Instant House
Students: Nic Rader (G), Marcel Botha (G), Maggy Nelson (UG), Diana Nee,(UG) W. Victoria Lee (UG)
Year: 2005
- The Instant House Assembly: Summer 2005
- Synthesis of design production with integrated digital fabrication, Automation in Construction 16 (3), 298-310
The Instant House is a structure prefabricated of one material (plywood) assembled with mussel and a rubber mallet. Nails, screws or glue are not needed for assemble and support. The project combines CAD technology with computer numerically controlled machinery to build a complete house from computer models and raw plywood sheets with no drawings or paper documents. The computer is used to convert a simple house shape into an assortment of special shapes and components complete with a number. The designer builds a computer model in 3D, flattens the objects to a horizontal position in CAD then sends the each component to a computer-controlled router for cutting. Joinery between components is so precise that all parts stay together by friction alone.