The creation of structure involves two main stages: design and construction.
Building structure emerged to accommodate human demand of shelter from natural environment. In ancient times, the form of “architecture”, as we call it today, was simply a result of creating enclosed space through an repeating effort of piling up available materials. With minimal awareness toward aesthetics and symbolism, ancient people focused on building simple yet reliable structures based on their instinct and experience. During this time, ease of construction overrode aesthetics, although most unintentionally, as the primary concern for creating structures.
As self-awareness formed and the experience accumulated through generations of practice turned into knowledge, the activity of building developed from an instinct into a craft. The demand for shelter was no longer the mere purpose for constructing structures. Instead, many were deliberately produced with particular forms to indicate culture, belief and social status. The process of “architecture” began to formalize as planning and design becoming an important step during the creation of structures.
As civilization advanced over time, architecture evolved from being considered solely as physical enclosure to work of art and representation of culture and technology. The form of architecture became diverse, no longer confined to being consisted of regular geometries and ordinary materials. In the recent decades, the further development of modern engineering knowledge and digital design brought about the postmodern free-form architecture. However, the excellence in aesthetics is often accompanied by the complexity in construction. Customized fabrication and assembly may become necessary in order to achieve certain architectural form, which is often costly and time consuming.
Architecture composed of regular and repetitive elements are often structurally efficient and resolve the concern of budget and ease of construction. But the aesthetic results can be very divergent: while many are considered mediocre for lacking of statement and visual impact, few became remarkable for comprehending minimalism and forming visual impact through an extraordinary sense of order.
Today, the practice of the architecture industry has been brought up to a higher standard under various engineering, economic and social demands. Design and construction are becoming one integrated process for many new projects, where architects and engineers are challenged to create synergy of elegance, efficiency, economy and sustainability. The technique of structural repetition offers improved potential for the future of the industry. The associated construction and economical advantages are still widely recognized and desired, especially with the recent development of prefabrication and modularity. However, better design techniques need to be explored to leverage the aesthetics of structural repetition toward the contemporary architectural standard.
That led to the proposal of this study entitled “Repetition and Modularity in Structural Design” to the Skidmore, Owings and Merrill Foundation for the 2013 Structural Engineering Travel Fellowship. The objective was to identify the critical modular design techniques that promote both aesthetics and constructability. Forty selected structural projects across Asia, Latin America, and Europe were studied through literature and site visit. While vary in architectural style, function, material, age and surrounding environment, the selected projects demonstrate extraordinary overall results brought forth by the repetition of structural modules. The research was also supported by a number of universities, research institutes and design firms that allowed viewing of models and drawings, as well as interviews regarding design and research experience.
This report includes the description of the selected projects through which the key modular design techniques are illustrated. By demonstrating the advantages and potential associated with applying the techniques, the report is presented to the architectural and engineering profession to promote structural repetition and modularity for the future, and help designers to achieve the modern industry’s standard by creating more elegant, efficient, economical and easy-to-built structures.
