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Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Design for adaptability and deconstruction (DfAD)

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Buildings are static elements in a dynamic environment characterized by fast changing needs and evolving environmental, social, and economic standards. Thus, today challenge for structural design through Design for Adaptability and Deconstruction (DfAD) is to create buildings that are flexible enough to answer these needs. This thesis analyses DfAD for building structures and presents three case studies: a tent, a structure with prefabricated panellised systems, and a container building. The key arguments that justify DfAD are the negative environmental impact of the current structures; the life cycle of a building; the changes expected from buildings; and the cost incentive of this design. DfAD is a combination of design approaches that deal with the different scales of a structure. The fundamental tools to achieve DfAD are the connections, the type of structure, and the use of prefabricated systems. This thesis shows that standardization and layer-and-module modelling are essential to achieve a sustainable structural design. Three case studies present the structural features and the applications of this design approach.

Degree

thesis:*
Department dc:contributor.department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Grantor dc:publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Year dc:date.issued
2009

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Mouilek, Sabrina (Sabrina Marie)
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Jerome J. Connor.

Subjects

dc:subject × 1

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.
Language dc:language.iso
eng

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Handle dc:identifier.uri
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/53070
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/53070

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
MIT
Base URL
dspace.mit.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Mouilek, Sabrina (Sabrina Marie). Design for adaptability and deconstruction (DfAD). Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/53070