The Delft architecture firm, cepezed, claims to use an integral design method with multiple material use in which various aspects such as spatial design, construction and installation techniques are forged into an indivisible whole. cepezed preferes construction elements which are prefabricated, wherever possible. The application of components produced industrially and under controlled production circumstances has a favorable effect on both the functionality and sustainability of buildings, and also offers great gains in the domain of process control. It leads to less use of materials and less transport, demountability and in this way is a strong contribution to climate oriented architecture.

For future façades we can expect a higher grade of adaptability and the integration of building service components. High quality standards, laws and regulations, the certification and warranties will lead to an even be more product-driven approach. From the architectonic point of view this leads to applications of systems rather than free compositions of materials. cepezed embraces a product-oriented architectural thinking and in this sense their work is an interesting contribution to this book.

This essay by Els Zijlstra is an excerpt of the book on the work of cepezed – entitled Prototypes, published by 010 publishers in 2007 and shortlisted for the RIBA Book Awards 2008 for excellent writing on architecture.