This study, comprised of three major sections, reviews the concept of industrialization and its present application and future potential for the production of housing in the industrialized parts of the world, with a focus on the Province of British Columbia. The discussion presented in the first two sections is based largely on the study of the available literature on the subject. The discussion in the third section is based on visits to selected factories, interviews and available references. The first section describes the basic characteristics of industrialization, that is, (a) mass production, (b) assembly line arid centralized work and (c) organization and planning of production. It is noted that standardization, co-ordination of work and dynamic approach to marketing are essential elements of industrialization. The second section examines the relationship between the basic characteristics of industrialization and those of housing. The characteristics of housing, (such as demand for individualization, its complexity and bulkiness, cost of its production and purchase and its fluctuating market) make organization and comprehensive planning imperative for its mass production and efficient distribution. In addition to the characteristics of housing, local factors such as geography, market distribution and capital availability need to be considered in a comprehensive planning for industrialized housing. Housing, being a complex, a bulky and an expensive product, the efficiency of its factory production (off-site production) must be extended to its on-site assembly through a co-ordinated approach to both off-site and on-site works. The third section is a review of industrialized housing in British Columbia. The local geography, market distribution, availability of capital and government's role in housing are examined. The production method and the organizational approach of the "modular" and "package" housing industry are analysed. Four manufacturing firms are chosen for the analysis. It is concluded that at present the industry of factory-produced housing does not compare favourably with the site-built housing industry. The current trends of industrialization of housing are likely to remain unchanged unless an initiative is taken for a comprehensive planning of industrialized housing. This planning must consider: the need for standardization and co-ordinated off-site and on-site works; the unevenly distributed and fluctuating market; the economics of large-distance transportation on a mountainous terrain; the task of providing environmentally appropriate housing; and the characteristics of housing. Individual manufacturers are less likely to take such an initiative because of their commercial motives. Therefore, the initiative should come from the government through their housing policies, guidelines and, perhaps, financial incentives. In the absence of this initiative, the desirable development of industrialized housing benefitting the ultimate users of these housing—the dwellers, would continue to be a difficult task. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

No description available.

The flexible partition, one of the main components of the flexible housing schemes in West European countries exhibited a comparative technological lack. This research investigated the adaptability of selected commercial flexible partitions available in the North American market to residences since the most realistic way to influence the technological process was to start from the known products and developing them in an innovative direction. The consequences of the proposed sectoral transfer were seen as immediate and long term effects and categorized into three groups of constraints: legal, technological and marketing constraints. The context of evaluation was drawn, and the performance concept was used to form a set of evaluation criteria. Fifty partition systems were reviewed, characterized and mismatched portions were screened out. The analysis with thirteen selected partition systems suggested that the performances of most of them were above the level required for dwelling. The study showed that most of them were economically more feasible as compared to fixed gyproc partitions if life-cycle costs were considered. Since the study showed that the partitions were sound in technical terms, it recommended further studies to look into the matter of modifying them by introducing new materials which would cut down the unnecessary performances and might reduce the initial cost as well.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Bibliography: p. 55. / by Suzanne Stewart. / M.Arch.

Project report (M. Eng.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1990. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-81). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis. 1975. M.Arch.A.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture. / Includes bibliographical references. / M.Arch.A.S.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1985. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 246-254). / Designing facades is one of the most important and delicate problems in contemporary architecture. The facade is the changing zone par excelience within which the structural elements of technology meld into refined details of art and together constitute Architecture. The facade is also an interface. or link, between two faces 1 and phases: the facade reflects the evolution of the plan for the private interior side. and is also the expression of the plan on the public exterior side. Very strong tensions. defined spatially. temporally, and architecturally are generated and constantly renewed by interior and exterior forces. Resolving these forces architecturally and artistically through building systems design. modern technology. and a vocabulary meaningful to users is tremendously problematic in the evaluation and critic of three case studies. This will be the subject of this thesis. in which the aspect of repetition in facades will be a dominant aspect. / by Jacques Plante. / M.S.

Thesis (M.S.)-- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil Engineering; and, (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1975. / Bibliography: leaves 160-165. / M.S. / M.Arch.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Includes bibliographical references. / The aim of this thesis is to explore the feasibility of an export-geared building industrialization in the United Arab Emirates, and to develop a tentative strategy for the implementation of such industrialization. The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E), a rapidly growing country, is chosen as the subject of this study, mainly because oil, which triggered the wealth and rapid development, is regarded by the government as an essential but temporary source of income; and a national policy to diversify the country's industrial development is, therefore, being pursued. Industrialization of the building sector is advocated in this thesis, as part of this diversification scheme. The first chapter summarizes the situation in the U.A.E in terms of geographical, vital, and economical statistics. The second chapter outlines the components of the Alpha - Beta Model (Grant, D.), the Method of Paired Comparison, and the Churchmann Ackoff Method for Weighting Objectives, as a formal means to evaluate and define the most appropriate industrialization approach. The third chapter applies these methods to the U.A.E's context, by evaluating the "open systems" and the "closed systems" approaches against selected objectives, derived for the data analysis. The fourth, and final, chapter attempts to define a strategy for the implementation of an export-geared building industrialization in the U.A.E. / by Toufic Elias Kadri. / M.S.

Homebuilding is widely regarded as the most analogous sector in the construction industry to automobile manufacturing. In the past decades, increasing interest from homebuilders has been seen to model the homebuilding process after manufacturing, particularly lean production, to improve productivity. However, differences inherent in the nature of the products prevent the direct implementation of lean principles and systems in the homebuilding industry. Project-oriented techniques used by the other sectors of construction are still dominant in homebuilding process planning and control. There is a clear need for an approach to integrate a lean production system into the homebuilding process and to overcome the challenges in lean implementation. The purpose of this research is to develop a lean production approach for the North American homebuilding industry. Specifically, this research intends to provide a framework and a set of guidelines that can help production homebuilders to improve their efficiency through lean transformation. This study first investigated the current homebuilding process and then conducted a comparative study between the homebuilding and automobile industries. Based on the analysis, a lean homebuilding model was developed, and key lean strategies were identified to support lean implementation efforts. Case study results revealed that a lean production system can be successfully applied to the homebuilding process, and lean strategies, such as continuous flow, pull system, production leveling, standardized work, investing in the people, and visual management were effective in improving a homebuilders operation performance in terms of construction cycle time, process stability and house quality. The major contribution of this dissertation is to provide production homebuilders a roadmap to developing their own lean production systems and lean implementation strategies. The research results are also anticipated to be a benchmark for future studies in the academic field and for the homebuilding industry. / Construction Engineering and Management