Modular Architecture - Is This The Future?

There are a few people whom I love to socialise with on the various professional and personal 'networking' sites out there. On one of my Twitter accounts I dedicate my tweets to the world of architecture that surrounds me and I also like to talk to my many followers who happen to contribute to a decent variety of discussion about the topic.

So this leads to a conversation I had the other day with a couple of followers about what I have managed to achieve and what I am currently doing on my first year out working in the industry. It all boils down to one word: "Modular"...

Modular design and construction is what I call a method of constructing buildings whereby a majority of the building work is carried out within a controlled and more exacting factory environment, enabling the end product to be simply 'bolted' together on site. These 'modules' are pre-fabricated to a 80%+ finished state in the factory and transported whole to the final build site where they are bolted together with other pre-built and pre-designed modules to form a complete building. Benefits to Modular off-site construction include:

• Safe, Clean 24-hour working environment un-phased by weather
• Fixed cost pricing for construction man hour costs
• Minimum material usage and less manufacturing wastage
• Immediate implementation of advanced materials/construction methods
• Quality Control and Auditing
• Fast on-site build times
• Fewer site deliveries
• Client Affordability

According to Detail Magazine (2011/01) "Off-site manufactured building is a sector in which the UK now leads the world." With all the benefits of this design/build methodology I can see why the UK is keen to lead at the forefront of this construction method and I can honestly say we will see this being a commonplace process for many years to come.

So what are the limitations on this building method?


I believe that with any building method there are going to be limits. The easiest limitation on this building method to spot is the fact that although you can build almost any size module within a factory environment, there is the aspect that at the end of the factory build process, you still have to transport the module to site! This in itself limits the sizing of the modules designed so they can co-ordinate with the maximum realistic and safe loads that can be transported on the public highways. In the UK and indeed the rest of Europe...the Urban Grain has evolved over many centuries of horse and cart dirt tracks, narrow alleyways and even the odd wartime air raid 'hole', with buildings being built before the arrival of the automobile and coming in at an ungridded and unplanned locality to each other. Basically what I am saying is that the roads are not adequate to propose modular designed buildings for a lot of locations within the central core of many cities.

...and the other limitations? Well that comes down to the factory itself. Many an architect would love to design a building customised specifically for a site and client and that would be 100% to their needs but with modular design there is not a lot of science that goes into it. With most (if not all) modules being rectangular in shape this really does limit the design of both the exterior and the interior spaces in and around the final building form. With only so much you can do with a huge box of Lego, the same applies to Modular Design and construction. Furthermore the essence of the 'off-site' modular design process is to limit the amount of build time required actually on the site itself. A few rectangles bolted together at the corners and laying out a red carpet at FFL (Finished Floor Level) is the easiest way to achieve a nice and easy finish for both the designer and the site team alike. Awe inspiring it most certainly is not!!!

The future I can say is not entirely clear. When going through the intricacies of model making in architecture school a lot of the my time was spent designing parts to be ultimately glued together to form my building. With a laser cutting machine, you can easily create components from that 9mm MDF sheet...even other materials such as plastics and cardboard can be cut into shapes which at the end can be glued together to create a building model. One of my Final Year models is shown below in all it's Laser Cut glory...

This same concept of pre-design can be seen as an evolution of the Modular design process. With specialist manufacturers and advances in the manufacturing industry I see that the future looks good for 'Modular' and more importantly 'Off-Site' design/build processes. Imagine designing a shell for a building to be pre-built in a high-tech factory and customised with all the fittings and needs of the client... The walls can be made of the latest sustainable and super-lightweight and super-insulated materials and completely built and wired up in the factory with the site team needed merely to bolts these together and maybe finish the second (Weatherproof) external skin; with brickwork, glazing or a cedar finish to name but a few of the hundreds of sorts.

This is the simplest way of finishing a modular designed building with more advanced options always being available for the finish of the external skin to the final build. For a lot of commercial applications of design and also in the Educational sector there is not so much a need for intricate facade systems and the internal space planning is more determined by square meters and cost rather than the other details which architects are trained to design for. An architect is not 'really' required in most parts for a modular design.

Where the architect comes in is designing a building where the spaces work in harmony together for the better of human comfort and practicality. An architect involved in Modular Design is thus needed for the progression of this building type. The Architect in Modular design is not fully utilised in the UK as it is in say the USA but I can see that the american market is a lot bigger and as stated earlier it is a lot easier for this building construction type to take off; Bigger highways, Longer trucks etc. The Architect overall, for any design whether it's modular or not is going to contribute his or hers utmost to the best fit of a design method and modular design is one of those divisions within the construction industry which I think and architectural input is greatly needed for advancement.

This has already started to happen to some extent with the small scale 3D printed structures being made as a showcase to such technologies. If they can build these on a small scale, surely many of them bolted together could make for some truly grand-designs for the future of 'Modular Off-Site' design...

Is this design process going to evolve? I think it is.

(Image above courtesy of Blueprint Magazine Website)

End Note: Links

http://www.jetsongreen.com
http://youtu.be/D_ABbB8hNoI
http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/

Graduation to Part I Placement...

This Blog has been neglected up until now...I am currently progressing within my chosen career in the Construction industry and although everything comes with it's hiccups I can see a bright future ahead!

So this post is a picture of my story into the working world after almost a full year of job searching and losing that all important deep down human nature of 'hope'....

Firstly having been at university for the last few years I could only look on in anticipation at the working world with hope that I would find my work placement as soon as I graduate. With the vast majority of my time dedicated to the hardships of studying and preparing coursework on a degree such as Architecture; where your time is there and then, there was an inherent lack of thought into life 'post-graduation'...

Having been made aware of the world-wide economic crisis unfolding all around us in the school of architecture, we were all too aware also that the construction industry is ALWAYS the first one in and last one out. Construction and Architecture job losses come first and the cutbacks within the industry do not stop until we are well clear of any recession.

So my journey began as soon as I graduated...time to rip open the packs of shirts and ties and buff up those shoes....ready for any interview I'd say. the first point of call for me was to check the local companies websites if they had any vacancies for Part I graduates. Living in the 'second' city I am aware that the bulk of the architects are in the Jewellery Quarter district of Birmingham City Centre. Whichever city or town you come from I would say unless you absolutely detest your 'home' town that you should absolutely try to seek employment there as your first point of call.

Firstly employers know that a daily slog to work can take it's toll on any person no matter how good or bad the public transport network is and a long daily commute to the office can (although it shouldn't) make a difference between you and the other person who lives a 5-minute walk away, getting the job. This is not to say that employers are bias against a potential employee because they live too far, it is merely them trying to figure out if it would be worth your while working for them especially for only a year or so before going back onto Part II. Now if you do not know where all your local architects are clustered then I'll use a saying that I've been using for years..."Google is your friend"! A simple search on Google Maps for the word "Architects" can provide you with the local locations of the majority of practices within your city or town. Using Google Street View you can also look at how these firms appear within their local surroundings. A lot of the time you can like/dislike a company just from the location!

The next big tool (which admittedly I never used), is the Local Yellow Pages. Using this directory you can gather the contact information for several architectural practices all ordered on a few pages, ready for you to tick off when you take it to the next step. I would almost compare this to the Architect's Registration Board which as an architecture student you should already know about...It has an easy to use search tool on the website which can be used to search for architects within a postcode area. The search has a lot of listings in it and it may be wise to use it in conjunction with Google to find out which postcode is most relevant to where your 'cluster' of architects are...

Now comes the fun bit and it's all reminiscent of university life where we all had to research the correct precedent for our projects...RESEARCH. Researching the companies you want to write is an absolute must as every company is unique and with the correct research you can craft a cover letter and application package crafted to suit the company you are applying to. Even down to naming a few of their stand-out projects in your cover letter could stand you ahead in getting to the first stage interview. If you do not know how to do a good quality cover letter then there are numerous people out there willing to help you out with the basics. Even your tutors are there to help even though technically you are no longer a student at their establishment during your year off.

This brings up another point, which looking back at it was neglected by myself. I neglected to stick around the large amount of resources around university including the input of numerous tutors and part-time in-practice lecturers available to all of us at architecture school. They are a great resource of information and although some are more helpful than others I am absolutely sure they can provide the help you need whilst entering the working world.

So what happens after applying to all of these architects?? With luck you will find a placement of course, but if like me you do not hear from 95% of letters/applications/CV's sent off then do not worry! The amount of architecture graduates outweighs the number of jobs by at least 10 times and I can say that from my graduate class of 2010 I know of only 10% who have found a proper work placement, with another 10% in inadequate, unpaid or less-participative positions but none-the-less gaining what many consider that all important experience. Hopefully it seems like it is just about starting to pick up more and jobs are starting to become available for us Part I graduates.

NEXT: And so after waiting the 2-3week grace period after applying, another thing you must always do is follow-up! It shows enthusiasm and more than anything it can bring your Application pack to the top of the pile again. Try to speak to the person heading up the interview process and see if they have looked through it yet. The idea is to get the person interested in you as a person and also to make sure you stand out from the rest. I did not follow up on 95% of my applications because I sent out hundreds a week and it became a routine to use e-mail rather than a good written letter on quality cotton paper. This was a big mistake I made and I believe that its those things that contributed to my extended post-graduate job hunt.

For me, at this stage I was starting to lose hope but everyday I was seeking new opportunities for work. This leads to a heavy use of the internet and a search to find the best websites for architectural job hunting. It was now time to make the internet work for me. RSS feeds and e-mail alerts are all available on the popular website such as bd4jobs.com, dezeenjobs.com, www.mustardjobs.co.uk and www.randstadcpe.com to name but a few. There are a lot of these job sites but the key is to start with a few and get around these automatically before delving into more and more.

I signed up for an RSS feed via Outlook for all new 'Part I' jobs on BD4Jobs and because of this I started to receive instant alerts as soon as a vacancy is posted. Combined with an e-mailable single page architectural CV and a cover letter ready to fill in the blanks as well as my Portfolio I was ready to go on that lead alone. Receiving the information straight to your inbox means you don't have to manually check with those websites everyday and any jobs posted can be looked at quickly all on your desktop!

Now you have job alerts coming to you and you have a load of CV's and letters sent out it's time to get yourself an online presence. With a portfolio uploaded online, the only thing missing was my CV. With social networking there is already a snapshot of what a person has done in the past. depending on what you want to reveal of course. The best networking tool by far for those seeking a more professional online impression is LinkedIn.com. This website it ultra professional in comparison to say Facebook and it always carries a sense of professional CV about it right from the profile page. Have a look at mine to see what I mean:
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/matthewleonjoseph
I always add this link to my cover letters and invite the potential employer to network with me. You never know if a person adds you to their network it could open up a world of opportunity.

Online presence sorted and now you need to get you actual CV on a few sites such as reed.co.uk, jobsite.co.uk and totaljobs.com...(guardianjobs.com is also a good site for graduates!). I personally have changed my CV several times and it is only once I added key words that I realised what was happening. The recruitment agencies up and down the country do not want to search through thousands of CV's on these sites, they simple want to click a few buttons and send hundreds of emails to potential clients. KEYWORDS are the idea when it comes to uploading a basic CV to these sites. Even adding all the potential keywords simply at the top of your CV in a simply laid out word document can be more beneficial to the photoshopped then flattened PDF's where the text becomes images and is no longer searchable. This is why it is important to have multiple copies of your CV for different purposes.
The key words you use are unique to you and the job you want. There is no point in putting Ecotect down if you hated using it...same as there is no point in putting Rhino Parametric Modelling if you have never even opened a .3DM file before.

As I have followed some of these steps I finally received a job offer not too long ago and am working within my chosen industry and am gaining that all important experience...and getting paid for it too!

With all this said I am going to conclude this Blog post. I have written a lot on the topic and because I have been through it, I can say you are not alone. There are hundreds out there just like you and people have gotten through it all before.You learn from your mistakes and hopefully as I have written this to help you...you can by all means gain from my mistakes and bask in the corrections!
All the information provided is just a tip of the iceberg, written of the top of my head so if you have any questions feel free to leave a comment of send me a message...

For now Happy job hunting!