Rapid Build
Our goal is for all village homes and workplaces to be built in 12 months. Is this realistic? Yes.
In the 20th century, most industries adopted industrial efficiency; but not the construction industry, perhaps because of the typical scale... only a few buildings are built at a time. The VillageTown requires a critical mass to start, which happily means all 4,000 homes and 1,000 workplaces need to be completed at the same time. This creates opportunity for a different approach to construction. We set a goal to build all homes and workplaces in 12 months – climate permitting. This means 24/7 operations and mobile factories that cover the site with a roof and lights so three shifts of workers may keep the project going.
The VillageTown will use Variable Density Concrete (VDC) as the primary bulk material. Essentially VDC is conventional concrete with an additive added on site, to vary the density by adding closed cell air bubbles. Less air means higher density, stronger, but less thermal and acoustical insulation. This flexible material is poured in different precise densities based on engineering requirements. By making the walls thicker, VDC achieves insulation values without the extra steps and costs of conventional insulation. Instead of cladding, the VDC takes finishing renders (plaster, slurry, whitewash or bagging), or it can be left in its natural state tinted with oxides. Windows, doors, pipes & conduit installation occur before the pour thus the VDC locks them in place - again realising cost savings, speed and less chance of insulation leakage. The same bulk material is used for the foundations, slabs, floors, staircases and roofs where only the density is varied. Most importantly, because concrete is fluid when poured, it will mould itself to any form, thus a creative architect can have a mould carved in soft plastic (either by an artist or using a computer cutting system) to achieve almost any surface pattern or ornament.
With appropriate cranes and movable forms, this enables building walls to be set up and poured in hours rather than elapsed time in weeks typical of the industry. Bulk purchase and delivery of cement, aggregate and reinforcing enables the project to realise economies of scale that greatly reduce overall costs. Labour coordination becomes easier as a single trade handles the bulk construction, rather than the logistical nightmare of a typical job site where perhaps a dozen different trades are required to erect a lock-up shell.
The roads, plazas, industrial park, motorpool and freight depot are built first before the 12 month clock starts. We encourage artisan makers of building ornament and detail to move to the industrial park so that future villagers have better choice of materials that make the difference between mediocre and something special. Carvers who make beautiful doors, lintels and other detail are encouraged to set up shop, for example. This gives such businesses a strong initial customer base that may later serve as the foundation for an ongoing local industry selling local to global.
The primary reason to set a 12-month build time for all privately owned buildings (the homes and workplaces) has to do with financing and the need for critical mass. When construction begins, each private home and workplace will be commissioned based on the purchasing power of the person who will buy it. In this way, capitalisation of each Village is spread over 200 buyers. In order to keep the financing burden to the buyer at minimum, the elapsed time between start to finish needs to be kept to a minimum. In fact, the Village Town may be built village-by-village, which means some people may be able to move in while other villages are still under construction
However, the other reason - critical mass - is a business consideration. If 80% of the economy is local-to-local, many of those businesses need a critical mass of customers in order to stay in business. If a bookstore needs a 7,500 population to make a profit, the proprietor needs that critical mass to be present from day one. For this reason, the whole VillageTown needs to be rapidly built with everyone moving in within the same general time frame, defined in months, not years.
