From The American Heritage Dictionary:

Efficient: adj, 1. Acting or producing effectively with a minimum of waste or effort.  2. Exhibiting a high ratio of output to input.

Designers and builders these days are being asked to do more with less, to be efficient.  Whether measured in time, money or natural resources the typical construction process is anything but efficient.  Computer Aided Drafting and Design and the internet have dramatically increased productivity in the design process as well as creation of construction documents and specifications, but for the most part these quantum leaps in technology have not found their way to the job site.

Imagine if you purchased a new car and the dealer delivered the individual parts and technicians and then proceeded to construct your vehicle in your driveway.  How long would it take?  How much would it cost?  Would you trust the fit and finish once the work was completed?  As insane as this example sounds, this is exactly how we have continued to construct our homes and offices in essentially the same manner for the last 100 years.

Design and Documentation Efficiencies:
Building information modeling (BIM) and off-site prefabrication offer alternative means of achieving efficiency in the design and construction industries.  Building Information Modeling is rapidly surpassing CAD drafting as the preferred method of efficiently delivering construction documents during the design and permitting process.  Where a door drawn in CAD represents no more than a series of lines representing a door, Building Information Modeling inserts a digital model of a door into an evolving model of the entire building and site.  This door model can contain fire rating, manufacturer’s information, and hardware types and is automatically referenced in plan, elevation and schedules.  Change one aspect of the door and all views and schedules are automatically updated.

Increasingly, Building Information Models are being exported directly to CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) routers and other automated equipment for the creation of prefabricated components which can then be pieced into larger assemblies and eventually into entire buildings.  This process involves the architect deeply in the construction process as the designer is actually constructing the building (albeit digitally) before the automated equipment fabricates the building components physically.

The trend of the last 50 years has seen the role of the architect diminished to the point where his or her role in the project is seen as no more than a permit runner and stylist in the construction process.  Perhaps evolving technology can empower the architect to once again be seen as the master builder, seeing the project from inception to completion.

Modular Construction and Advanced Building Technology:
As our local energy code and clients are demanding increased energy efficiency from our buildings, off-site prefabricated construction techniques are more readily able to adapt to the demand.  The scalability and controlled environment of a modular construction factory allows for ready adoption of sophisticated construction technologies as well as tighter building envelopes.  Building materials are delivered and installed in a climate controlled environment and the exterior envelope and flashing is installed a few feet off the surface of the factory floor, as opposed to several stories up in the wind and rain.  Whether it be blower door testing or blown-in foam insulation, a factory environment allows an economy of scale that results in lower cost and broader market exposure.

As a Seattle based architect and general contractor, modular construction allows us to have a much larger geographic client base than site built methods as we can affordably ship from anywhere within an approximately 500 mile radius of the regional factories we work with.  If we were to design and construct 6 projects in a large geographic region we may utilize six different sets of subs (six electrical subcontractors, six framing contractors etc).  Some, but not all of these subcontractors will already be versed in green construction practices and as such, each new job involves a certain level of education and enforcement to maintain the high efficiency standards set forth by LEED and other ratings programs.  Modular construction eliminates this inherent inefficiency as once we have established a sustainable construction methodology with the factory we can essentially export this learning to other project locations with no upfront learning curve.  This savings in time results in the direct savings of money to our client.

As an architect almost 20 years out of school I have witnessed the incredible impact digital technology has had on the design and documentation process.  I am optimistic that looking forward 20 years from now the way we construct our buildings and the impact they have on the natural environment will have made the same advancements.

About the Author
Robert Humble is registered architect and Principal of HyBrid Architecture + Assembly based in Seattle, Washington.