

>>> To view the full presentation [Youtube]
Clachan: Rural House-like...
...Indeterminate system of architecture
proposes on-demand combinatorial housing system using off-site manufactured timber construction.
Drawing instpiration from “Clachan,” a cultural type of rural settlement found in Scottish history, I devised an indeterminate system of off-site manufacturing that can dynamically adapt to different demands. By embedding a modularly-based design system of housing, I designed a dynamic sytem that can combine and hybridize into different conditions. This led to two-year-long participation in Industrial Wood-based Construction Conference in 2018, and 2019, where I presented my research to 500+ industry and academic participants.
Module components
A Scottish Nobleman, the guardian of the highland estate, seeks a flexible system of temporary housing, summer camp, summer school, cultural residencies... (the list goes on)... that can accommodate fluctuating and unpredictable need of the estate--all without much up-front construction commitment or investment. This provided an opportunistic window for my design interest in indeterminate system of architectural kit-of-parts--here from off-site manufacturing (OSM) of timber.
The following is a chronicle of my proposal, presented at IWCC (Industrial Wood-based Construction Conference) in Boston in October 2019, with Proferssor George Legendre’s Studio, “Building as Model, Model as Building” (publication to follow).
...Indeterminate system of architecture
proposes on-demand combinatorial housing system using off-site manufactured timber construction.
Drawing instpiration from “Clachan,” a cultural type of rural settlement found in Scottish history, I devised an indeterminate system of off-site manufacturing that can dynamically adapt to different demands. By embedding a modularly-based design system of housing, I designed a dynamic sytem that can combine and hybridize into different conditions. This led to two-year-long participation in Industrial Wood-based Construction Conference in 2018, and 2019, where I presented my research to 500+ industry and academic participants.

A Scottish Nobleman, the guardian of the highland estate, seeks a flexible system of temporary housing, summer camp, summer school, cultural residencies... (the list goes on)... that can accommodate fluctuating and unpredictable need of the estate--all without much up-front construction commitment or investment. This provided an opportunistic window for my design interest in indeterminate system of architectural kit-of-parts--here from off-site manufacturing (OSM) of timber.
The following is a chronicle of my proposal, presented at IWCC (Industrial Wood-based Construction Conference) in Boston in October 2019, with Proferssor George Legendre’s Studio, “Building as Model, Model as Building” (publication to follow).

Housing Modules: Bedrooms
Single bedroom unit
Living room unit

Bathroom unit

Single bedroom unit

Double bedroom unit
Living room unit

Living room unit



Potential Combinations of Bedrooms

Room units with plans

Dowel-Laminted Timber (Example)
Tectonic details
Tectonic details
OSM: Off-site Manufacturing for Industrial Wood
Construction and Logistical Sequence
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Assembly sequence
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Construction and Logistical Sequence
Flat packing for the pieces

Assembly sequence
Tectonic details: index and annotations


illustrations: clachan ruins
clachan ruins



Historical map surveys of different clachans
Clachan: History
Chapter I
Interstellar Travel (pp. 17-18)
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clachan ruin: a house
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component typology of a clachan
Chapter I
Interstellar Travel (pp. 17-18)

clachan ruin: a house

component typology of a clachan
Clachan: Sited
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sited example (left) and possible combinations (right)




client design charette (left) conference presentation (middle two) construction prototype (right)

48 Quincy St. Cambridge, MA 02138