ABSTRACT
To assess the fitness of a material, product or structure for an identified use has been the task of architects, engineers and other constructors throughout the centuries. Few have done it systematically. In the 1930s, the Building Research Station developed a set of functional criteria against which to assess systems of flat construction. The criteria were elaborated in 1942:
to investigate alternative systems of house construction used in inter-war years, and to advise on such methods as may be capable of application or suitable for development in the post-war period.
