PREFABRICATED SELF-HELP KIT HOMES a Mass Customized Option
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PREFABRICATED SELF-HELP KIT HOMES A Mass Customized Option for Affordable Housing María Carolina Rueda S. Post-Professional Master of Architecture: Urban Design and Housing Peter Guo-hua Fu School of Architecture. McGill University Professor Avi Friedman Keywords: Kit homes, Housing Affordability, Mass Customization Montreal. August 2018 ABSTRACT The North American housing affordability crisis is escalating each year. In Canada, approximately the 83 percent of all homeowners and 40 percent of all renters exceed their affordability threshold on an annual basis. This implies high prices that prevent low-income families from becoming homeowners. Prefabricated, self-help kit homes are a potential solution to reduce housing cost, and to allow customers to participate in the decision-making process with respect to the design of their homes. The former is possible by eliminating paid labor and replacing it with sweat equity, while the latter is possible through the application of mass customization strategies that allow a high level of customer involvement during the pre-occupancy stage. The main goal of this research is to identify the different strategies that manufacturers apply during the production of kit homes. In addition to the theoretical framework, this report consists of analyses of kit homes from eight manufacturers, including evaluations of their advantages and disadvantages with respect to both affordability and mass customization. These analyses led to the definition of guidelines for manufacturing kit homes in Quebec. These guidelines were based on the ideals of improving customer involvement and ensuring the feasibility of self-help construction, while also offering choices and flexibility within kit home packages and affordable options for buyers. The main conclusion of this study is that self-help kit homes are approximately 45 percent less expensive than the conventional housing. However, this savings primarily depends on the ability of the buyers to be self-builders, and on the provision of cost-saving alternatives by manufacturers. Moreover, in terms of mass customization, both panelized and pre-cut prefabrication methods allow a tailored or pure customization. However, it is essential to facilitate the decision-making of customers during the post-occupancy stage as well, and to define more specific parameters and variations. I RÉSUMÉ La crise d’accesibilité du logement en Amérique du Nord s’intensifie chaque année. Au Canada, environ 83 pour cent de tous les propriétaires et 40 pour cent de tous les locataires dépassent leur seuil d’accessibilité sur une base annuelle. Cela implique des prix élevés qui empêchent les familles à faible revenu de devenir propriétaires. Les maisons préfabriquées en kit d’autoconstruction sont une solution potentielle pour réduire le coût du logement et permettre aux clients de participer au processus de la prise de décision concernant la conception de leur maison. Le premier est possible en éliminant la main-d’œuvre rémunérée et la remplaçant par le travail des propriétaires, tandis que le second est possible grâce à l’application de stratégies de personnalisation de masse qui permettent un niveau élevé de participation des clients pendant la phase de pré-occupation. L’objectif principal de cette recherche est d’identifier les différentes stratégies que les fabricants appliquent lors de la production et de la préfabrication des maisons en kit. En plus du cadre théorique, ce rapport se compose d’analyses de maisons de fabrication de huit fabricants, y compris des évaluations de leurs avantages et inconvénients en ce qui concerne à la fois l’abordabilité et la personnalisation de masse. Ces analyses ont abouti à des conclusions qui ont été examinées au chapitre 4 avec la définition de lignes directrices pour la fabrication de maisons en kit au Québec. Ces lignes directrices étaient fondées sur les idéaux d’amélioration de la participation des clients et d’assurer la faisabilité de l’autoconstruction, tout en offrant des choix et de la flexibilité dans les forfaits maison et des options abordables pour les acheteurs. La principale conclusion de cette étude est que les maisons d’autoconstruction sont environ 45 pour cent moins chères que les maisons traditionnelles. Cependant, ces économies dépendent principalement de la capacité des acheteurs à devenir propriétaires-constructeurs, et de la fourniture II par les fabricants de solutions de rechange économiques pour améliorer l’accessibilité financière. De plus, en termes de personnalisation de masse, les systèmes à panneaux prédécoupés permettent une personnalisation sur mesure ou pure. Cependant, il est essentiel de faciliter également la prise de décision des clients pendant la phase de post-occupation, et de définir des paramètres et des variantes plus spécifiques pour assurer l’abordabilité du logement et la satisfaction des ménages. III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Professor Avi Friedman, my research advisor, for his inspiring motivation and assistance during the year I spent in the accomplishment of the Urban Design and Housing Program. I am greatly honored to have been able to benefit from his knowledge and experience in housing. Moreover, I owe my gratitude to the School of Architecture Graduate Fellowships Committee for selecting me to be the recipient of two generous awards, as well as the non-profit Colombian Foundation Colfuturo which selected me as a beneficiary of its program. The accomplishment of this work would not have been possible without the financial support and assistance of both institutions, which encouraged me to focus on exposing all my skills and knowledge in order to be an outstanding student and demonstrate that I deserve their trust. My deepest appreciation should be extended to the staff of the School of Architecture at McGill University, particularly Ms. Marcia King for her help and patience. I am truly grateful to Prof. Annmarie Adams, Prof. Robert Mellin, Prof. Vikram Bhatt, and Prof. Nik Luka for their immense contributions to my knowledge and research skills. Last but not least, I am thankful to my family for all their unconditional encouragement and support during the achievement of every goal of my life. IV TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................ I RESUMÉ .............................................................................................................................................. II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................................... IV TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................................................... V LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................................................................... VIII LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................................... X CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY ....................................................................................................... 2 1.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ..................................................................................................... 6 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION ............................................................................................................... 8 1.4 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................................... 8 1.5 INTENDED AUDIENCE ............................................................................................................... 9 1.6 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 9 1.7 SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS ....................................................................................................... 10 1.8 RESEARCH OUTLINE................................................................................................................ 10 CHAPTER 2: SELF-HELP HOUSING AND KIT HOMES........................................................................... 12 2.1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................... 12 2.2 SELF-HELP HOUSING ............................................................................................................... 12 2.2.1 The Potential of Self-help Housing ............................................................................... 13 2.2.2 Progressive Housing ..................................................................................................... 15 2.2.3 Self-help Types ............................................................................................................. 17 2.2.4 Self-help Advantages.................................................................................................... 18 2.2.5 Self-help Disadvantages ............................................................................................... 19 2.2.6 The role of Prefabrication in Self-help Housing ............................................................. 20 2.2.7 Conclusions .................................................................................................................