Frank Nolan

Frank Nolan

MArch Student Architecture

decorative image for the presentation

Tech Tower:

Re-framing Skyscraper Design, Construction, and Industrial Workflows

This thesis investigates whether advanced design and construction technologies, specifically digital workflows, prefabrication, and robotic assembly (both off- and on-site), can improve the economic feasibility of high-rise development in Tier-2 real estate markets

Focusing on a mixed-use prototype tower on Market Street in Philadelphia, the project reframes skyscraper construction as an industrialized process, rather than a bespoke, site-assembled craft. The central hypothesis is that integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM), parametric modeling, off-site fabrication, and on-site robotic assembly can significantly reduce cost, shorten construction schedules, and improve quality and safety. These efficiencies have the potential to narrow the performance gap between Tier-2 markets such as Philadelphia and Tier-1 cities like New York and Chicago, where economic returns often justify tall building construction. The study synthesizes precedent research, ranging from Japanese automated “skyscraper factories” to contemporary initiatives such as DFAB House, to examine both the technological advantages and limitations of industrialized building. The building’s form, structural and MEP systems, and envelope are shaped by prefabrication and digitally coordinated assembly workflows. The project operates as a prototype that tests how industrialized processes impact a building’s economic performance. While Philadelphia’s broader industrial context provides a plausible ecosystem for implementation, the primary contribution of this thesis is methodological: demonstrating how neo-industrial workflows can become drivers in both the AEC industry and in the economy.