Multiplicity in aggregated built form

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1985.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH.Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-125).Although the economic efficiency of industrial construction technologies based on long production runs of similar manufactured components i s well known, strict dimensional considerations and repeated use of a limited number of form work types tend to result in "built-modules" of excessive uniformity. With respect to building form, these technologies offer little flexibility in realizing more pluralistic design solutions. The designer's input can be reduced to applying idiosyncratic skin treatments t o a building framework which, by its repetitive nature, designed itself before leaving the factory . If, however, the initial design of these systems is both formally and structurally reconsidered, assembly generating much greater ranges in the aggregate form will be possible. Thus, the input of the designer will be dramatically enhanced . Given this shift in attitude , the rethinking of the structural and formal behavior of the components can help determine the ways in which the systems may be assembled.by Mark DeLaney Smith.M.Arch