Support / Infill (2000)
Other images and animations:
building flyby animation (1.6mb)
infill insertion animation (6.8mb)
infill project panels (PDF)
unit floor plans (PDF)
CLIENT: Plug-in Creations / Kajima / IMS joint project.
CONCEPT: The support / infill "IF7" projects falls under the Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) research umbrella (project #96009), with the goal of establishing an intelligent field factory, which is a fully automated mass-production process for manufacturing large-scale building components. The “support / infill” concept of the IF7 project (where long-term, permanent superstructure supports short-term temporary infill elements) was expanded upon, and a generic infill block module based on the internationals shipping container standards was established as an interface specification, such that general contractors will provide infrastructure frames for the modules, and infill manufacturers will be able to manufacture blocks that will fit into the frames.
DESIGN TEAM: Structure, mechanical, spatial design, planning, and module design were by A. Scott Howe, collaborating with Kajima and IMS participants who established specifications and conducted background industry research.
COST: None estimated.
DATE: 2000.
STATUS: Only conceptual design steps were taken for the purpose of supporting the IF7 intelligent field factory research.
DESCRIPTION: An expansion on the IF7 Digital Condo concept, consisting of a medium density condominium project that has no fixed unit size. Units can vary from two modules, and expanded to any number of modules horizontally or vertically (with interior private stairways) as long as unoccupied slots in the support structure are available. This project concentrated on a grammatical approach to fitting out the interior of modules, to allow for future expansion by the owner, and the rearrangement of partitions and other interior elements.
A.S. Howe (2003). Design Principles for Kinematic Architecture. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Construction in the 21st Century (CITC-II). 10-12 December, 2003, Hong Kong.
A.S. Howe; I. Ishii; T. Yoshida (1999). Kit-of-parts: A review of object-oriented construction techniques. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC16). 22-24 September 1999, Madrid, Spain. London: International Association for Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC).
Miyamoto, Ishii, Shibata, Dobashi, Howe, Yoshida, Takada, Ueno, Kunugi, Yagi, Nakata, Hatakeyama, Kigawada, Yomo, and Koga (1998). Study on assembly process for large-scale structures. Heisei 10 nendo IMS Kenkyu Seika Koen Ronbushu (1998 IMS Research Results), pp.119-122. Tokyo, Japan: Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (IMS) Center.