Semi-nonstandard construction and its application in post-squatter İstanbul

Abstract

Prefabricated buildings have long played a role in providing inexpensive, yet high quality dwellings for the multitude. However, such structures are typically standardized in nature and poorly suited for deployment within a crowded urban fabric. In Istanbul, where redevelopment projects have displaced many residents to standardized mass housing units built on the periphery of the city, another possibility for prefabricated housing may be possible. In an age when CNC fabrication is becoming commonplace, the solution may appear to be nonstandard construction, whose potential in architectural discourse is frequently seen as an enabler of novel form making. Yet by strategically utilizing nonstandard tools in an otherwise mass-produced housing system, these techniques can provide variation within an industrial process while still taking advantage of the efficiencies of standardization. This project proposes a method of construction that is based on a lightweight composite panel, into which have been collapsed the building's functional requirements (structure, insulation, weatherproofing). As part of their manufacture, the panels are modified utilizing this "semi-nonstandard" fabrication method. This process, which enables a far greater range of geometries and configurations than standardized construction, allows the construction of safe and efficient housing within the city center. This project proposes this system as a topic of architectural research and also as a social project, enabling Istanbulites whose homes are currently under the threat of expropriation to remain in their communities.