In a constant search to find new ways to reduce costs and construction times, modular architecture emerges as an opportunity to implement various methods, technologies, and techniques to design livable spaces using separate repetitive elements such as modules. As Tom Hardiman, executive director of the Modular Building Institute (MBI), maintains, "Modular" is not about a construction product but rather a construction process.
After the Second World War, several architecture professionals focused on finding ways to quickly and effectively rebuild those devastated cities. In the context of the 1950s, a review of the Modern Movement incorporated mass production and modular repetition as generating principles for projects. One of the most studied topics was the introduction of a perfect module that would allow the greatest number of possible combinations and configurations. Research on Rafael Leoz's "Hele module" in 1961 serves as an example.
Modular architecture consists of construction elements similar in proportions, shapes, and functions, making them easy to produce and replace. Additionally, these elements can be added to other architectural structures, whether or not they have the same modules. As one of the first designs of capsule architecture and a pioneering example of modular architecture, architect Kisho Kurokawa designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower in 1972. This building served as a prototype for sustainable and recyclable architecture, where each module is connected to a central core and can be replaced or exchanged if necessary.
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Why Choose Modular Construction?
Facing the broad range of climatic and traditional construction techniques, modular architecture in each Latin American region is presented in combination with, or independently of local architectural elements while respecting the natural conditions of the environment. It adapts to its inhabitants' needs and proposes various assembly, installation, and transportation strategies in its construction. For example, the Rural Housing Prototype in Apan (Mexico) was designed for a dry temperate climate characteristic of the state of Oaxaca, proposing the construction of a changeable habitat based on a scaffolding system for the structure and the house envelope.
How do Modular Architecture and Prefabrication Interact in Construction?
How do modular architecture and prefabricated architecture work together? Are they independent of each other? While discussing modularity and prefabrication may seem to go hand in hand, they are concepts with several points of convergence but also with differences, which are in constant dialogue as observed in their application in numerous architectural projects.
Modular architecture involves factory construction that is then transported, assembled in parts, and erected on the installation site, including the easy addition or replacement of certain modules. Prefabricated architecture encompasses the complete construction in a workshop, which, once finished, is usually transported in a single piece to the site where only the foundation is laid along with the prior conditioning of the plot.
Just like in the BILBAO | LOPEZ Shelter located in a rural area near the city of La Plata in Argentina, the adaptation of a prefabricated system allows for the assembly from the structure to the placement of cladding in a workshop, without depending on adverse weather conditions during its execution or the difficulties of reaching the site on rainy days. In this way, it is possible to lift the module, transport it, and place it on the site, streamlining the construction process and providing flexibility and different finishing options.
This ongoing dialogue between modular architecture and prefabrication can also be observed in MAPA's Cabin in La Juanita, implemented in Uruguay, and composed of two twin prefabricated modules manufactured in a factory in Montevideo and transported to the forest. Additionally, there are cases such as the Modular House 01 in Chile where industry and tradition are directly linked, as it involves a system of prefabricated modules and a serialized structure fabricated on-site adaptable to the terrain. Thus, the wooden structure is built on-site by carpenters before the arrival of the prefabricated panels to be installed on it.
What role do dry Construction and Assembly Processes Play in Modular Architecture?
Considering the assembly, lifting, assembly, and transportation processes of construction elements allows us to make the most of their advantages and take into account environmental, technological, and construction factors involved in the work, and sometimes, condition it. For example, the use of wood in the Mata Modular House in Brazil allowed for dry construction, resulting in faster assembly with pre-assembled pieces on-site.
Dry construction offers various advantages such as optimization in production times, a reduction in construction waste, and greater design flexibility. However, it also requires detailed planning, specialized labor, and may present some limitations regarding heights, climatic conditions of locations, and others.
According to the decisions of architecture professionals, some projects propose industrialized and transportable architectures built with specialized equipment to optimize quality, time, and costs. In Colombia, Colectivo Creativo Arquitectos designed VIMOB, a modular home based on the concept of prefabrication and assembly on a difficult-to-access site where traditional construction would be limited by the transport of materials and labor. Manufactured in a workshop, the pieces were assembled and installed on-site with minimal tools, where each project component was designed and manufactured to fit and adjust to the frame module, minimizing on-site work and reducing waste in raw materials and environmental transportation costs, among other issues.
Why is the Concept of Shelter Often Associated with Modular Architecture?
Architects and designers have chosen the transformation of shelter architecture to adapt to contemporary life through the use of different materials and construction technologies. For example, along the coast of Oceánica del Uruguay, the MRO Shack is located, a compact residence designed from 8 m2 modules that maximize the minimum buildable square footage by incorporating the demands of contemporary life and achieving functionality according to the needs of its clients.
Shelters consolidate spaces of protection and refuge that, in repeated circumstances, employ rapid, prefabricated construction systems with as much autonomy as possible, capable of being replicated in different environments and terrains, as seen in the Oazo + Zanesco Arquitectura Refuge in the Valley. Furthermore, some of them are designed to operate self-sufficiently, as in this latter case, where the capture of solar energy ends up being the primary element considered in the project, allowing for the fulfillment of electricity and water heating demands.
Continuing with this line of thought and seeking to find contemporary and efficient solutions, the execution of the ZGZ House in Uruguay is carried out entirely at the iHouse production plant through a controlled construction process in a climate-controlled environment, with the necessary equipment, proximity to suppliers, and constant quality control by its technicians.
How to Define Materials Considering Transportation Processes?
What materials are suitable for each construction technology? How will they be transported to the site? Factors related to costs, dimensions, resources, timing, stockpiling, and others are part of the logistics and planning of the construction project.
Starting from a logic of parts and pieces is how the Industrialized Construction System Prototype has been developed in Chile, where the combination of sustainable materials such as wood and reusable materials such as steel are modularly coordinated to avoid excess material in the process. Being replaceable and reusable pieces, they can be disassembled, stored, and reassembled in other locations and for other purposes. The composition of parts facilitates the gathering and optimizes the storage, allowing for rapid deployment and transportation on medium trucks with cranes, and providing versatility compared to prefabricated structures.
Another example is Lucas Maino Fernandez's RH House Corridor + Module, which introduces a prefabricated module to the proposal with a modular and transportable construction system for southern Chile. The module consists of a system of steel structures and SIP panels, with 12 m2 of interior space and a height of 2.75 m at its peak, designed for transportation on trucks and capable of traveling on routes with tunnels and bridges. Through tailored solutions, the project manages to leverage a modular system to its advantage, extending beyond prefabrication.
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: Modular Housing, proudly presented by BUILDNER.
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