Building systems can be traced back to a 1516 A.D. project by Leonardo da Vinci and to a variety of prefabrication projects in every succeeding century. When integrated into large and repetitive spatial units through careful design, building systems can produce an architecture of the first order, as evidenced in the award winning design of…

Research for this comparative study consisted of school visits and discussions on the school building industry with leading men in the field in England, West Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. The study explored the use of prefabrication and modular school design, which provide economical and flexible school buildings to accommodate an increasing…

Four aspects of preassembled building components are discussed--(1) attitudes on preassembled components, (2) principles of preassembled components construction, (3) structural component case studies, and (4) mechanical component case studies. In section 1, various views on preassembled components are discussed including--(1) the architect's view,…

The purpose of this study was to assess the present state of building systems, to analyze projects currently being developed, and to predict future advances in systems. "Building system" is used to designate a minimum of three major subsystems designed to fit and function together without the necessity of onsite cutting or other extensive…