Prefabrication Handbook for the Construction Industry


Book Description

We have written this book as a hands-on, practical, and scalable guide to prefab. Itapplies if you are starting from ground zero, or if you are at the 3% mark and trying to get to 50%. The book is not about "benchmarking" or "best practices"; it is grounded in thereality of what other industrialized industries have passed through, which will happen in construction sooner or later. We can learn from history and the science of work (IndustrialEngineering), to move faster and with fewer mistakes, rather just comparing to the status quo of "best practices" in today's construction environment.Maximum prefab requires a culture of prefab, by understanding the true benefits of prefab which are way beyond saving "hours". Benefits include risk reduction, increasedreliability and predictability of the outcome; reduced uncertainties from the jobsite, anopportunity to train manpower in a controlled environment. Monetarily, the benefits are best quantified as composite rate savings, which reflects a better managed crew ratio and overall productivity improvement.The most valuable part of this book for the majority of our readers will be theAppendices, which is a set of sample and blank forms, and templates for your use, to start or add to your vision and mission of doing more prefab. We will be updating these forms and templates regularly, and have them available electronically on our www.agileprefab.com blog. Please contact us to join and always have access to the latest and greatest.




Prefab Architecture


Book Description

"Prefab Architecture . . . is beyond theory, and beyond most of what we think we know about pods, containers, mods, and joints. This book is more than 'Prefabrication 101.' It is the Joy of Cooking writ large for the architecture and construction industries." From the Foreword by James Timberlake, FAIA THE DEFINITIVE REFERENCE ON PREFAB ARCHITECTURE FOR ARCHITECTS AND CONSTRUCTION PROFESSIONALS Written for architects and related design and construction professionals, Prefab Architecture is a guide to off-site construction, presenting the opportunities and challenges associated with designing and building with components, panels, and modules. It presents the drawbacks of building in situ (on-site) and demonstrates why prefabrication is the smarter choice for better integration of products and processes, more efficient delivery, and realizing more value in project life cycles. In addition, Prefab Architecture provides: A selected history of prefabrication from the Industrial Revolution to current computer numerical control, and a theory of production from integrated processes to lean manufacturing Coverage on the tradeoffs of off-site fabrication including scope, schedule, and cost with the associated principles of labor, risk, and quality Up-to-date products featuring examples of prefabricated structure, enclosure, service, and nterior building systems Documentation on the constraints and execution of manufacturing, factory production, transportation, and assembly Dozens of recent examples of prefab projects by contemporary architects and fabricators including KieranTimberlake, SHoP Architects, Office dA, Michelle Kaufmann, and many others In Prefab Architecture, the fresh approaches toward creating buildings that accurately convey ature and expanded green building methodologies make this book an important voice for adopting change in a construction industry entrenched in traditions of the past.




Off-site Fabrication


Book Description

off-site fabrication Off-site fabrication is a topic of international interest and provides an effective construction technique in terms of quality, time, cost, function, productivity and safety. It is adopted worldwide as the ideal means of producing an immense array of elements from structural members, cladding units, bathrooms to fully-finished modular buildings. This practical book provides a complete guide to the subject, covering the principles, applications and implications for design and construction. Numerous case studies and examples from around the world illustrate the flexibility and adaptability of off-site fabrication. Practitioners, researchers and students in civil and structural engineering, building and construction, construction management and related subjects, will find the book provides excellent guidance to the technology and its effective implementation.




A History of Prefabrication


Book Description

Compilation of reprinted illustrated articles on the historical development of prefabricated housing and architecture in the USA - covers trends in the use of different materials and relevant equipment in the construction industry.




Stau-Z.


Book Description




The Prefabrication of Houses


Book Description




Prefabrication and Preassembly


Book Description

Noting the pressure on the UK construction industry to raise productivity, reduce costs and improve quality, this text explains how prefabrication and preassembly of building services can produce more economic installations, and compares them with more traditional methods.




The Pre-Fabrication of Building Facades


Book Description

This book compares two buildings with different technologies and distinct environment from the combined viewpoints of civil engineering and architecture. The first is the most recent building of Columbia University in New York, the Northwest Science Building, a project designed by Rafael Moneo and Dan Brodkin of Ove Arup. The second one is the Burgo Tower in Oporto, by Eduardo Souto Moura and Rui Furtado of AFA, a building that brings a new perspective to the use of prefabrication technologies with local traditional construction systems. With the detailed analyses of recognized researchers in civil engineering and architecture, this book is a reflection upon the problems and solutions in the design and construction process of a prefabricated building system. This volume, like those to follow, brings together, building research and building design practice to enhance the knowledge of complementarity areas involved in construction, engineering and architecture. This is the first book in a new series "Building Research: Design, Construction and Technologies" which aims to bridge scientific research and professional practice to understand the Building Design problems. In each edition, one or two case studies (recognized buildings in the international design panorama) are analyzed with their authors to assess the design process and the construction development. To understand the problems involved, researchers, engineers and architects, are asked to contribute to this ana lysis with essays on building research issues, as building technology, construction management, acoustics, maintenance or prefabrication.




Prefab Housing and the Future of Building


Book Description

As we stand on the cusp of a fundamental restructuring of the housing and building industries, this book provides timely insights into the promise of prefabricated housing. The idea of a more industrialised approach to house building is not a new one: since the 19thcentury, designers, inventors, engineers, builders, developers, and entrepreneurs have all been fascinated by the idea of the factory-built, modular home. But international housing affordability crises, emerging technologies, and concerns for more sustainable building practices have given a new urgency to the need to transform building construction in the 21st century.Richly illustrated and drawing on historical examples and contemporary design studies, the book takes the reader through the foundations of prefab, leading up to a discussion of contemporary problems and opportunities. It includes a broad international survey of leading companies and their products, and draws on research from an international team of experts in the field. This book suggests a future scenario for industrialised house building that will both challenge the existing industry and stimulate the public imagination.




Prefabricated Systems


Book Description

For a number of years, modular construction – the use of prefabricated elements in architecture – has once again become a subject of lively discussion and debate. Long written off as monotonous, today’s building components are actually highly differentiated and capable of supporting and enhancing the architect’s creativity. Numerous structures work with prefabricated components; for single-family homes the figure is ninety-eight percent, and modular systems are available that meet high aesthetic standards. This book provides an overview of the various different systems and their possible uses, particularly in the areas of housing, office, and industrial buildings. It explains the processes and components of modular construction and the behavior of the various materials when this construction approach is used. The authors offer strategies for planning and designing with prefabricated systems so that the architect can use them productively. Numerous drawings explain the principles of modular construction, while built examples forge a link between those principles and the practical activity of building.