In complex and fast-paced times, management of innovation is suggested to explain the success of an organization, making managing innovation an important topic in strategy, organization and innovation literature. At the same time, the demand for customized solutions is increasing and the customers are becoming more important. A current example of an industry under transformational pressure experiencing this is the materials manufacturing and packaging industry, which this study addresses.  The combined need of increased research within the areas of innovation capabilities, innovation in a low-to-medium technology context and customization makes it difficult to know what innovation strategy to use in order to support customization. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate how the process of product innovation in a fast-changing market can be managed in order to support customization. Data were collected through a qualitative single case study approach, where semi-structured interviews were conducted within the meal kit and online grocery industry, as well as from different areas within the packaging solutions division within a large incumbent materials and packaging manufacturing company.  The findings indicate that the more a manufacturing provider is able to integrate and coexist an innovation with individual customer's values and needs, the greater is the prospect for adoption. Involving customers also works to better handle fast changing markets and react to changing customer needs. There are possibilities for a manufacturing firm to charge premium prices for customized solutions if the perceived relative advantage is strong enough. Furthermore, the findings in this study indicate the importance of involving the production in an early stage of the product innovation process to ensure that the product is producible and diminish the risk that a new product will be unprofitable. Also, increasing the dialogue between the different functions could enable the organization to work proactively with complementing the current product portfolio with profitable products and counteract the negative consequences of customization. / I komplexa tider med snabba förändringar föreslås innovationsledning kunna förklara framgång för en organisation. Detta gör innovation till ett viktigt ämne inom strategi- , organisations- och innovationslitteratur. Samtidigt ökar efterfrågan på kundanpassade lösningar och kunderna blir allt viktigare. Ett aktuellt exempel på en industri under transformationstryck som upplever detta är materialtillverknings- och förpackningsindustrin, vilken denna studie behandlar.  Det kombinerade behovet av ökad forskning inom områdena innovationsförmåga, innovation för låg-till medelteknologiska företag samt kundanpassning gör det svårt att veta vilken innovationsstrategi som ska användas för att stödja kundanpassade lösningar. Syftet med detta examensarbete är därför att undersöka hur processen för produktinnovation i en snabbt föränderlig marknad kan hanteras för att stödja erbjudandet av kundanpassning. Data samlades in genom en kvalitativ fallstudie, där intervjuer genomfördes inom matkasse och den digitala livsmedelsindustrin samt från olika områden inom förpackningslösningsdivisionen inom ett stort tillverkningsföretag för material och förpackningar.  Resultaten visar att ju mer en tillverkare kan integrera och samexistera en innovation med enskilda kunders värderingar och behov, desto större är möjligheterna för användning av dessa lösningar. Att involvera kunder fungerar också för att bättre hantera föränderliga marknader och reagera på förändrade kundbehov. Det finns möjligheter för ett tillverkningsföretag att ta ut premiumpriser för skräddarsydda lösningar, om den upplevda relativa fördelen är tillräckligt stark. Vidare visar resultaten i denna studie vikten av att involvera produktionen i ett tidigt skede av produktinnovationsprocessen för att säkerställa att produkten är producerad och minska risken för att en ny produkt blir olönsam. Att öka dialogen mellan de olika funktionerna kan också göra det möjligt för organisationen att arbeta proaktivt med att komplettera den nuvarande produktportföljen med lönsamma produkter och motverka de negativa effekterna av kundanpassade lösningar.

L’intégration du langage informatique dans l’architecture et l’ingénierie a commencé dès les années 1960, mais a connu un réel essor dans les années 1990. Les outils de modélisation ont alors progressivement fait émerger une nouvelle architecture. Tout d’abord baptisée « architecture blob », on lui a ensuite attribué le nom de « blobisme » et ses dérivés sont aujourd’hui appelés « architecture non standard ». Au cours de la dernière décennie, certains chercheurs comme Mario Carpo ou praticiens comme Patrick Schumacher ont introduit les termes de « paramétrisme », « customisation de masse », et « architecture non standard » pour définir ces nouvelles constructions complexes. Elles ne sont pas nécessairement savantes, mais ont été conçues grâce à des outils numériques et réalisées avec des méthodes de fabrication digitales. Cette thèse prend appui sur le postulat qu’une approche non standard dans un projet est loin de se résumer à une démarche purement plastique ou fonctionnelle : elle est destinée à produire des objets constructibles. Le domaine d’étude est celui des murs et enveloppes construites en bois et plus particulièrement les parois de type cellulaire. Ce travail inclut donc un outil paramétrique d’aide à la conception (ACPT, Aided-Conception Parametric Tool) et à la fabrication qui peut accompagner les concepteurs dans l’exploration de solutions non-standards pour des problèmes architecturaux spécifiques Cet outil paramétrique et intégré s’appuie sur une modélisation géométrique et technique des parois murales et des différents dispositifs cellulaires qui les composent. L’approche paramétrique autorise le développement de nombreuses variantes morphologiques. Sa dimension intégrée permet la production et l’optimisation des données tant topologiques que constructives. La production grandeur nature d’une paroi réalisée par un robot de coupe a servi de cadre expérimental pour démontrer les potentialités de notre approche mais aussi en identifier les difficultés. Les améliorations effectuées ont conduit à produire une série de clusters (groupes de fonctions) pour Rhinoceros-Grasshopper (RGH) qui ont permis de mettre en oeuvre la première version opérationnelle de cet outil, baptisée Fab-Cell / The integration of computing language into architecture and engineering has been present since the 1960s but it only proved practical by the 1990s when modeling tools started to participate in an architectural shift that has conceptually mutated through the years. By then, the trend was called “blob architecture” and thirteen years ago, trends succeeding “blobism” were named as non-standard architecture. In the last ten years, academicians like Mario Carpo and practitioners such as Patrick Schumacher nested the terms parametricism, mass customization, and nonstandard architecture to define those complex –not necessarily complicated architectures created by using of digital tools and aided-manufacturing methods. This thesis is underpinned on the fact that using the non-standard approach in any architectural project needs more than just a plastic or functional intention but the means to translate that intention into actual buildable objects. The aims of this study are therefore oriented towards architectural elements using cellular-like patterns as morphologic resource. This work brings up an Aided-Conception Parametric Tool (ACPT) that actually helps designers to explore non-standard solutions to specific architectural problems regarding timber-built walls and envelopes. This ACPT is meant then to succeed architectural intentions in which geometric patterns –as morphologic modifiers- are used to provide walls and envelopes with a particular language (a cellular structure) that might require morphologic form searching (Carpo, 2015a) and topologic optimization by means of parametric generative modeling. The previously mentioned aims were validated by means of a full-scale prototyping exercise in which the first version of the ACPT is tested. Furthermore A series of modeling improvements regarding pattern generation, jointing calculation and fabrication simulation, helped fixing the difficulties found during the first validation stage in order to produce a set of Rhinoceros-Grasshopper (RGH) functional clusters that embody the early operational state of this ACPT called Fab-Cell

Esta pesquisa aborda como problema principal, a falta de participação do usuário de Habitação de Interesse Social (HIS) na definição da sua moradia. O modelo atual do processo de provisão da habitação é baseado, principalmente, no sistema de produção em massa, resultando em unidades habitacionais padronizadas que não atendem às necessidades de seus usuários. Dentro deste cenário, a Customização em Massa (CM), tem sido investigada e apontada como uma estratégia promissora para solucionar este problema. A CM é definida como uma síntese de dois sistemas, aparentemente concorrentes: o da produção em massa com a customização individual de bens ou serviços. A participação do cliente na configuração do seu produto é uma condição essencial no conceito da CM, para o atendimento de suas necessidades e desejos. Para viabilizar essa participação, é necessária a utilização de ferramentas que permitam aos clientes configurarem seus produtos, a partir de opções disponibilizadas pelo fabricante. Especificamente no setor da construção civil, estas ferramentas ainda precisam ser desenvolvidas e experimentadas. Neste contexto, o objetivo principal da pesquisa é desenvolver um instrumento funcional que apoie os usuários, nas decisões da customização da sua habitação, em processos participativos de projetos de HIS. A pesquisa utiliza a abordagem da Design Science Research, a qual orienta para que, após a compreensão da questão central, seja proposto um artefato aplicável em soluções práticas. Os resultados obtidos com a aplicação do artefato desenvolvido demonstraram que o mesmo pode ser utilizado, não apenas na CM, mas também em outros processos de projetos participativos. A principal contribuição desta pesquisa está na originalidade das características paramétricas do modelo físico proposto. / This research approaches, as a main problem, the lack of user participation in Social Housing regarding the definition of its dwelling. The current model of housing provision process is based, mainly, on the mass production system, resulting in standardized housing units that do not satisfy the needs of users. Within this background, the Mass Customization (MC), has been investigated and identified as a promising strategy to solve this problem. The MC is defined as a synthesis of two systems, seemingly competitive: the mass production with the individual customization of goods or services. The customer participation in his product configuration is an essential condition in the concept of MC to fulfill his needs and desires. In order to enable this participation, the use of tools is required to enable customers to configure their products, from options, provided by the manufacturer. Specifically, in the civil construction sector these tools still need to be developed and experienced. In this context, the main objective of this research is the development of a functional device that can support users in their decisions of housing customization in participatory processes of Social Housing projects. The research uses the Design Science Research approach, which after understanding the central issue, recommends the development of an artifact and its application in practical solutions. The results obtained by applying the developed artifact demonstrated that the latter can be used, not only in MC, but also in other participatory design processes. The main contribution of this research is the originality of the parametric features of the proposed physical model.

Esta pesquisa aborda como problema principal, a falta de participação do usuário de Habitação de Interesse Social (HIS) na definição da sua moradia. O modelo atual do processo de provisão da habitação é baseado, principalmente, no sistema de produção em massa, resultando em unidades habitacionais padronizadas que não atendem às necessidades de seus usuários. Dentro deste cenário, a Customização em Massa (CM), tem sido investigada e apontada como uma estratégia promissora para solucionar este problema. A CM é definida como uma síntese de dois sistemas, aparentemente concorrentes: o da produção em massa com a customização individual de bens ou serviços. A participação do cliente na configuração do seu produto é uma condição essencial no conceito da CM, para o atendimento de suas necessidades e desejos. Para viabilizar essa participação, é necessária a utilização de ferramentas que permitam aos clientes configurarem seus produtos, a partir de opções disponibilizadas pelo fabricante. Especificamente no setor da construção civil, estas ferramentas ainda precisam ser desenvolvidas e experimentadas. Neste contexto, o objetivo principal da pesquisa é desenvolver um instrumento funcional que apoie os usuários, nas decisões da customização da sua habitação, em processos participativos de projetos de HIS. A pesquisa utiliza a abordagem da Design Science Research, a qual orienta para que, após a compreensão da questão central, seja proposto um artefato aplicável em soluções práticas. Os resultados obtidos com a aplicação do artefato desenvolvido demonstraram que o mesmo pode ser utilizado, não apenas na CM, mas também em outros processos de projetos participativos. A principal contribuição desta pesquisa está na originalidade das características paramétricas do modelo físico proposto. / This research approaches, as a main problem, the lack of user participation in Social Housing regarding the definition of its dwelling. The current model of housing provision process is based, mainly, on the mass production system, resulting in standardized housing units that do not satisfy the needs of users. Within this background, the Mass Customization (MC), has been investigated and identified as a promising strategy to solve this problem. The MC is defined as a synthesis of two systems, seemingly competitive: the mass production with the individual customization of goods or services. The customer participation in his product configuration is an essential condition in the concept of MC to fulfill his needs and desires. In order to enable this participation, the use of tools is required to enable customers to configure their products, from options, provided by the manufacturer. Specifically, in the civil construction sector these tools still need to be developed and experienced. In this context, the main objective of this research is the development of a functional device that can support users in their decisions of housing customization in participatory processes of Social Housing projects. The research uses the Design Science Research approach, which after understanding the central issue, recommends the development of an artifact and its application in practical solutions. The results obtained by applying the developed artifact demonstrated that the latter can be used, not only in MC, but also in other participatory design processes. The main contribution of this research is the originality of the parametric features of the proposed physical model.

The North House is a proof-of-concept prefabricated solar powered home designed for northern climates, and intended for the research and promotion of high-performance sustainable architecture. Led by faculty at the University of Waterloo, the development and design of the project involved a broad collaboration between faculty and students at the University of Waterloo, with Ryerson University and Simon Fraser University. The North House prototype competed in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon in October of 2009. This thesis identifies the North House as a component-based building. It illustrates in detail the components of which the house is composed, the sequence by which they are assembled, and the details that allow for the building’s rapid assembly and disassembly. Finally, the thesis explores the possibilities afforded by componentbased architecture including adaptability, off-site fabrication and demountability. Drawing on this, the thesis projects future ways of designing buildings sustainable to both manufacture and operate.

The North House is a proof-of-concept prefabricated solar powered home designed for northern climates, and intended for the research and promotion of high-performance sustainable architecture. Led by faculty at the University of Waterloo, the development and design of the project involved a broad collaboration between faculty and students at the University of Waterloo, with Ryerson University and Simon Fraser University. The North House prototype competed in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon in October of 2009. This thesis identifies the North House as a component-based building. It illustrates in detail the components of which the house is composed, the sequence by which they are assembled, and the details that allow for the building’s rapid assembly and disassembly. Finally, the thesis explores the possibilities afforded by componentbased architecture including adaptability, off-site fabrication and demountability. Drawing on this, the thesis projects future ways of designing buildings sustainable to both manufacture and operate.