Architecture Students Innovate Precast Concrete for Affordable Housing Micro-Units
Architecture professor Gernot Riether has teamed up with engineering professor Mohamed Mahgoub to develop the Precast Concrete Institute (PCI) Research Studio as part of a four-year grant from the PCI Foundation. The key components of the grant include industry partnership, new precast concrete curriculum and innovative experiential learning.
The PCI Research Studio focuses on the application of precast concrete in designing affordable housing micro-units. It gives students opportunities to learn how to transform design ideas into built reality. The two aspects of the studio, construction design and housing design, involve several industry partners.
The PCI Foundation’s grant, in particular, adds new coursework to the studio, exposing the students to precast concrete as a construction system. In doing so they are analyzing and developing ideas for new strategies for mass customization, construction and assembly processes. “We are trying to create a system where everything is prefabricated in the factory in a controlled environment, and then brought to the site and assembled quickly. That creates a much more controlled construction process with less parties involved,” said Riether.
Additionally, the necessity to curtail greenhouse-gas emissions and to accelerate progress on the United Nations 2030 Agenda demands new planning priorities. To address the climate change aspect, a large component of the studio will include collaborative research with Newark College of Engineering’s Concrete Industry Management (CIM) program exploring more sustainable ways of producing concrete.
“One way to do it is to change aggregates, for example replacing cement with fly ash,” said Riether. “This would reduce energy consumption while protecting the environment. A power plant that burns wood to produce energy creates fly ash as a byproduct. Using fly ash to replace cement as an aggregate for concrete would reduce the energy-intensive cement production process that contributes to greenhouse gasses.”
The research component of the studio will also include studying the material durability, strategies for recycling, alternative ways to reinforce concrete, necessary thickness and hollowing out concrete panels with cavities to make them lighter and less expensive, while maintaining their structural properties.
A prototype of the panel is being built by High Concrete Group, in Denver, Pennsylvania, one of the largest precast concrete plants in the U.S. Students have a hands-on experience where they can see precast concrete panels in various stages of production. They also discuss their micro-housing project with engineers at the plant to review their panel designs and ensure they provide proper fitting from the constructability stand point.
Another aspect of the studio is designing micro-units for affordable housing. By making units smaller, they become more affordable and accessible.
The main challenge is how to use space more efficiently. This means designing a multifunctional space that is flexible and can transform into different environments. The site for the project is 189 Academy Street in Jersey City, close to Journal Square PATH station, where a large share of demographics includes young professional singles and couples
The studio is cooperating with Ben LoPiccolo Development Group, LLC, a development firm in Jersey City, that has a good understanding of that specific market.
“Having conversations with the developer is eye opening for the students, and for the developer as well. It's really interesting to see what kind of alternatives they come up with,” said Riether. In the long run, Professor Riether plans for the studio to create feasibility studies, before a developer designs and builds a project.
“It almost feels like two studios in one. Because on one hand it's a very material, research-driven, design-build studio. But, on the other hand, it's also a housing studio. It's micro-housing and it's done with a specific material,” said Riether.