Process
The students began the project with a semester-long pre-design research effort intended to immerse the team in the specific design opportunities and constraints associated with factory-based construction. The students also sought to identify the “leading edge” of design innovation (including energy-performance, materials and construction systems, and building configuration) relative to modular design and construction – both inside the industry and within the professional design community. Perhaps the most important area of pre-design exploration involved a careful study of how this approach could be integrated within Habitat’s traditional site-built, volunteer-builder culture.
The team began the next semester with a month-long charrette intended to generate alternative prototype home proposals incorporating the lessons of the fall research phase. In mid-February, five proposals were presented to a panel of project advisors (Habitat leadership, modular industry representatives, and faculty) who selected one of the schemes to advance to design development and construction.
During the design development phase of the term the students worked closely with Palm Harbor to refine the design of the factory-built components. Concurrently, the students worked to develop the details and construction strategy associated with the site-built center section of the design.
