Object technology

"Modular design and modular manufacture will eventually go hand in glove." That is how computer expert Martin Benford sees the future of housebuilding. Wimpey Homes, The Guinness Trust and Britspace Modular Systems are working on modular manufacture. Benford can already provide the modular design.

As managing director of software developer MBA Computing, Benford is equipping housebuilders with the design tools that they need to enter the industry's brave new world, and some are already using its Construction Designer Modules, which are based around the conceptual design tool Architectural Desk Top. Modular design means that architects no longer have to design a house from scratch; instead, just like manufacturers, they assemble complete elements. They produce the house of their choice, and regional variations, from an extensive library of parts that includes features like gables and porches in an assortment of design styles and has all the best known manufacturers' proprietary brands. Modules can even be passed to external designers and manufacturers, of kitchens or roofs for example, to work on independently.

But now a new buzz term is tripping off the tongues of MBA's specialists. Object technology is being added to the software to enhance its time saving capability. What object technology does is imbue elements of the house with behaviour patterns, so that they can respond to change. So if a designer alters one aspect of the roof truss design, the software automatically calculates the changes and redesign needed to the remainder.

Giving an element of a house that level of intelligence takes time. "There are 20 000 elements in a house and to get those reacting intelligently is an enormous task," says Benford. MBA, which has just signed a deal with Excitech Computers to market its full suite of software, has so far added object technology to the design of underground services. It has been working for five months to add behavioural characteristics to roof trusses, and will soon be fully introducing the fruits of its labours along with an enhanced capability for wall feature design. Next will come floor design. "The length of time it takes us to develop depends on what the object is and what its behavioural patterns are," says Benford.

"Object technology is good for conceptual design, because it gives speed of change in design, but I don't believe that it is the be all and end all for every solution," he says. "There will always be a level of detail that could inhibit that speed of change."