![]() ![]() ![]() It is great that we are able to do this already, given that we are a startup business, but we see ways of making big savings as volumes increase. In terms of construction cost, we are aiming to provide high quality at a standard price, rather than standard quality at a budget price. The roof system can span around 5 metres without using external beams, or 6m plus if beams are incorporated. ![]() NN: U-Build in its current form can be built up to 3 storeys in height. Save this picture! Cortesia de Studio BarkĮS: Up to what scale does U-Build offer to build? And in relation to construction costs, under what conditions is it viable? As a self-funded startup, the main challenges to overcome lie in certification for the mass market, but really the obstacles are the high cost of these tests, rather than the technical ones. We have solved a number of these issues using prototypes, parametric software, and collaborations with innovate consultants such as Structure Workshop. We have needed to prove that the system works structurally, solve airtightness issues, optimise the parts for manufacture and yet make it all easy to assemble. NN: You would think that it is very easy to design a stackable box, but in fact this has been the hardest challenge. The system is also designed such that it does not need a concrete foundation, or plasterboard walls, which allows a big saving in CO2.ĮS: What were and still are the main technical challenges? This means that there is much less waste, which has a big impact on embodied carbon calculations. NN: One of the main principles behind the system is that the individual elements can be taken apart again. U-Build is designed using parametric computer software enabling complex designs to be coded into simple components, and 'cut out' at a local CNC workshop, following distributed manufacturing principles.ĮS: What other sustainable solutions can be incorporated into the system and how? They arrive flat packed, are assembled into 'human-scale' boxes, and are stacked up to form walls, roofs and floors: the fundamental building blocks for any design project. Nick Newman (U-Build): U-Build is essentially a system of giant building blocks. Read, below, an interview we conducted with Nick Newman, Director of U-Build:Įduardo Souza (ArchDaily): Can you explain what U-Build is, how it works, and what the intentions were when creating this system? Rather than relying on conventional single-use materials, the U-Build system is reusable, environmentally responsible, and incredibly economical, without sacrificing quality. we are interested in the total number of $n$-towers, i.e., $r_n + b_n$.According to the architects, the design principles of U-Build arose from the desire to make construction truly accessible and self-built, opening the practice of self-managed construction to the greater public. You can set up the recurrences (a tower ending in red can only be made from a blue-ending one and a red brick a tower ending in blue is made from a red-ending one or a blue-ending one):Īlso $b_0 = 1$, $r_0 = 0$. Let $r_n$ be the number of towers of height $n$ ending in a red brick, $b_n$ the number of towers not ending in a red brick (i.e., blue or height 0). I'm assuming the "tower" is a string of red/blue bricks. ![]()
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