25th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction - Heraklion, Greece - 2017

https://doi.org/https://10.24928/2017/0033

Design-Value in the Platform Approach

Duncan W. Maxwell1 & Mathew Aitchison2

1PhD Candidate, Innovation in Applied Design Lab, Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, [email protected]
2Associate Professor, Innovation in Applied Design Lab, Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia, [email protected]

Abstract

Lean production has responded to low-level customisation, but for residential construction, earlier customer input is required. The development of the ‘platform approach’ to industrialised house building has enabled high-level masscustomisation. Focus has been applied to ‘hard’ improvements regarding production efficiency, with less emphasis on ‘soft’ values associated with the intangible nature of design. Platform-thinking has demonstrated that new possibilities are emerging which may enable producers of industrialised housing to effectively deliver designvalue to end-users. This paper contributes to the developing platform approach, by investigating design-value for industrialised house building from an architectural perspective. Through an understanding of the product platform approach developed within the Swedish context, selected case-studies from outside construction demonstrate the possibilities that the platform-thinking concept holds, to address the research question; how can design-value be achieved in industrialised house building? Much design-value originates from interaction between designer and user, which has been overlooked in the development of the platform approach, yet by considering its conceptual basis of platform-thinking, new possibilities emerge for the delivery of design-value in product and process. The findings will enhance the development of platforms for industrialised house building.

Keywords

Lean design, platforms, platform-thinking, design-value, architecture

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Reference

Maxwell, D. W. & Aitchison, M. 2017. Design-Value in the Platform Approach, 25th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction , 349-356. doi.org/https://10.24928/2017/0033

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