“The building industry increasingly relies on standardized building components in new construction, defined by economy and utility. The utilization of these building components increases efficiency by reducing the number of unknowns and consequently, the necessity for highly skilled labor. This, in turn, increases profitability. The result is that our built environment is increasingly defined by the properties of these mass-produced elements. This is an area of design that has been left conspicuously unaffected by architects and designers. Because of their ubiquitous nature, the design or modification of these products is perhaps one of the simplest and most direct ways for design to affect the built environment.
In this investigation we have focused on the development of concrete masonry units within this context. Our premise was to evaluate the virtues and deficiencies of concrete block and its full life-cycle, identify specific pragmatic changes that could occur, and conduct physical design research within new pragmatic limits. Guided by these limits, we have strived to improve upon the performance and character of concrete block.”
(Source: Nicolas Marier)