Advancing The Art of Design and Aesthetic Using Precast Innovation

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Concrete Plant International
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2015
NEWS Health & Safety in Precast Plants CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY Mode of action of different superplasticisers CONCRETE PRODUCTS Conbloc Internusa from Indonesia goes for a fully automatic
concrete block production CONCRETE PIPES AND MANHOLES Competitive product analysis to
discover fundamental differences between pipe materials that strengthen specifications for
concrete pipe PRECAST CONCRETE ELEMENTS Form liner handling system for the production of
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Crossing the Unlimited Architecture Possibilities
Advancing the Art of Design

and Aesthetic using Precast Innovation
Mass housing today are overshadowed by two major problems: (I) short supply of adequate housing to mass population as a result of increasing demographics, and (II) significantly contributing to CO2 emission, caused not only by activities during the construction period but also
after housing is completed and being occupied. Malaysia is of no exception in facing mass housing problems that require a solution with the
integration dual aims and principles of affordability and sustainability. This challenge calls for appropriate building technology that has the
dual benefits of economy as well as speed in construction. Prefabrication is the obvious choice to meet the ever-increasing demand for housing in the country. The strength of the prefabricated house lies in its lower capital and developmental costs by using purpose made components which are mass produced in great quantity, and to bring architecture to the ordinary people. It insists on the architects knowledge of
production, distribution, marketing, and construction methods, rather than relies on architecture concept of authorship which keeps itself as
an exclusive art form that makes it inaccessible to ordinary people.
Ir. Dr. Zuhairi Abd. Hamid,
and Dr. Foo Chee Hung, Construction Research
Institute of Malaysia (CREAM), Malaysia
Ar. Gan Hock Beng, G&A Architect, Malaysia
Nevertheless, prefabricated house has also
brought with it a set of problems due to its
inflexibility in meeting the end users
demands. Studies show that residents of
mass housing in Malaysia are generally not
satisfied with their housing conditions, in
terms of construction activities, materials
used, aesthetic value, amenities etc. (Karim,
2012; Isnin et al., 2012). This is largely due
to the nature of the mass housing architectural strategy, namely the convergent
design system (Figure 1), which is a one
fits all design initiative that is deficient in
meeting the mass housing sustainability
objectives. Convergent design system is a
rigid structure, interlocking plan, and predetermined function that implies to extreme
compartmentalization and dissociation of
internal elements, where service spaces
such as kitchen, bathroom, etc. are built
internally by interlocking with space, making the said service spaces difficult to interchange (Gan, 2013). To ensure mass housing becoming an attractive option for the
average family, a shift in design system that
emphasized on architectural flexibility is
deemed necessary (Singh et al., 1999).
The Divergent Dwelling Design, or simply
D3, is a proposed analytical design system
that addresses the above mentioned shortcomings, by taking into account the beginning of the design process of the dwelling
unit, the construction process, the dwellings
sustainability, and its adaptability in future
development. In D3 system, flexibility is the
inherent architectural design strategy that
forms the basic unit configuration of the
168
CPI Concrete Plant International 3 | 2015
Figure 1: Comparison between convergent design system

and divergent dwelling design system
dwelling unit. Internal space is adjustable

according to the dwellers requirement
through adopting an open plan design. The
dwellers are able to choose the interior
components to tailor the design to their individual lifestyles and budgets, and can easily modify these initial parameters as the
need arises. Such concept is similar to the
automotive industry, where each individual
functional unit is freely bonded with the
core structure (COR) to serve different occupants requirement (Figure 2). The COR, as
a module, houses every independent functional unit of the dwelling and also forms
the space for further expansion. The sustainability initiative here focuses on providing spaces to be used for a variety of purposes over time, be it the changes of household demography or the changes of residents living satisfaction. Since this kind of
functional change can be done by merely
switching of the independent units within
the configuration through a simple process,
the function of the dwelling unit can be cultivated and adapted to the occupants
need whenever it is required. By enabling
the floor plan to be adapted to the future
users and the changing needs of families
(Figure 3), D3 unit plan is able to take into
account different family types: (I) dynamic
family which is likely to have more children
in future, and is thus requires a high degree
of space flexibility to cater for continuously
changing and increasing needs; (II) stable
family which is not going to have any more
children (either the children have left home
or are too small to leave home) and thus
requires a relatively lower degree of space
flexibility; (III) stagnant family which is
expected to live in the same dwelling for a
long time and thus has sufficient opportunity to benefit from flexible building elements,
which provides for lower life-cycle cost of
such elements. With dwelling unit built
according to this flexible design principle,
dwellers are not only given the chance to

Ir. Dr. Zuhairi Abd. Hamid has more than 31 years of experience in the construction industry. His expertise lies in structural dynamics, industrialised building systems, strategic IT in construction and Facilities Management. He is active
in engineering education and research and has been appointed by six local universities in various capacities; from Adjunct Professor to member of the
Advisory Panel as well as a Board member on the UN support International
Research Council and CIB (International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and
Construction). Currently, as the Executive Director at CREAM, he leads and is actively engaging
with construction research and industrial publications in Malaysia.
Dr. Foo Chee Hung was graduated from The University of Tokyo and becoming a researcher of the Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM)
since 2013. Years of experiences in conducting research that focuses on urban
ecosystem and environmental engineering have instilled him with proficient
quantitative and analytical skill. He is currently providing technical opinion and
consultancy services regarding green building materials and Industrialized
Building System (IBS) in CREAM.
Ar. Gan is the founder of G&A Architect which provides consultancy services
in the core disciplines of Architecture, Planning and Urban Design. His area of
expertise is in concept design and design development of new habitat system.
His housing design was awarded The Most Innovative Design Award by the
Prime Minister of Malaysia. Ar. Gan has been teaching consistently and was
invited as a speaker in the International Housing conference on the topic
Housing in the New Millennium, organized by Housing Development Board of
Singapore.
choose the floor plan they want to live before moving in, but are
also able to achieve harmony between the basic structure and the
various sizes of dwellings in the long term.
Another feature of D3 is that the system amply utilizes precast innovation. The dwellings quality, sustainability, and flexibility are
assured with the use of concrete construction. Concrete is an inert
material, with no harmful off-gassing emissions. Coupled with its
structural form, concrete is the construction material most commonly
associated with building to be designed for enhancing natural ventilation and daylighting. In D3 system, concrete construction contributes to the improvement of function, value, and the dwellings
whole life performance. Concrete, with its high thermal mass, can
reduce energy requirements during the operation of the building by
moderating energy demands in cooling buildings, thereby adding
to the value in use of residential building. Besides, concrete contributes to the range of other inherent benefits at no extra cost, such
as its proven integral fire resistance, high levels of sound insulation,
Figure 2: The concept of divergent dwelling design (D3)

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| Moulds for garages/moulds for rooms/special purpose
elements
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TT-elements
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and robust finishes. Through its very nature,
concrete provides robust surfaces for walls,
partitions, columns, soffits and cladding that
are easily sealed and free of ledges or joint
details. All these may finally lead to the
lower maintenance costs of the building
while set in motion an efficient, cost effective and practical method for solving housing needs and overcrowding concerns in
urban areas.
Figure 3: The design unit plan with D3 system
Figure 4: Possible building types with D3 system
170
There is usually a cost with the provision of

a structure that allows the most flexibility.
However, with early consideration of the
benefits of using concrete during the design
phase, flexibility of the dwelling can be
optimized at little or no extra expenses. It is
because the use of concrete is compatible
with fast housing construction, in part due to
its easy mobilisation at the start of a project.
In a departure from the conventional mass
housing design, D3 system generates a better and cheaper habitat option through the
application of existing science, technology
and machine production capability. By
incorporating the Industrialized Building
System (IBS) or other modern construction
methods into the construction process, a
compressed construction schedule is
assured, leading to not only cost-saving but
also enables the dwelling to get into productive use sooner, as well as reducing
finance periods. It is because the use of
modern methods of construction, such as
sophisticated formwork systems, posttensioning, prefabricated roll out reinforcement, and precast elements can all shorten
the construction time.
Due to its open plan design and the widely
adoption of modular construction concept,
D3 allows for the construction of various
building types, be it the low-rise low-density
configuration, vertical tower configuration,
low-rise high density pyramid configuration,
or the high-rise high density configuration
(Figure 4). Short term flexibility is achieved
by movable partitions. Since common walls
between dwelling units are non-load-bearing walls, the dwelling unit floor areas can
be arranged independent from boundaries,
thereby providing an entirely flexible
arrangement of living room and wet room
locations in the plan layouts. In the longer
term, adaptability is needed over the life of
the dwelling unit to allow internal walls to
be moved, to change the size or use of
spaces or suites of spaces. With this
respect, flexibility is assured through the
arrangement of columns and load-bearing
walls and the possible clear span. Steel or
pre-stressed reinforced concrete floor systems and components are used to obtain
maximum clear space in the plan layout.
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The ceiling surfaces are clear, and beams are hidden in the exterior wall axes or fixed infill wall axes. All structural elements are located at the exterior of the layout to allow for unlimited unobstructed
clear spaces that can be freely arranged over the life of the
dwelling unit.
Stability.
As a conclusion, Malaysian demographics are changing rapidly.

Average households are becoming smaller as an increasing number
of people live independently in their later years. Prefabrication and
modular construction are believed to be the solution for constructing
houses that meet the vast number of demands in urban areas. Yet,
as a housing strategy it is still considered unresponsive to local climates and conditions with low acceptance rate. One of the problems that Malaysian prefab housing industry does not perform as
well as other countries (i.e. US, Japan) may likely be due to the lack
of variability and an individual identified design. At this juncture,
how prefabricated housing design can be evolved from mass repetitive production level to mass customization level that account for
flexibility and variability is the primary issue to be explored. D3 system discussed in this paper is deemed to bring improvement to the
countrys housing industry with respect to time, cost, and quality. On
a much larger scale, there is current interest in the adaptation of the
built environment for climate change. Because the rate and severity
of future climate change is unpredictable, design for adaptation is
best achieved by providing lifecycle options that will allow future
decision makers to respond appropriately to the trajectory of climate change that actually occurs. D3 will sure to put sustainable
architecture along the curve followed by science, technology and
industrialization, and facilitates a shift towards higher quality housing development that eventually creating sustainable dwellings for
everyone in anywhere in the country.
!
References
1) Gan, H.B. (2013). Molecular Architecture: THINGS TO COME. GMA Publication.
2) Isnin, Z., Ramli, R., Hashim, A.E. and Ali, I.M. (2012). Sustainable issues in low cost
housing alteration projects. Procedia Social and behavioural Sciences, 36, 292 401.
3) Karim, H.A. (2012). Low cost housing environment: Compromising quality of life?
Procedia Social and Behavioral Science, 35, 44 53.
4) Singh, A., Barnes, R. and Yousefpour, A. (1999). High-turnaround and flexibility in
design and construction of mass housing. Proceedings IGLC-7, 26th 28th July 1999,
University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
PAUL supplies
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FURTHER INFORMATION
Construction Research Institute of Malaysia (CREAM)

IBS Centre, 1st Floor, Block E, Lot 8,
Jalan Chan Sow Lin,
55200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
general@cream.my
www.cream.my
Stressing of
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www.paul.eu

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