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On the Modular Structure and Evolvability of Architectural Patterns for Housing Utilities

Authors:
Peter De Bruyn
Jeroen Faes
Tom Vermeire
Jasper Bosmans

Keywords: Modularity, Housing, Evolvability, Normalized Systems, Architectural Patterns

Abstract:
Modularity is considered a powerful concept within many domains. While modular artifacts are believed to have the potential to exhibit several beneficial characteristics such as evolvability, the actual realization of this evolvability or flexibility remains challenging. This paper considers houses as modular structures and employs the combinatorics underlying Normalized Systems Theory, as well as the integration patterns it proposes, to analyze design alternatives for the incorporation of electricity and heating utilities within houses. The paper demonstrates that the integration patterns can be applied at several modular granularity levels. An analysis is presented regarding which integration patterns are currently most frequently used at which levels, and which patterns should deserve additional exploration. The adopted approach to analyze the modular design alternatives for housing utilities is believed to be applicable within other domains as well.

Pages: 40 to 45

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2017

Publication date: February 19, 2017

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-3557

ISBN: 978-1-61208-534-0

Location: Athens, Greece

Dates: from February 19, 2017 to February 23, 2017