Reconsidering Modularity

Can a universal modular system be responsive to specific and localized conditions? In architecture, modules can take on different scales and forms; from a single brick to a complete prefabricated living unit that is delivered on-site, or a complete structural unit as part of a larger high-rise. The nature in which these modular architectural systems are conceived rely on accepted industry standards of form and (human) proportions but lack the criteria to engage landscape . Responsive variation based on site specificity is the basis for reconsidering modularity. A reactive module seen as a cellular system of enclosure, envelope, and structure made responsive to the environment becomes a universally applied process that allows for dynamic variability.
This thesis relies on the development of a procedural design process that taps into the computational, geomorphological and ecological fields. The process goes beyond the influence of the human scale and begins to understand that landscape as part of a system also informs us of unique interactions and movement. Understanding that landscape is integral to creating a system that is both universal in technique but localized in response is the first step in a modified process of modular design.
By employing research methods in computational design and data driven analysis, the relationship between the particular and the universal is explored and methods of assembly are generated. The process allows for a system that derives its importance from its context and also reacts and adapts to evolving site conditions. Intelligent modules can allow reconfiguration, mutation and modulation in response to site.

By incorporating technology, new materials, prototyping, and new fabrication techniques, this thesis aims for an efficient, waste reducing, streamlined modular production that addresses our current need for sustainability and a minimized carbon footprint.
Through the use of 3D software programming and scripting, variations of studies will be generated, while environmental analysis software and datasets will be used bring in site information. Prototypes through the use of available digital fabrication methods on campus will generate iterations to help understand volumetric and spatial relationships.

The proposed architectural project is demonstration of how the process of modularity can be at once universal and specific to the site. The scope of the project can range from an entire modular building or focus on specific building parts such as the skin. The program that will be developed will be one that is influenced by the chosen site and be benefited by an intelligent modular system.