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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

Substantial step-wise advances and efficient work processes geared towards leveraging the modularization strategy to an optimal extent are needed in industry in order to maximize its potential benefit for capital projects because the industry suffers from low levels of application of the strategy. Due to this, this research focused on what changes to the traditional work processes within the industry as a whole and on individual projects are required. The ideas presented in this thesis seek to guide individual professionals and engineering organizations to create an optimal environment in which broader and more effective use of modularization can occur. / text

This thesis of a Master´s distant study program of M-STM Machinery technolofy and industrial design specialization proposes more efficient and quicker way of assembeling pipe technology systems using prefabrication of so called SPOOL "figure" in advance. The thesis proposes and from the technical-economical point of view assesses ways of manufacturing and proceeding the workshop weldings on pipe systems. While construction and design the programes of Areva and Autodesk companies were used.

Edge beams in Sweden are subjected to harsh environmental conditions, such as de-icing salts and numerous freeze-thaw cycles, which result in large expenditures for the maintenance of these items. Driven by that fact, a project was initiated to investigate the life of edge beams in more detail.   The main objective of the work was to determine and provide reliable input for establishment of investment cost of edge beams. The data was later utilized in an application of life-cycle cost analysis - created by a Ph.D student. Case studies - ongoing bridge construction projects in Askersund, Rotebro and Kallhäll - gave the basis for the research. Site visits were performed and engineers were consulted for data collection.   As an outcome of the project, costs for the edge beams in the case studies were calculated and comparative charts were presented that reveal the magnitude of cost contributors to the bridge edge beam system.   The work illustrates that the construction of edge beams is a workforce demanding process. Hence it is suggested that, to find the most optimal edge beam solution in terms of investment cost and life-cycle considerations, various construction methods such as prefabrication of edge beams should be tested and analysed.

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The goal of this study was to determine if innovative building methods and materials have the potential to lead to better productivity. Furthermore, this study endeavored to establish the premise that builders who use pre-fabrication, pre-assembly, and modular materials and building methods will perform more productively than those builders who don't. These ideas were pursued by first reviewing the history of home building in the United States to determine trends and patterns in innovation. The experimental phase of the study was accomplished by interviewing local and regional builders about their actual methods of construction used for residential construction. These methods were then analyzed to determine the contribution of these methods to the builder's productivity. Not surprisingly, builders choose one specific type of construction to build a majority of their projects. They use these methods because they are comfortable with them and confident in them; they know they work, and they believe that they are an efficient means of producing a house. It was determined that residential builders in these rural university towns tend to use traditional wood framing construction methods above all of the other available methods. However, there are builders who do use less-conventional methods including: wall panels, pole construction, and modular unit construction. The actual building methods used by builders are somewhat determined by several factors, including: project type, company size and structure, and area of the country. Furthermore, the builders who choose to use non-traditional construction methods with regularity tend to have higher rates of productivity as well as the ability to take on more projects. Higher rates of productivity and the ability to take on more projects have the potential to give builders a competitive advantage over their competition. / Master of Science

The thesis project was the vehicle for an investigation of prefabrication, assembly, and the design of a lived space. Elements are separated from the building and from each other. This separation is both physically and functionally significant. This separation of elements is presented as the architecture of a joint. The wall is divided into two parts: exterior and interior; creating a wall that is analogous to a double wall system. The exterior wall is the weather barrier, while the interior wall houses the functional necessities for a building, and the extremities of lived spaces. The gap, or joint, is exploited for its ability to be a transportation system. The joint is both vertical and horizontal, separating inside from outside and one unit from the other. The clarity of elements and the method of construction articulates the joint. A well designed element is fabricated and brought to the site. Its independence in construction is a metaphor for the element's ability to stand alone with its architecture, and when assembled underlines the strengths of the unit. The unit presented is one investigation of the varying possibilities of assembly. / Master of Architecture

Trata-se de um estudo sobre a pré-fabricação através da trajetória desenvolvida pelo arquiteto Eduardo Kneese de Mello, partindo-se de sua produção inicial, que trazia ensejos para os moldes construtivos propostos e viabilizados posteriormente. Verifica-se que os esforços pela pré-fabricação percorrem uma fase experimental que repercute em sua obra madura no estabelecimento de uma alternativa de pré-fabricação apoiada na compreensão da cultura produtiva, e em análise cuidadosa para a definição dos moldes produtivos. A opção é caracterizada pela aceitação da cultura produtiva, na contramão das propostas transformadoras da cultura e da sociedade. O processo de projeto que vai se estabelecendo caracteriza-se pela composição apoiada em elementos construtivos existentes, em contrapartida ao desenho que determina seus componentes. O material central de análise constitui-se pelos desenhos dos projetos, que foram redesenhados para uma compreensão dos pormenores construtivos, relacionando-se o estudo dos projetos a questões mais gerais da cultura. O trabalho contribui para o conhecimento da obra de Kneese de Mello, e para a compreensão de seu significado, à luz da pré-fabricação. / This is a study on prefabrication through the trajectory designed by the architect Eduardo Kneese de Mello, starting from its initial production, which features brought to a constructive manner proposed and subsequently enabled. It appears that efforts by prefabrication go through an experimental phase, that resonates in his mature work in establishing an alternative prefabrication supported in understanding the productive culture, and in careful analysis to define the production molds. The option is characterized by the acceptance of crop production, against the proposals to change the culture and society. The design process is characterized by the composition based on existing elements, in contrast to the design which determines its components. The core material of analysis is constituted by the drawings of the projects, which have been redesigned to an understanding of the construction details, relating the study of the projects to broader questions of culture. The work contributes to the knowledge of the work of Kneese de Mello, and the understanding of its meaning in the light of prefabrication.