Abstract
The construction of edifices is all about lifting, moving and setting components according to predefined patterns. The magnitude of nineteenth century industrialization produced all manner of machines, lifts and earthmovers to facilitate construction, in addition to easing the pressures on manual labor. Along the same tactical interests, the Bessemer converter and gantry cranes were invented for advancing manufacturing and facilitating standardization of building parts. Robert Le Tourneaux’s Tournalayer, perhaps the most unique building machine, made it possible to mold buildings like a mega-cookie cutter by casting reinforced concrete in moveable steel formwork. The outcome of such experiments cultivated transformations in the building process, even if they were not widely utilized. Recent advancements in digital fabrication machines in the form of Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) cutting and milling tools, bricklaying drones, and large-scale 3D printing robots, coupled with computational design processes, are driving new possibilities in design and construction. Multiple levels of design variation are feasible, reforming standardized industrial models into user-centric, and contextually driven singular designs. The chapter aims to critically examine how contemporary digitally controlled building machines are part of a spectrum of devices linked to mechanization and how they present potentials for the democratization of housing provision. Accompanied by an analysis of how the fourth industrial revolution is impacting construction, we present a detailed overview of the evolution of building machines, with a specific focus on concrete casting machines used to produce dwellings. Then, we critically analyze the parallels between traditional casting equipment invented for mass production and today's robotic fabrication to deliver inhabitable prototypes. As a conclusion to the chapter and an opening to further research, a generative framework that stems from linking digital design with production machines is proposed for implementing customization in the industrialized housing sector, one that has long been connoted by the lack of design personalization.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Hwang, D., Yao, K.-T., Yeh, Z., Khoshnevis, B.: Mega-scale fabrication by contour crafting. Int. J. Ind. Syst. Eng. 1(3), 301–320 (2006)
n.d. Apis cor. Accessed Dec 2021. https://www.apis-cor.com/dubai-project
n.d. Batiprint3D. Accessed 2020. https://www.batiprint3d.com/en
Begić, H., Galić, M.: A systematic review of construction 4.0 in the context of the BIM 4.0 premise. Buildings 11(8), 337 (2021)
Bessemer, H.: (1865). USA Patent US49055A
Boissonneault, T.: A tour of the 3D printed houses in Sharjah, UAE built with CyBe. (2019). Accessed Feb 2022. https://www.3dprintingmedia.network/cybe-construction-3d-print-houses-sharjah-uae/
Bos, F., Wolfs, R., Ahmed, Z., Salet, T.: Additive manufacturing of concrete in construction: potentials and challenges of 3D concrete printing. Virtual Phys. Prototyp. 11(3), 209–225 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1080/17452759.2016.1209867
Bredt, R.: Catalogue of cranes. Ludwig Stuckenholz publisher, Düsseldorf (1894)
Davies, C.: The prefabricated home. Reaktion Books, London (2005)
Davis, H.: The culture of building. Oxford University Press, New York (2006)
Dini, E.: D shape: The 21st century revolution in building technology has a name. (2009). http://www.cadblog.pl/podcasty/luty_2012/d_shape_presentation.pdf. Accessed 2018
Dini, E.: Method and Device for the automatic construction of conglomerate building structures. (2008). Italy Patent ITPI20050031
Dini, E., Nannini, R., Chiarugi, M.: WIPO (PCT) Patent WO2006100556A2, (2005)
Duarte, J.P.: A discursive grammar for customizing mass housing: the case of Siza’s houses at Malagueira. Autom. Constr. 14, 265–275 (2005)
Customizing mass housing: a discursive grammar for Siza's Malagueira houses. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (2001)
Duarte, J.P.: Towards the mass customization of housing: the grammar of Siza’s houses at Malagueira. Environ. Plann. B. Plann. Des. 32, 347–380 (2005)
Edison, Thomas. 1917. Process of constructing concrete buildings. United States Patent 1219272.
Eid Mohamed, B., Carbone, C.: Mass customization of housing: A framework for harmonizing individual needs with factory produced housing. Buildings 12, 955 (2022)
El Jazzar, M., Urban, H., Schranz, C. and Nassereddine, H.: Construction 4.0: A roadmap to shaping the future of construction. In: Proceedings of the 37th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (ISARC 2020), pp. 1314–1321. Kitakyushu, Japan (2020)
El-Sayegh, S., Romdhane, L., Manjikian, S.: A critical review of 3D printing in construction: benefits, challenges, and risks. Arch. Civ. Mech. Eng. 20 (34). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43452-020-00038-w
Emerging objects. (n.d.). Accessed Dec 2021. http://emergingobjects.com/project/quake-column/
Everett E., Henderson Jr.: Making the tool to make the thing: The production of R.G. Letourneau’s prefabricated concrete homes. Offsite: Theory and practice of Architectural Production, pp. 145–148. ACSA Fall Conference Proceedings, Philadelphia
Finch3D. (n.d.). Accessed March 2022. https://finch3d.com/
Figliola, A.: Envision the construction sector in 2050. Technological innovation and verticality. Firenze University Press, TECHNE (2019)
Fitchen, J.: Building construction before mechanization. MIT Press, Cambridge (1986)
Gramazio, F., Kohler, M., Willmann, J.: The robotic touch: how robots change architecture. Park Books, London (2014)
Hammond, Jr John Hays.: United States Patent US2499498A. (1947)
Hennebique, F.: France Patent 223546. (1892)
Icon. (n.d.). Accessed February 2022. https://www.iconbuild.com/
Jr., Henderson, E.: Making the tool to make the thing: The production of R.G. Letourneau’s prefabricated concrete homes. In: Quale, J., Ng, R., Smith, R.E. (eds.) Offsite: Theory and practice of Architectural Production, ACSA Fall conference proceedings
Kagermann, H. and Wahlster, W.: Ten years of industrie 4.0. Sci 4(3), 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/sci4030026
Khoshnevis, B.: Automated construction by contour crafting—Related robotics and information technologies. Autom. Constr. 13, 5–19 (2004)
Khoshnevis, B., Dutton, R.: Innovative rapid prototyping process makes large sized, smooth surfaced complex shapes in a wide variety of materials. Mater. Technol. 13(2), 53–56 (1998)
Lambot, Joseph-Louis.: France (1855)
Langenberg, E.: Mapping 20 years of 3D printing in architecture. (2015). Accessed 2021. https://www.elstudio.nl/?p=1904
Larson, K., Tapia, M.A. and PintoDuarte, J.: A new epoch: automated design tools for the mass customization of housing. A+U 366, 116–121 (2001)
Leatherbarrow, D.: Uncommon ground: architecture, technology, and topography. MIT Press, Cambridge (2002)
Letourneau, R.G.: Outer form for house form assembly. United States Patent US2717436A. (1952)
MakerBot.: Mechanical hands from a makerbot: The magic of robohand. 3/22. (2013). Accessed 13 April 2021
www.makerbot.com. https://www.makerbot.com/stories/engineering/robohand/.
McSweeney, E.: Automation finds home in building design. Financial Times. (2020). https://www.ft.com/content/e36ba45e-f973-11e9-a354-36acbbb0d9b6.
Merwood-Salisbury, J.: Chicago 1890: The Skyscraper and the modern city. University of Chicago Press, Chicago (2009)
Monier, J.: France Patent 77165. (1867)
Monteyne, D.: Framing the American Dream. J. Arch. Educ. 58(1), 24–34 (2004)
Nervi, P-L.: Structural prefabrication. Italy Patent 377969. (1939)
Paolini, A., Kollmannsberger, S., Rank, E.:Additive manufacturing in construction: A review on processes, applications, and digital planning methods. Addit. Manuf. 30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2019.100894
Perrier, N., Bled, A., Bourgault, M., Cousin, N., Danjou, C., Pellerin, R., Roland, T.: Construction 4.0: a survey of research trends. J. Inf. Technol. Constr. 25, 416–437 (2020)
Piroozfar, P.A.E., Piller, F.T.: Mass customisation and personalisation in architecture and construction. Routledge, New York (2013)
Sartipi, F., Sartipi, A.: Brief review on advancements in construction additive manufacturing. J. Constr. Mater. 2 (4), (2020). https://doi.org/10.36756/JCM.v1.2.4
Sharples.: Manufacturing material effects: Rethinking design and making in architecture. In: Kolarevic, B., Klinger, K. (eds.). Routledge, New York (2008)
Slaton, A.E.: Reinforced concrete and the modernization of american building, 1900–1930. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore (2001)
Stephens, A.A.: United States Patent US3357685A. (1966)
Tay, Y.W., Daniel, B.P., Paul, S.C., Mohamed, A.N.N., Tan, M.J., Leong, K.F.: 3D printing trends in building and construction industry: a review. Virtual Phys. Prototyp. 12(3), 261–276 (2017)
Tracoba.: Tunnel Form concrete formwork. France Patent FR1337089. (1963)
Neff, W.: United States Patent US2335300A. (1941)
Neff, W.: Building construction. United States Patent US2335300A. (1941)
WASP. (n.d.). Accessed Sep 2020. https://www.3dwasp.com/en/giant-3d-printer-bigdelta-wasp-12mt/#bigdelta
Winsun builders. (n.d.). https://www.winsun3dbuilders.com/project/3d-printed-office-in-dubai/
Van Wuyckhuyse, H.J.: Machine for shaking moulds filled with concrete. United States Patent 3357685. (1967)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Carbone, C., Mohamed, B.E. (2024). From Analogue to Digital: Evolution of Building Machines Towards Reforming Production and Customization of Housing. In: Barberio, M., Colella, M., Figliola, A., Battisti, A. (eds) Architecture and Design for Industry 4.0. Lecture Notes in Mechanical Engineering. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36922-3_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36922-3_23
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-36921-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-36922-3
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)