Design Communication and Modular Coordination

Design Communication and Modular Coordination

1. Design Adaptability

   • Adaptability of a design to the method employed is important
   • The larger a series of similar elements, the smaller will be the cost per element associated with design, mold adjustments, and task learning of the production crew
   • Even better economic results can be attained if elements used for a construction project are identical or similar to elements already produced in the plant for other projects
   • Coordination between a designer and a producer is important to ensure that the building could be erected with elements produced in plant in the most efficient manner possible

2. Design Communication

   • Basic Communication Alternatives:
     • 1) Production is based on architects design for the client with little or no regard to the producers considerations
     • 2) Production is based on the producers own design, for a general or a specific type of project, in most cases made to suit the requirements of a certain group of clients
     • 3) Production is based on a design that observes some general coordination rules, with respect to dimensions and location of elements. Producer adapt the production of elements to the same rules
     • 4) Production is based on a design prepared by the client and following some common rules that ensure its adaptation to the particular producers component system

3. Production based on clients design

   • Elements are usually "tailor made" for a specific design of a client
   • Competes against conventional alternatives in a given architectural design
   • Not necessarily suit the producer facilities and special provisions and adaptations must be done
   • However, from a technological viewpoint, almost any architectural requirement can be satisfied with prefabrication
   • The Client can define desired building merely in terms of its spatial requirements
   • Desired location and mutual proximity
   • Describes the spatial needs in a more explicit manner but still leaves the producer considerable freedom in the location of supports and components shaping

4. Production based on producers design

   • Closed System Approach: the shape of the building, its dimensions and production methods are determined from a careful market study of needs and an engineering-economic analysis of the most efficient way of their fulfilment. A uniform type of building like a school or parking garage

5. A mutual Solution

   • Design rules are required: to permit an architect a maximum flexibility of design regardless of the prefabrication system employed later, and at the same time would allow producer to focus on their production effort on a limited number of elements with a predetermined range of dimensions and shapes
   • The ultimate goal of such dimensional coordination would be a so-called "open system" of interchangeable elements which could be supplied by different produced and could be used in any type of design conforming to the basic rules.

6. Modular coordination

   • Objectives:
     • 1) to reduce the variability of the dimensions of the building components. By accepting a relatively large basic measurement unit (basic module) and limiting dimensions of building components to recommended preferred sizes.
     • 2) To allow for easy adaptation of prefabricated components to any layout and for their interchangeability within the building. Defining the location of each component in the building with reference to a common modular grid, rather than with a reference to other components
   • THE BASIC MODULE: the basic length nit or module for building components was selected as M=100mm. Doing this, instead of 1cm = 10mm, customary in conventional construction, limits by far the number of possible dimensions. eg. a thickness of wall or slab, using only multiples of 1M may be economically unsound so the use of submodules of M/2 (50mm) and M/5 (20mm) was also permitted.
   • PREFERRED MULTIMODULES: In order to reduce the variability of large building components even further, the pertinent layout dimensions should be designed in multiples of the basic modules called multimodules. These are recommended to be 3M, 6M, 12M, 15M, 30M and 60M
   • Reference lines (centre or border lines), which determine the location of a component, are also called control lines, and the distance between them are the control dimensions of a component or a space
   • Contribution of Modular Coordination to Standardization
     • 1) the controlling dimensions of horizontal components - slabs, beams and girders - are limited to multiples of preferred multimodules
     • 2) The controlling dimensions of vertical envelope components - exterior walls, columns, and cladding - are limited to the preferred sized of overall floor height or derived from preferred sizes for the interior height.
     • 3) The controlling dimensions of interior vertical components - bearing walls and partitions - are limited to the preferred dimensions for interior story height or derived from preferred dimensions for overall height
     • 4) The thickness of walls, slabs and the cross section of beams and columns is limited to multiples of basic module or preferred submodules
     • 5) The controlling dimensions for doors, windows, stairs and some other interior fixtures are limited by their preferred sizes.
     • The modular coordination rules may therefore assist in considerably reducing the variability of building components without imposing excessive constraints on architectural flexibility

Bilder und Dateien der Mindmap