Facility Flexibility and the Standardization of Building Design Modules.

Abstract : The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is developing a modular approach to new building designs. This report documents a procedure that allows the needs of users to be considered during the development of standardized modules. To accomplish this objective, the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratory: 1. Reviewed Army facility design standardization procedures, policies, and documents contained in Army Regulations, Engineer Regulations, Engineer Technical Letters, and other applicable Department of Defense (DOD) regulations; 2. Examined the relationships between standardization and a facility's flexibility, life-cycle costs, and functional life; 3. Developed a method to generate a standardized design module compatible with the Office of the Chief of Engineers' current standardization program; and 4. Investigated the application of the standardization procedure using modules to achieve facility flexibility for several facility types within the Corps of Engineers. (Author)