From Handmade to Automation

"…we realized that we had time to design an airplane with something really new in terms of passenger comfort - something that would at least give us a substantial competitive advantage over other airlines. Obviously, we wanted the best technology, too, but what we were really looking for was what we called the "Passenger Pleasing Plane," or the "3-P."
…We soon realized why the Three-P plane had never been produced. Like any other business, airplane manufacturers had to please their customers - the airlines. And airline executives were so caught up in technological innovations that they hardly gave a thought to making the passenger's ride more comfortable."

Jan Carlzon, Moments of Truth.

In the Industrial Age, the motor car epitomized the manufacturing method.
Set and forget, out pops a new one every few minutes.
Architects missed this Industrial Revolution.
The handcrafted building remains.

In the Information Age, architects customize the manufacturing process.
Personalized design at its zenith.
Transform construction to assembly.
Dry the wet.
Prefabricate.
Demount.
Recycle or re-use.
Throw out the saw, add a laser, tighten the tolerances, heave-ho the imprecise materials, add a robot.
The architect with design instructions on his motherboard can steer the ship toward automated construction.
Press that button and out it pops, installed on site.
Instant personalized buildings!
Take this pleasure cruise to uncharted waters and buried treasure awaits.
Re-design architecture from the tools up.
Design-Your-Own industry.
Now there's an opportunity.


Related Articles
Redesign Your Industry: The shift from standardization to customization is an opportunity for architects to re-design the construction industry.
The Watch Industry, Part 2: In the second part of 'The Watch Industry', we consider the task of reinventing the watchmaking industry through the example of the Swatch Watch.

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