Pre-fab Manufacturing Facility

We started the semester with an industrial forensics investigation, which shaped my approach to designing industrial facilities. In looking for anomalies in existing architecture, the evidence of adaptation clearly demonstrated that production facilities have evolving needs as technologies and products change. This indicated that the most successful industrial facilities are those that are durable and flexible. The site was located on a long narrow stretch of land just west of downtown Minneapolis boarded on the east by 394 and the greenway bike path and on the west by railroad tracks and the Bryn Mawr neighborhood park.

The program included the design and production of pre-fab houses. The design of the facility therefore evolved through a process of understanding the program needs driven by a desire to create relational spaces that would allow the two primary streams, immaterial design ideas and material product, to blend together in the production spaces. An added programmatic desire was to create a facility that offers an opportunity to educate clients on the benefits of pre-fab. The concept being that if an average home consumer can observe and be immersed in the development and production of pre-fab homes, they will understand the added value of smart design, controlled production, and the opportunity for customization.