Growing global interest in prefab raises interesting questions for its future development: do systems define an era, or do eras inform a need that breeds a particular system? Light timber framing for low-density residential construction, heavy centralized panelized precast concrete to rebuild Europe, and integrated modular volumetric systems, known as MIC (modular integrated construction) in various contexts recount and symbolize a period's dominant framework for streamlining building construction with manufacturing. Mobile homes or steel skeletons for industrial hangars have somewhat less generalized histories but are equally emblematic. Today, comprehensive factory production remains elusive, but building culture is overwhelmingly mass-produced and standardized, attuned to materials and methods that are aligned with an onsite/offsite sweet spot.
The mechanized sawmill in the US which led to balloon framing, required fireproofing for dense urban architecture in Europe generated patents for the reinforced concrete flat slab system, and panelization in particular illustrate success stories of Industrialized building systems balancing strategies with project functions, scales and socio-economic criteria: timber panels have been massively adopted to accelerate construction. Integrated (closed) panels or structural frames (open panels), for walls, floors, and roofs reduce sitework and waste without the predetermined architectural language associated with modular volumetric or comprehensive proprietary factory production. Their variability is an asset; architects can design any configuration that is translated as «panelized», produced as flat-packed building surfaces, delivered just-in-time, and assembled in an orchestrated sequence to facilitate construction management.
The adoption of this type of prefab for single family as well as multi-unit residential construction up to a regulated maximum of six stories (in Canada) showcases the industry's capacity to auto-regulate and adjust to technologies that can be introduced into construction's fragmented process without substantially altering it. Kitchen cabinetry, modular roof truss frames, prefabricated cladding systems, precast architectural panels, and curtainwalls all represent a similar manufacturing «sweet spot» suited to a traditional construction process: a seemingly seamless coordinated on and off site production process applying rigorous manufacturing criteria, assembly details, and principles – examples of DfMA applied to buildings.
The construction industry evolves slowly, with ingrained challenges related to productivity, transparency, and trade entanglement. However, panelization shows the sector’s ability to integrate nimble strategies that hit a sweet spot where advantages for design and fabrication become obvious to all stakeholders.
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| open (left) versus closed (right) panels |
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