation by LeCorbusier.