Hybrid Building Sections for Faster Low-Complexity Construction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional housing construction methods are slow, expensive, and environmentally impactful, with prefabricated modular buildings facing challenges such as large factory space requirements, costly transportation, and complex on-site assembly, which limits their adoption in the construction industry.
Innovation Solution
A hybrid residential building system comprising a first building section constructed on-site and a second building section transported in a substantially assembled form, connected at the final location, allowing for efficient construction and reduced on-site complexity, with the second building section providing access routes and internal volume connectivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If modular building units are constructed in a factory and transported to the final location, then construction speed and quality control are improved, but factory space requirements and transportation costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The building is divided into two distinct sections: a first building section constructed on-site using conventional methods, and a second building section constructed in a factory and transported to the final location. This segmentation allows the factory to focus only on producing the second section, significantly reducing the factory space required compared to producing entire modular units.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the dimension of construction by combining on-site construction (first section) with off-site factory construction (second section). This hybrid approach allows the factory to produce only the portion of the building that benefits from controlled environment construction, while the first section is built using traditional on-site methods, thereby reducing factory space requirements and transportation costs.
2Loss of time
If modular building units are transported from factory to final location, then construction time is reduced, but transportation costs and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The building is segmented such that only the second building section is transported from the factory to the final location, while the first section is constructed on-site. This reduces the size and weight of transported components, thereby lowering transportation costs and complexity while still maintaining the time-saving benefits of factory construction for the second section.
3Duration of action of stationary object
If conventional masonry construction methods are used, then building durability and longevity are improved, but construction time and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges conventional on-site construction methods (used for the first building section to ensure durability and longevity) with factory-based modular construction (used for the second section to improve construction speed). This combination allows the building to achieve both long-term durability through traditional methods and accelerated construction through factory production.
4Adaptability or versatility
If services are installed on-site during First Fix and Second Fix, then installation flexibility is improved, but build time and costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
Services are pre-installed in the second building section during factory construction, before the section is transported to the final location. This preliminary action eliminates the need for on-site service installation during the First Fix and Second Fix stages, thereby reducing build time and costs while maintaining installation quality through controlled factory conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
Hybrid buildings, hybrid building systems and methods of constructing hybrid buildings are disclosed. First and second building sections forming part of such buildings are also disclosed. One such hybrid residential building (1600) comprises a first building section (1610) and a second building section (1620). The first building section is an on-site construction at a final location for the building and comprises a lower storey (1611) defining an internal volume (1613) that provides a lower living space (1615) within the building, and an upper storey (1617) defining an internal volume (1619) that provides an upper living space (1621) within the building. The second building section defines an internal volume (1623) and is transportable to the final location in a substantially assembled form. The first and second building sections are connected at the final location to form the building. The second building section defines a circulation space (1649) for the building, access between the upper and lower living spaces of the first building section being provided via the circulation space.