Computer controlled house manufacturing

[JWmHarmon]

Is this the future of house manufacturing?

William Massie, architect-in-residence at Cranbrook Academy, is using computer controlled manufacturing to create 10 unique houses. According to Massie, each house can be a different design.

He uses a skylight over the shower and vents in the walls to use natural air movement to ventilate the house. If it rains while you are away, the rain falls into the shower.

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080510/BUSINESS04/805100304/1017

Laser cutting of individual parts gives an architect/designer great freedom in the design.

[csintexas]

I don't see where computers have made this house any more affordable than if it was done by hand. The computer at best adds a bit of precision.

I don't think in the near future we will be designing complex curved surfaces or other complex assemblies and have them custom CNC machined much more than we do now.

[JWmHarmon]

Frank Lloyd Wright built houses for wealthy people. I'm not sure cost savings was an issue for those clients. Fallingwater is an example where Wright was allowed to exceed the budget since Kaufmann realized that this was more a work of art rather than just a house.

Wright also designed the Usonian houses to be affordable to those who needed to have an affordable house.

William Massie, architect-in-residence at Cranbrook Academy, is doing his series of houses using computer controlled manufacturing processes. The use of the computer allows for flexibility in the designs that might otherwise be more difficult to achieve.

My question then is this: Can this technology be applied to make not only houses with creative design features, but also provide a more efficient way to build houses?

Sears Roebuck Company used to sell kit houses in the early 1900's. these were traditional stick build houses shipped completely unassembled to the building site. If Sears were still shipping kit houses, would they now be using computer controlled manufacturing processes?

We can see uses of computer controlled cutting in the production of I-joists, SIP panel houses, etc.

Why not apply the technology to a complete house?

Can the processes be tweaked to provide cost savings?

The Lustron houses of the 1950's were made of porcelain steel panels. The panels were square and rectangular, consistent the 1950's technology.

Williams is saying that with computer controlled cutting and forming we are no longer limited to squares and rectangles, but can build nearly any form or shape that we desire.

This can lead to creating forms for residences that reflect the curvilinear forms of a Frank Gehry.

Whether this will be a good thing or a design disaster will be determined by those who apply this technology.