Prefabricated Construction Market: Interesting Success Stories Across the World As per a McKinsey & Company article, construction has lagged behind other sectors for decades in terms of productivity. Prefabricated construction offers a welcoming change – shifting several aspects of building activities away from conventional construction sites into factories. According to Inkwood Research, the global prefabricated construction market is set to reach $269.02 billion by 2032, projecting a CAGR of 8.70% during 2023-2032. Prefabricated construction, with its origins in post First World War period and European colonial period, is not a novel concept. However, changing mindsets, economic demands, and technological advancements have enabled unprecedented investment and interest in prefabricated construction. If optimized, prefabricated construction could facilitate an enormous productivity boost in the construction industry, solving major and minor housing crises. Our blog examines two interesting success stories of prefabricated construction from around the world.
1. Time is Life: Wuhan Huishenshan Hospital China built in Seven Days Wuhan City, Hubei Province, bore the largest brunt of the pandemic in China. The Wuhan municipal government proposed to follow the 'XiaotangshanHospital' model built in Beijing during SARS 2003. The Huishenshan Hospital project adopted the integrated reinforced concrete movable slab house equipped with bathing and toilet facilities and the pre-processing standardized production mode. The project was designed by CITIC Architectural Design Institute. It was designed in 24 hours and delivered in 7 days. Over 500 construction machinery and equipment and 1500 construction personnel were put together with a reserve team of around 2000 people to ensure the construction was carried out 24 hours a day. Built between January 23 and February 2, 2020, Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital became a national attention project due to its construction efficiency, recognized and acknowledged by international communities. The project reflected the resilience of the construction industry alongside healthcare during COVID-19. Further, the project adopted the 'three sides' mode, i.e., survey, design, and construction, significantly reducing each stage's processing time. It adopted the prefabricated movable board house method to produce installation, transportation, and prefabrication. Keeping time constraints in check, many semi-finished materials or products were used. For instance, a prefabricated movable board equipped with basic decoration, reserved wires & cables, and suspended ceiling and ground PVC. The first batches of box-type prefabricated houses were upraised from January 27, whereas the hosting of prefabricated houses was completed on January 31. Over 600 box-type prefabricated houses were installed in approximately 100 hours. Moreover, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau used Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology for Huishenshan Hospital construction. The central application points were the use of BIM for modular design and construction site layout. Also, the BIM model simulated the project's