A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
Standardization for the circular economy:Is there a sweet spot between standardization and individualization in construction?
Standardization has been proposed as a solution to bridge the construction industry’s fragmentation and allows the reuse of designs, the repetition of processes, and the creation of organizational learning (Jones et al., 2022). At the same time, standardization has been argued to introduce uniformity and monotonous design to products. In facilitating repetition, standardization presents a potential avenue to promote circularity in construction by reusing processes, designs, and materials, thereby reducing the overall use of resources. The question is whether there is a sweet spot between standardization and individualization that allows us to align with schedules, budgets, and the resource availability while maintaining a sufficient level of customization. Construction has evolved in constant adaptation to society’s needs. After the Second World War, we saw an urgent need to build as much housing as possible in a short amount of time, while keeping costs low. The outcome was highly standardized buildings (picture 1 – see next page). Since that time, housing increasingly became an artifact for architectural expression. Buildings evolved from standardized to individualized, while architecture moved from ‘form follows function’ to ‘form follows fiction’. This development was in many ways linked to the standardization of project management tools and knowledge that enabled the realization of increasingly complex projects (Garel, 2013). At the same time, significant scope creep, in addition to frequent budget and time overruns became the new normal. An example is the Sydney Opera House (picture 2), which was supposed to be opened in 1963 but was eventually finalized 10 years after the deadline, with, the original budget exceeded by approximately 1,000%. Today, concerns about the availability of resources add to the complexity of construction. This gives rise to a new paradigm in architecture – ‘form follows availability’. This brings the circular economy into the discussion, and considerations on how to minimize the ...
Standardization for the circular economy:Is there a sweet spot between standardization and individualization in construction?
Standardization has been proposed as a solution to bridge the construction industry’s fragmentation and allows the reuse of designs, the repetition of processes, and the creation of organizational learning (Jones et al., 2022). At the same time, standardization has been argued to introduce uniformity and monotonous design to products. In facilitating repetition, standardization presents a potential avenue to promote circularity in construction by reusing processes, designs, and materials, thereby reducing the overall use of resources. The question is whether there is a sweet spot between standardization and individualization that allows us to align with schedules, budgets, and the resource availability while maintaining a sufficient level of customization. Construction has evolved in constant adaptation to society’s needs. After the Second World War, we saw an urgent need to build as much housing as possible in a short amount of time, while keeping costs low. The outcome was highly standardized buildings (picture 1 – see next page). Since that time, housing increasingly became an artifact for architectural expression. Buildings evolved from standardized to individualized, while architecture moved from ‘form follows function’ to ‘form follows fiction’. This development was in many ways linked to the standardization of project management tools and knowledge that enabled the realization of increasingly complex projects (Garel, 2013). At the same time, significant scope creep, in addition to frequent budget and time overruns became the new normal. An example is the Sydney Opera House (picture 2), which was supposed to be opened in 1963 but was eventually finalized 10 years after the deadline, with, the original budget exceeded by approximately 1,000%. Today, concerns about the availability of resources add to the complexity of construction. This gives rise to a new paradigm in architecture – ‘form follows availability’. This brings the circular economy into the discussion, and considerations on how to minimize the ...
Standardization for the circular economy:Is there a sweet spot between standardization and individualization in construction?
Köhler, Julia (author) / Gustafsson, Karoline Fogh (author) / Thuesen, Christian Langhoff (author) / Gottlieb, Stefan Christoffer (author) / Frederiksen, Nicolaj (author) / de Gier, Andreas Johan (author) / Vind, Ditte Lysgaard
2024-01-01
Köhler , J , Gustafsson , K F , Thuesen , C L , Gottlieb , S C , Frederiksen , N & de Gier , A J 2024 , Standardization for the circular economy : Is there a sweet spot between standardization and individualization in construction? in D L Vind (ed.) , Building a Circular Future : Insights from Interdisciplinary Research . Realdania , pp. 37-41 .
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English
/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/industry_innovation_and_infrastructure , name=SDG 9 - Industry , Innovation , and Infrastructure , /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/sustainable_cities_and_communities , name=SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities , /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/responsible_consumption_and_production , name=SDG 12 - Responsible Consumption and Production , /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/climate_action , name=SDG 13 - Climate Action , /dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/partnerships , name=SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals
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