[Duanemclemore]

Hi, architect here. Wikihouse has been chasing many of the dragons we've been collectively chasing in AEC[0] for... a long time. Seriously I wish I had time to reply to every single comment here because there are a lot of excellent critiques (not just of WH). It shows what kind of communication problem we have in AEC that even the critiques that HAVE good answers within their weelhouse aren't adequately addressed by WH.

In the US nothing is EVER going to beat light gauge wood framing on cost. That's why you see even large (but not tall) complexes build from it.[1] It's been reduced to the 0th degree of expense because of the profit motive. That said, this is only when the "unskilled" labor of rough framing is cheap. But this doesn't necessarily hold for other economies.

The early WH work seemed cartoonishly idealistic (they were literal kids so I don't really fault them). But that foundation never changed and a lot of what they built on that has seemed like solution in search of a problem. Especially when you consider you don't even have to leave the UK to find a better model for self-build[2] and automated modular small scale construction is a really active space right now.

Other competitors[3] actually have online configurators that work well to arrange these kinds of elements. But they've realized that's where the value is and are holding their systems closer so they can maintain quality and monetize the expertise they brought to bear.

And yet other systems have been using industrial scale and logics to great effect for a long, long time.[4]

TBH the "open source" aspect is really kind of a gimmick. Their designs are useless without the overall system and the system is useless without some way of arranging it all properly. Plus - what are you going to do - buy and learn to run a mill, work your own ply with an extremely slow machine, assemble it in this (ridiculously) finicky way, source and install the insulation properly yourself, and still be confronted with the nontrivial tasks of... everything that's not structure and insulation? Not to mention approvals. In the end you'd need an architect to do all this for you. And... doesn't that defeat the point? It's very generous that they've assembled all the guides they have but there are cheaper and more flexible construction systems (light gauge wood, block, SIPS, ICF, etc) that are much more mature, non-proprietary (except ICF), much better documented, and much easier to train a helper or two for assistance.

I really do appreciate what they're -trying- to do. But again, I just think it's a solution in search of a problem.

[0] Architecture, Engineering, and Construction [1] https://lamag.com/urbandevelopment/geoff-palmers-faux-italia... [2] https://architecturefoundation.org.uk/programme/2015/walter%... [3] https://automatedarchitecture.io/ [4] https://www.ithouseinc.com/

[hedgehog]

I've been hoping someone with the right knowledge would do a public update to the Segal method. The stuff that's widely documented wouldn't meet modern code or work as well with modern materials, but that's probably fixable. There also was apparently significant refinement to the methods over time based on lessons from the field and changes in available materials, also not well documented. The core idea still seems good though and with updates it could be an answer for how to lower the cost of backyard cottage type construction.

[Duanemclemore]

This could have been the direction they went. "Wikihouse" and "open source architecture" could just as easily mean a wiki on DIY financing, development, design, construction, maintenance, and beyond using standard techniques. But somewhere they got in their head that they had to use CNC.

I wish it was possible to develop such a thing, but it would be very hard to gain traction without major support. And who with means to do so wants to support a movement to consume and waste (and thus spend) less, do more with less, do it on your own (thus not "create jobs"), etc?

[Duanemclemore]

Forgot to add - Wikihouse has been at it since like 2011. In that time, we've seen the rise of engineered wood to the point that CLT (Cross-Lamianted Timber) is discussed as a steel replacement in large and tall building construction. What WH was doing back when was quaint and very precious. But their whole thing is kind of a relic of a simpler time. What they say they're about hits on a lot of different levels for me - as an advocate for FOSS and Open Source more generally, a NERD for modular building systems, someone actually working in the advanced fabrication and automated construction spaces, and more I WISH I could go to bat for them. But there's just no "there there" in terms of meeting the goals they claim.