In this Daily: The Center of Joy’s Use of Prefabricated Construction
Progress is under way on the Center of Joy, which is following a visibly different process than that of most of town’s construction.
Apart from the crane onsite, progress simply looks different than the majority of town’s construction projects. The skeleton of the structure is laid in first, to be followed in turn by cross supports and then eventual detail work. This is a result of the hybrid form of prefabrication that’s being used for the Center of Joy.
Most construction done in Las Catalinas is done using a method called poured-in-place. In this method, building materials are poured on site into molds, harden, and then are used as a base for further molds. Then, the cycle is repeated as needed until the structure is completed. It’s a ground-up form of construction, in which levels are completed one by one and grow vertically.
For the Center of Joy, an adapted form of prefabricated construction is being used. With prefabricated buildings, large pieces of the structure are first poured as a single whole and allowed to harden at factories. Then, they are transported to the building site and assembled into place.
Vertical pieces are laid in first that reach the maximum height of the building, which creates the skeletal appearance during construction. Then, horizontal structures follow that are laid into place and fit like enormous pieces of Lego. The pieces are all connected by a poured concrete ‘rapello’, at which point the two construction processes converge. The last step is to add windows, wall panels, non-load bearing internal walls, floors and roof, and details.
The biggest benefit of poured in place construction, the method most commonly used in town, is flexibility. Materials are poured section by section, offering the ability to adapt to different Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) requirements and owner preferences. This also allows homeowners to make adjustments to internal structures over the course of construction
With traditional prefabricated construction there’s far less adaptability as all pieces poured at once off site. MEP details like light fixture placement, electrical outlets, drainage, wiring, air conditioning placement, and other details are all predetermined and cannot be changed. As a result, prefabricated construction requires even more careful and comprehensive thought during the design process.
However, the benefit of this process is efficiency of production timeline and cost reduction. For a project so clearly defined as the Center of Joy, the benefits of a prefabricated process made the choice between flexibility and efficiency easy.
However, for the Center of Joy builders used a hybrid approach to add flexibility back to the prefabrication strategy. By adding a layer of plaster to the structure during construction, builders kept speed and allowed for more flexibility to later place MEP details.
This difference in plaster application will be unnoticeable to the visitor, but is a material more amenable to change. This allows the building the option to adapt, change, and grow to its user’s needs over its lifetime.
The building has a clearly defined use now, but also holds a prominent architectural purpose and as a commercial building in town’s urbanism. This adaptable construction will allow this new building to adapt to new users and the new needs of town in future generations.