Keywords

1 Introduction

In today’s world, image culture has replaced the material one where everything is becoming digitalized and less experienced. Before the digital revolution, architects, and designers had to physically test their ideas first before implementing them in their work. The current generation of architectural students have become more distant from material culture due to their reliant on digital tools. This separation has created an environment where architects become approximators, not physically analyzing materials, and far less connected with its potentials. This phenomenon seems to exist more in architectural education units that embrace more focus on the digital and less on the analogue. While this study was conducted within an architectural school in the United States, similar observations are shared worldwide. A survey on the status of this phenomena is not part of this study, and therefore left to future investigation.

It might be argued that contemporary digital practices could be influenced by the understanding of materials’ properties in a specific way. Since most architects design in a digital environment, designs can sometimes not meet their full potential. When understanding a specific material by physically working with it, one can gain a better understanding based on how the material responds to different challenges. For instance, when working with metal, an individual must understand that not all metal has the same characteristics and therefore can’t be treated equally. As the case in the automotive industry, sheet metal by-products known as “Offal” when folded, it becomes more difficult to work with due to its stiffening and material memory aspects. Using this material to differentiate between goal-oriented and means-oriented design methods is explained as follows:

Goal Oriented Design. The typical architectural design process within the academic design studio environment has always pushed back materials and methods towards the design development phase. Architecture students are typically guided to start from a given program, site, guidelines, etc. Investigations on materiality, construction, methods, etc. are always left towards the end, and after the design have been finalized. The goal here is to choose the appropriate materials and methods to dress and accomplish the sought design. In an interview, Taeke De Jong, a professor of ecology at the University of Technology in Delft, a leading authority on ecosystems, described two design approaches as “means-oriented” and “goal-oriented.” Goal-oriented design is the conventional method in which the goal, or building design, is defined, and every decision is made in fulfillment of that goal. It is not until the design development phase that suitable materials are specified and procured [1].

Means Oriented Design. The means-oriented design methodology, on the other hand, is the opposite process, starting from the means, or materials in our case, available with a less strictly defined end goal. Under this approach, it is necessary to first source and acquires the materials before design starts. Otherwise, uncertainty and potential failure in both sourcing and detailing complicate the process. De Jong stated that most architects are unfamiliar with the means-oriented process and a more structured means-oriented design would be a refreshing change [1]. Similarly, in their book, Spatial Agency: Other Ways of Doing Architecture, Awan et al. Made a distinction between the two methodologies and emphasized the role of the architect as “incorporator,” the only creative stakeholder in the design and construction process with the potential to transform waste into beauty [2]. Bill Addis, as well, in his book, Building with Reclaimed Components and Materials, described the two opposing design methodologies as “normal design” and “design with reclaimed products and materials.” He stated that, “the world of reclamation, reuse and recycling are almost like a parallel universe that is virtually invisible to those familiar only with new construction materials and components” [3].

The presented study was conducted in a required 15-week graduate level course titled interdisciplinary research-based design studio. The course is intended to small number (10–14) first-year Master of Architecture students who were encouraged to team up and collaborate with a small number (4–6) of students from the College of Engineering registered in an elective sustainable manufacturing course. Both group of students met on a weekly basis along with their two instructors to review the progress of each teamwork. The educational objectives were multi-layered and included but not limited to enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration from design to manufacturing. External experts from the manufacturing industry were involved in midterm and final reviews [4]. The following sections will describe the manufacturing process starting with materials investigation. The relationship between creative thinking and global problems will be explained in detail using the means-oriented design methodology.

2 Manufacturing Processes

2.1 Materials Investigation

The US manufacturing industry generates approximately 7.6 billion tons of non-hazardous solid waste each year, a large portion of which is either recyclable or reusable [5]. Empirical evidence suggests greater economic, environmental, and societal benefits of reusing industrial waste than recycling it. On average, it costs $30 per ton to recycle industrial waste, $50 to send it to the landfill, and $75 to incinerate it.

The global auto industry generates a steady flow of sheet metal by-products known as Offal [6]. This waste stream produced by its blanking and stamping operations. Offal are consistently sized, corrosion-resistant high-quality irregular shaped sheets of galvanized steel that are produced when windows, doors, and other car body components are stamped out of body panels [7]. Because of their consistent size, shape, and quality, they are valuable for much more than traditional scrap markets. Offal pieces are typically between 0.5 to 3.2 mm thick, have various zinc coatings, and total approximately 1,500 metric tons per year. Promising cost-benefit are expected through the reuse of Offal. One blanking plant in Flint, Michigan generate nearly 40,000 pieces per month in about 11 different shapes and sizes [8].

Fig. 1.
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(model and drawing) 2020 Galvanized sheet metal Offal #8 (left) and the proposed façade panel geometry (right) (Photograph by General Motors and drawing by Jeremy Sims).

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Architecture students were asked to study the basic information of Offal and develop a better understanding of its material properties. The irregular shape of the Offal geometry as a by-product of car design parameters, becomes one of the most interesting aspects in this investigation. The transformation of the irregular shapes into a façade-centric paneling system was an educational key moment when a specific application of the building skin became closely tied to the problem of industrial waste. The following case study demonstrates the design process in detail.

In this case study, Offal number eight was utilized to create a faceted paneling system. As seen in Fig. 1, Offal #8 was folded to minimize the overall waste. The design incorporated every square inch of the galvanized sheet metal to maximize the panel size. Using all the surface area of the Offal, helped to hide or secure sharp corners for clean appearance, easier installation, and a safer panel. Figure 2 illustrates the steps associated with the decision made to use more of the material of Offal 8. The A-symmetrical elongated polygon ensured that there was no waste that would have taken place with the more symmetrical shape. The folding diagram to the right shows a simplistic method of folds taken to arrive at the final Offal product.

Fig. 2.
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(drawings) 2020 Maximizing surface area of Offal #8 (left) and folding steps diagram (right) (Drawings by Jeremy Sims)

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The next steps in optimizing the Offal and maximizing the surface area to design a façade panel is to test out the design by constructing a full-scale mockup of the panel using the same by-product materials. A seed-planting educational opportunity exists here to introduce, learn, and apply the concepts of Industrial Symbiosis (IS) and circular economy. Circular Economy (CE) is a value-based sustainable alternative to linear economy that connects industries through a symbiotic and mutual interests. Developing building systems and components based on waste streams from the manufacturing industries is a novel approach that very little to none has been done at the United States higher education institutions. Too often in manufacturing practice, engineers may not have the time or opportunity to work closely with designers in other fields.

3 Results

Action-based research, experimental case study, and testing methodology were used during an interdisciplinary research-based design studio setting. The methodology presented here aims to challenge the traditional design process and reverse the materials role in architectural education. The overarching goal through design research is to provide a case study for architects and designers to develop building skin and façade products based on the creative reuse of by-product sheet metal from the auto industry. This approach is sought to help designers evaluate the economic and environmental aspects of their design relative to standardly available market products made from raw materials. While typically the development of a building product is not the responsibility of the architect, alternative materials such as Offal, becomes more convincing when economic savings and positive environmental impacts can be quantified. A holistic life cycle analysis would be necessary to support the evaluation process. Students examined the differences between two design-oriented methods based on the information provided by the industry. The shift in design thinking education occurs when one focuses more on form and less on construction, to deciding on materials and how to turn the waste-flow into real objects. It was critical for the students to first understand the properties of the materials to design according to its limitations. This understanding cultivates a higher sense of responsibility towards resources, the built environment, and the economy of architecture. Additionally, students, with the help of their engineering peers, calculated the total manufacturing process in energy and cost to compare to market products. Fabrication energy used and projected cost included cutting, bending, and punching which are not avoidable in either raw or salvaged materials. Most cost savings reside in the cost of Offal as its value is similar to the value of scrap metal, see Fig. 3. Technical challenges in fabrication led to experiments that provoked new meaning in materials. When challenges arise carefully processed ideas make conversations to solve technical complications. This process can help further understand the challenges within a design. Without challenges there is no cause for creativity if designs are not pushed beyond their bounds.

Fig. 3.
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(Tables) 2020 Total Manufacturing process fabrication energy and cost.

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4 Creative Thinking Addressing Global Problems

While industry is intimately aware of the disrupting demands imposed by CE, there is a lack of relevant academic initiatives in the US. In 2014, General Motors Company claimed that it generated nearly one billion dollars in annual revenue through reuse and recycling its by-products and avoided releasing over 10 million tons of CO2-equivalent emissions into the atmosphere [9]. This educational-based research intended to accelerate the value that can be added by design to industrial waste-flow and by-products streams. The primary goal of this study was to introduce a new teaching model in architectural education that is based on creative resource reuse of materials. Ultimately, students will be able to apply the acquired knowledge to develop building products, systems, and components with minimal processing of by-products while providing maximum utility, see Fig. 4.

Fig. 4.
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(drawings) 2020 Different façade patterns shown with 35 units (5X7) covering an area of ~ 62 sqf (~5.7 m2). With 1500 Offal generated/month, 43 composition (260 m2) can be produced each month (Drawings by Jeremy Sims).

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Preliminary data collected from prototypes designed and built by students in the last few years indicates promising energy reduction, reduced heat island effects, water conservation, and food production. The result of this initiative is expected to positively impact the education, manufacturing, and the building industries through the development of a synergistic closed-loop supply chain of materials through a circular economy approach [10]. The development and testing of this unique educational model for utilizing non-hazardous industrial waste to advance the current knowledge in the fields of green building materials, industrial engineering, and sustainable manufacturing. The prototype approach model develops novel solutions to reuse manufacturing waste by matching its physical and chemical characteristics to the requirements of building elements through student participation. Moving from the individual unit design to a multi-unit façade system is the next step, see Fig. 5. The proposed model can be replicated and applied to other manufacturing industries to open further research possibilities of reusing a wide variety of non-hazardous solid waste.

Fig. 5.
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(photo) 2022 Fabrication and assembly of multiple metal façade units using real galvanized Sheetmetal by students (Photograph by the Author).

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5 Conclusion

Planting a new seed of discovery in architectural education could be achieved through the convergence of material culture and resource awareness. In this new approach, architectural design studios, presents waste-related, theoretical, and real-life challenges to teach creative design thinking to students. While architects typically design and then figure out materials, this approach uses “synergistic means-oriented design” to put the materials first, such as manufacturing waste, and then identify an application to use it. When students are challenged with this type of project-based assignments, they are excited to think about the problem, rather than just the goal of designing a building. When they start with the waste problem, they must learn about things that aren't just architecture. They investigate ecology, manufacturing, steel production, and industrial symbiosis, before they design and start to employ creative design thinking to come up with solutions. The design education allows students to be critical, incredibly creative, and constantly pushing boundaries. As Taeke de Jong iterated “… You need to do a conversion in your way of thinking to begin to love waste as a material.”

Collaboration between architects, engineers and the manufacturing team can influence the project before the construction process even begins [4]. The initial problems and ideas need to be discussed between every member to make sure that each person from their respected disciplines is on the same page. When the entire team is involved and engaged from the beginning of a project, more likely than not individuals with different learning background will create diverse opinions when it comes to how a project is facilitated. Each profession will bring up different solutions that one discipline might not initially think of until later in the project. Not only does this process save more time but it also increases efficiency. Architects are often viewed as the master of tectonics and add the visual appeal to a project, as where the engineers dive more into the scientific methods of how a project needs to come together. The manufacturing team can implement their knowledge on different desired products and how they will perform. The manufacturing team will also be able to determine whether a product would be a good fit for the assignment. Students in their collaborative experience were able to understand the value of other disciplines to the design and development of products.