Mass customisation

Abstract

Climate change accompanied by global warming issues necessitates that homes are more environmentally friendly in production and operation, while the drastic hike in energy costs and increasing socio-economic diversity demand housing that is more affordable and more customisable than ever before. Homes need to address social, economic and environmental sustainability issues as a whole. When the revolutionary notion of sustainable development was introduced the concept of mass customisation coincidentally emerged as a means to customise end-user products without sacrificing the production efficiency, effectiveness or low cost. This chapter will introduce the notion of mass customisation and the pragmatic application to housing design and production. This knowledge is essential to the delivery of quality affordable homes in which the level of performance can be determined within the economic constraints of the end-users.