Can a house be a product? This thesis sets out to form a set of basic elements for a minimum house in light of this question that is both functional and aesthetic. The goal is to develop an efficient prefabricated system of construction analogous to a chart of chemical elements. The modular system is then applied to the most basic footprint for a house - a 400 square foot Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). Through studying the fundamental parts of a house, a level of understanding emerges, which allows for a projection of the idea as a whole. The ideal of prefabrication posits the possibility of architecture as a system. This idea has attracted architects for decades, despite what appears to be an inherent tension between architecture as a system and the poetic iconicity of the house as a type. A study of the systemic introduced by considerations of prefabrication can offer a deeper understanding of the complex nature of architecture. Finally, can the essence of architecture endure amidst the necessary limitations of factory production and manufacturing in our post-industrial age? / Master of Architecture / This thesis consists of a system-generated 400 square foot prefabricated house, a catalog of the house's elements, an expanded catalog of small houses, and a series of studies conducted while traveling through Europe and upon return. The system utilizes a series of functional pods and frames the 'served' with panelized elemental compounds such as walls, floors, and roofs to meet the programmatic requirements of a house. By applying this limited catalog, the feasibility of production can be explored through an expanded catalog. Ultimately, the whole must be greater than the sum of its parts; through tectonic articulation, functional clarity and an additive approach, this can be achieved while meeting the strict constraints that prefabrication demands.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/115906 |
| Date | 27 July 2023 |
| Creators | Norris, Blake Alexander |
| Contributors | Architecture, Weiner, Frank H., Pittman, Vance H., Wheeler, Joseph H. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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