SUBS #0:
Introduction and
General Information

I am writing articles on the Simple Universal Building System [SUBS].  To date, articles 1 through 9 have appeared.  All titles start with "SUBS#".   More articles are planned.

SUBS is:

SIMPLE
It is a modular panelized system for building . . . just about anything.
It is constructed of simple elements that bolt together to assemble structures.
The basic design unit is six inches, so all dimensions are even multiples of six inches.
Surfaces are rectangles which can be tiled with six inch squares.
[Curved system extensions will come later.]
The typical basic panel is 4'x8' but fractional and larger panels in six inch increments are included.
The basic panel is six inches thick, but multiple thickness are included.
Panel lengths in even multiples of width allow elegant geometrical combinations.
Doors and windows are framed into standard size panels which are simply bolted into a building.
Air conditioners and so forth can be simply built into standard size bolt-in panels.
Panels bolt to each other or to six inch square-ring metal connectors.
Bolt holes are always at the center of the six inch squares.
Designing a building is a simple matter of selecting standard components to bolt together.
This is so simple to do that small designs can be created in you mind without paper or computers.
Panels easily unbolt, so a building can be disassembled, redesigned, moved, or reassembled as desired without destroying any of the shell "framing."
Bolt-in remodeling can be as simple as: move the door from here to there, and add a window in that wall.
This transforms buildings into a recycleable reusable flexible "plastic" commodity.

UNIVERSAL
The basic design is easily built of 3/4" plywood skin on normal 2"x6" framing.
However, the geometry is completely abstract and universal, so it could also be executed in metal, fiberglass, bamboo composite, or any other material useful for a particular purpose.
Panel skin-thickness and framing members would vary depending on the material and application, but all variations conform to the universal design geometry, and can be bolted up with any other system component.
This allows for total mix and match of any components within the system.

There are NO "technical" breakthroughs in the system.  It requires no new or exotic materials, although they may be very useful in extending the limits of the system.  It can easily be constructed with plywood, framing lumber, glue, nails or screws, nuts, bolts, washers, and simple steel connectors.   The newest and most "exotic" of these components is plywood, which has been around for hundreds of years.  "Modern" spiral peeled douglas fir plywood has been produced commercially since 1905.  There is NOTHING essential to SUBS which could not have been designed and constructed 50, 100, or even 200 years ago.   ["Architects," please take note!]

The major breakthroughs are in the DESIGN CONCEPT and the UNIVERSAL GEOMETRY: the MIND, NOT THE MATTER.

Rigidly interlocked continuous X, Y and Z-coordinate plane surfaces provide ENORMOUS strength in ALL directions.  Optional triangulating planes, such as roof surfaces, interlock rigidly with orthogonal planes.  This creates a monocoque building with closed-cell internal honeycomb structure BUILT LIKE A BATTLESHIP [which is a honeycomb box beam . . . with pointy ends].

Varying the thicknesses of panel skins, framing members, bolts, and steel connectors allows for a wide variation of strength WITHOUT CHANGING THE DESIGN GEOMETRY.  To make a component stronger you do NOT change its external bolt-up dimensions.  If you want to make a building MUCH stronger, you simply switch to an integral multiple of panel thicknesses in the universal standard design geometry.

The standardization of components into a relatively few simple units allows a building to be entirely factory manufactured in MASS PRODUCED PIECES which are simply ASSEMBLED on site by bolting together.

The universal geometry allows components to bolt and unbolt with enormous flexibility, allowing incredible design freedom.  INFINITELY many different buildings can be assembled from the simple catalog of standard components.

Try it . . . you'll like it.

Bill Dur <billdur@net-prophet.net>

modular.systems * Simple Universal Building System * "Superior By Design"