Mass customization in industrialized housing production

Beginning from the mid 20?th Century, consumer oriented production approaches have replaced the early motives of mass production which helped mass customization term came forward. By means of widespread use of information technologies, the mass customization approach aimed to position the consumer and his preferences directly in production processes with the help of consumer participation methods and product configuration tools. Today mass customization applications are being widely used in the varying production sectors such as computer electronics, automotive or apparel industries. In this theisis it is aimed to adapt the mass customisation approach into housing production processes as an adaptability tool. It has been long that varying researches about housing production started in order to provide adaptability during pre-occupancy and occupancy stages. In this research, house as a product system consisting of related sub-systems within a housing market; is being searched as a consumer product which may be cuztomized in the pre-ocuppancy stage with the help of mass customization approach. In this context housing industry is analyzed upon consumer oriented industrialisation and customization concepts. To do that, firstly adaptability and user participation approaches are discussed. Then the mass customization approach is adapted in the housing industry as a tool for adaptability. On the local basis, housing production in Turkey is explored within historical context at first, and then varying housing production approaches are studied upon flexibility and user participation. In the field study it has been focused on the mass customization approach used in the production processes of the high-end multi-story housing in İstanbul. In order to search the level of mass customization provided in these housing areas, two surveys have been conducted; first with the producers, second with the potential buyers. With the comparement of the data obtained it was possible to analyse the mass customization level on supply and demand basis. The results which were reached by the help of literature and field study are discussed, and suggestions are generated in the final part. With the help of the data and results obtained, it has been seen that in the building and housing industry, consumer oriented production and mass customization approaches are improving and providing potential for adaptability. On the other hand by means of field study, which was realized with the high-end housing producers and potential home buyers, it has been confirmed that mass customization approach of the analyzed producers is used for providing variety and adaptability mainly on finishing and equipment levels despite the fact that most of survey participants have customization expectation on spatial organization level.Keywords: Mass production, user centered design, mass customization, consumer oriented industrialization in housing production.