Mass-tailorisation - a digital aid for the decision-making in the designer's design process

The advent of digital tools and technologies of modern times has provided architectural designers with the ability to create in complexities and volumes of an unprecedented scale. With the myriad of possibilities, the designer has become prone to the Paradox of Choice - the difficulty of making decisions in a field of mass-options.

Mass-tailorisation aims to aid the decision-making process of the designer in a world of unprecedented possibilities, limited only by the practicalities of reality. This research develops a theoretical framework for mass-tailorisation systems that aid the designer in the decision-making process by strategically focusing on four stages of the decision-making process.

The thesis investigates the theoretical framework of mass-tailorisation through several phases of case studies that critically assess the viability and the implications of the components that constitute the mass-tailorisation system. The need for mass-tailorisation, as well as the establishment of the system and the future potential of mass-tailorisation are addressed through these case studies. Thus, leading to an integrative theoretical framework on the validity of mass-tailorisation.

The research also speculates on the possible role of the future designer as they navigate through the near-limitless possibilities of the architectural design process of modern times. Finally, the thesis concludes by discussing the specific importance of the Design-Fabrication-Assembly Digital Continuum and the pursuit for the Move 37 phenomenon in explaining how mass-tailorisation can improve the decision-making process of the designer during the design process.