Can a prefab smart house developed by MIT transform architecture? Could it replace architects?
"The home-building industry could be transformed, MIT researchers argue, if it adopted the mass-customization methods being introduced in other industries...In much the same way that Lands' End, Nike, Ford, and BMW are investigating computer-based manufacturing to offer customers swappable or "mass-customized" components for their jeans, sneakers, and cars, so could thousands of unique house parts be customized to buyers' demands...announced the formation of the Open Source Building Alliance, adopting the modish programmer terminology to depict a modular, component-based, everyone's-invited approach to building...When customers can "design" their own houses--customizing their preferences online from a menu of choices as they might a computer--what is left for architects to do?"
Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan
Read the full story: Living For Tomorrow
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City of Thousand Oaks
City of Wisconsin Rapids
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
Northern Illinois Transit Authority (NITA)
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello