Two units of prefabricated timber houses were designed

Two units of prefabricated timber houses were designed and constructed at Seremban—situated in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia—as experimental samples. These houses looked like \'Malay\' traditional chalets (see Fig. 1) in which an independent square was connected to a semi-covered timber deck. Each square accommodated functional spaces such as a living room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom, and service facilities. Each unit was designed such that i thought about this the functional spaces fit in an area of 36m2 to meet the criteria of modular coordination. Moreover, dimensional coordination was set to follow the aspects of the standardization of components and simplifying prefabrication issues such as the availability of timber sections, transportability, onsite labor involvement, easy assembly to avoid component damage, and maintaining precision in construction. The prefabricated components were also used as infill for nonstructural components. The spatial dimensions were determined according to the size, span, repetitions, and ease of assembly of the building components, regardless of their spatial designations and spatial relations. On the other hand, pyramid roof houses were constructed using bespoke timber elements that were partially assembled onsite.
The implication of design tasks and design aspects in the prefabrication of timber housing There is no common formula or software tool that can be used to analyze the ethnography data, except transcribing the conversations between the participants and the KI (Gibbs, 2007). The ethnography data were analyzed in a qualitative and descriptive manner, where the data collected at various stages of the tasks and subjective design aspects of the prefabrication process were sorted out in a chronological order. Based on the design iteration, the ethnographer (observer, O) observed and derived a series of design tasks, as shown in Table 1. These tasks included the selection of an appropriate building system, constructability, manufacturing, and assembly. The process of prefabrication, as observed through the ethnographic study, was considered to be a significant source that enabled better decisions in the architectural design.
Integrated design tasks for improving forms in IBS The ethnography of the experimental model was the key source of data required in developing the proposed model of the design life cycle for IBS, which focuses mainly on “defragmentation” of the elements/components. The life cycle tasks derived from the experimental model included the following: feasible translation of design into prefabrication, design of building elements and components, design of the dynamics and tolerance of the embedded joints, manufacturing/production design aspects for elements and components, and various design aspects of the assembly process. The purpose of this model is to bridge the gap between the design developments and construction documentation in which the manufacturing aspects, construction logistics, assembly aspects, and selection of material properties can be adopted. The integration of these tasks and aspects facilitates resolving the manufacturing problems and optimizing the design. The life cycle tasks and other constraints that should be predicted along the process of design development are shown in Fig. 4. In addition, the proposed model facilitates the interdependency between the tasks, eventually enabling the fulfillment of the requirements of IBS in the design life cycle.
Limitation of the model
Conclusion
Acknowledgement This research was partly sponsored by Universiti Putra Malaysia. The authors acknowledge the significant contributions received from the Centre for Real Estate Studies, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, in successfully completing this article. Gratitude is also expressed toward Ms. Daniele Rambaldini, whose constructive suggestions greatly contributed to develop the ethnography model.