Prefabricated construction has been a common construction method for American construction for more than a century. The concept of build it fast in the most economical way has not changed since the beginning; however, the new technologies have been developed to suit the modern world prefabricated construction. The new technologies are not only help contractors and owners get their building faster and more economical but they also help reduce construction waste and produce high energy efficiency buildings which result in a long term benefit to projects. On the other hand, prefabrication for residential construction has been used in Thailand for only less than two decades. However, the prefabrication construction in Thailand has grown rapidly from the past five years. Recently, there are many new developers, and contractors who have switched from a traditional construction to prefabrication to keep up the rising in Thai residential market. Moreover, the new minimum wage policy from Thai government has hit Thai construction business very hard. The labor cost has raised more than 40% in some area (Thai Department of labor, 2013) since 2012. Thai developers see prefabrication as a future and ready to invest more in this type of construction. (Krunthep Thurakit, 2013) Currently, there are many construction products from the U.S. which have been using in Thai construction. Thai people are familiar with American product, therefore, U.S. prefabricated products and methods can easily make a quick transition to Thai prefabricated construction. The intention of this research is to find the prefabricated residential construction products or method from the U.S. that can be used for developing the new or similar products that compatible with Thai market. There are a lot of strong potential prefabricated construction products and method in the U.S. which can be very useful in Thailand. Those can be benefit to both American investors and Thai construction. The selected products or method will be review and investigate in the categories such as performance, compatibility, availability, price and ability to adapt to Thai market.

This paper describes a method for the design and fabrication of complex funicular structures from discrete precast concrete elements. It has a critical look over conventional casting methods and proposes a parametric casting mold to produce concrete blocks with custom shapes. The research proposes that through the integration of digital form-finding techniques, computational file-to-fabrication workflows, and innovative sustainable casting techniques, complex funicular structures can be constructed using prefabricated elements in a practical, affordable, and materially efficient manner. / text

The American way of life is becoming increasingly transient in nature. But at the same time there is also the inherent need to have a sense of rootedness, the need for a place to call home, to belong. The current thesis is an architectural exploration of creating a dialogue between this duality. The approach is to explore a composite system, where modular prefabricated architecture is implemented in conjunction with traditional building practices. The idea is to address the transient nature and sense of belonging by combining the prefabricated modular approach with the site-built traditional approach. This study proposes that there are two types of spaces in a house that creates the overall spatial experience of a home. These can be termed as core functional spaces and more fluid or flexible spaces. Core functional spaces are bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, dining, formal living etc. Flexible spaces are more fluid in terms of function, for example – family living, lobby, lounge, connecting/common spaces etc. In the current thesis, core functional units are proposed to be developed as modular units. The reason is, because of their defined functionality they can be designed as basic modules. The modules would be prefabricated in a factory and transported to site. The modules themselves are composed of panelised systems. This allows for a flexibility in different permutation of layouts and enables adaptability of the house with changing family dynamics and other functional needs, thus addressing the transient nature of life. The fluid spaces are proposed to be built on site allowing greater flexibility in terms of dimensions, construction material and design. This type of space addresses the sense of permanence and rootedness as they are designed to be responsive to the site forces and define the unique characteristics of a home based on client’s unique requirements. Overall, the composite approach addresses transience and changing family demographics through the modular, prefabricated, core functional units. Prefabrication is adopted for saving time and expenses of construction. Assembly line techniques, grouping of similar tasks and use of skilled labour help in achieving that. The core functional spaces serve some basic purposes which is common for every house in general. So these spaces can be considered as repeating units and forms, and can be considered for prefabrication. For example, Kitchens, bathrooms or bedrooms can be treated as basic units and thus can be designed as prefab modules. Prefabricated, modular construction is rapidly gaining interest in the building construction industry. Implementation of modular construction improves the efficiency in production and safety in the working environment. This reduces the necessity to transport many skilled workers to the construction site. Prefabrication also helps avoid other adverse conditions like exposure to harsh weather or a hazardous environment, lack of water or power etc. On the other hand, the proposed composite approach addresses permanence through the site-built components. These components are responsive to different sites and different client needs. The fluid spaces are the spaces that do not serve any specific or basic purpose for the designed architectural piece to function as a home, but rather work as a space that binds all the core functions together. The fluid spaces ne the architectural experience of a house and how the core functions are coming together to form an architectural piece that one can call home. For example, common lobby spaces, informal living, corridors etc work as fluid spaces where all the functional spaces are connected. For different households, different family needs, the fluid space can receive the functional modules differently thereby defining the architectural space differently. This type of spaces can be designed using traditional on-site construction which provides the language of permanence and rootedness. Proposed modular units themselves follow a panelised construction, so it is easy to add or remove panels to support the different arrangements of modules around different types of site built elements. Thus the composite system supports the transience by providing adaptability and permanence by responding and being rooted to the site. The overall spatial experience created by the juxtaposition of these two systems and two types of textures is the focus of this thesis. / Master of Architecture / Modern life is increasingly becoming fast and mobile. The idea of building one permanent accommodation for life that does not adapt to changes in family dynamics is increasingly going away. On the contrary, there is an inherent need in human beings to feel rooted to the place they live in. The current thesis aims to address this duality from an architectural perspective. The thesis proposes an architectural system that combines age-old, traditional architectural style with novel construction concepts. In traditional systems, houses were built from scratch, on-site. Which made them rooted to the place and directly influenced by the site. But new, prefabrication concepts propose constructing parts of a house as modules off-site, in a factory, and transporting them to the site. This off-site, module-based process makes a house easily adaptable to changes with changing family dynamics. This thesis proposes that there are two types of spaces in a house that creates the overall spatial experience of a home. These can be termed as core-functional spaces and flexible spaces. Core functional spaces are bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, dining, formal living etc. Flexible spaces are more fluid in terms of functionality, for example – family living, lobby, lounge, connecting/common spaces etc. In the current thesis, core functional units are proposed to be developed as modular, factory-built units. The reason is, because of their distinct functionality, they can be designed as modules. The modules would be prefabricated in a factory and transported to site. This approach enables adaptability of the house with changing family dynamics, thus addressing the transient nature of life. The flexible spaces are proposed to be built on site. This type of space addresses the sense of permanence and rootedness as they are designed to be responsive to the site forces and define the unique characteristics of a home based on client’s unique requirements. The architectural implementation presented here celebrates the coming together of these two types of building processes. Overall, the composite approach addresses transience and changing family demographics through the modular, prefabricated, core functional units. On the other hand, the proposed composite approach addresses permanence through the site-built components. The composite system supports the transience by providing adaptability and permanence by responding and being rooted to the site. The overall spatial experience created by the juxtaposition of these two systems and two types of textures is the focus of this thesis.

It is important for an architect to understand the limiting factors that will affect the design of a modular building. The implementation of modular construction as a means of improving production efficiency and worker safety in the construction industry raises into question the design quality of modular buildings, and whether or not the merits of the building process can also be captured from the perspective of the architect. For this reason, the constraints and barriers to design innovation in modular construction are recorded through the lens of an architect. This study uses interviews with modular manufacturers to extract information on the topic of innovation in the industry. Featuring a case study project as the platform for discussion, the opinions of experienced building professionals were sought to identify what is and what isn't possible. Among the primary constraints and barriers to innovation, including manufacturing costs, dimensional requirements based on transportation method, and the inflexibility of CAM software, the results of the study identified a need for architects to become better educated about modular construction in general. Therefore, the information presented is meant to be a teaching tool geared towards architects. / Master of Science

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The use of modular construction systems for residential purposes currently represents a very small proportion of all housing construction. The focus of these systems is on niche markets typified as cheap alternatives, homeowner involvement in construction or adaptations to construction constraints (build time availability, site access, etc.). Governments, regulatory bodies and industrial members are progressively moving towards increased environmentally sustainable practice. This progression is evidenced by the development of design and construction rating tools and the introduction of statutes and regulations governing construction and design. This work investigates the improvement of residential construction practice in terms of environmental sustainability outcomes through the use of modular housing systems. Two key aspects of environmental sustainability identified are embodied energy and material waste reduction. A modular system has been investigated because methods and procedures that directly relate to these two areas are well addressed by such systems. In order to validate the potential of modular systems in this environmental regard, three main areas have been addressed. The first is the ability for modular systems to generate the type of floor plans currently offered by Australian high-volume builders. Second, the environmental improvement potential offered by modular systems is addressed. Lastly are the issues of structural performance and the means of the tailoring of prefabricated modular systems to residential construction standards. Through the treatment of these three areas, potential benefits of modular systems are identified, with future work necessary to implement such benefits highlighted. The need for such improvements is noted, and a framework for evaluating future developments in this area of research is presented.

The thesis is an attempt to define and design a house by utilizing modernized construction technologies. From a single cell, a man grows up into a complex creature with an independent life. A livable space for a person starts from the mother's womb, then moves on to a crib, a full-size bed, a room, and finally a house. We can say, therefore, "a living room" originates from an independent life and is created for a person. Man cannot and does not live alone. Human interactions help develop the spatial relationship among rooms in a house, and among houses in a community. Social relations, such as those found among family, friends and neighbors, define the mental and physical dimensions as they are manifested in the demarcations of rooms, halls and houses. Sadly, modernization seems to have destroyed the human basis for spatial relations, as we no longer can find these attributes in contemporary designs where elevators and stairs have replaced alleys and backyards where neighborhood children once played and housewives enjoyed socializing. Industrialized processes have allowed us to build more space more quickly, but, unfortunately, these processes have also simultaneously equalized qualities in housing design today. Because of the potential complexity of these questions, I am compelled to focus on a room or a house as the scope of the study. The aim of the thesis is therefore the study of the development of a socially and technically responsive house in the face of growth and change in an industrialized world. In Part One, I shall start with an analysis of historical precedents and the development of a working concept for the design. Part Two ponders how to use minimum materials and sizes to create maximum spaces and capacity. The final section includes the demonstration of the design process involved in the creation of a future-oriented house. / Master of Architecture

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No description available.