Lego-style Prefabricated House Panels

Although both 'Lego-style houses' and prefabricated panel houses embody the concept of modular construction, there are fundamental differences in their technical approaches and performance.

1. Concept and Origin

Prefabricated panel houses are built around factory-made cement components (prefabricated panels), assembled on-site. Their history can be traced back to the early 20th century, with many residential buildings constructed in China before 1985 using this structure. In contrast, 'Lego-style houses' represent modern modular integration technology, exemplified by companies like China State Construction Hailong. They utilize full-cycle BIM design to break down buildings into independent units, enabling the industrial prefabrication of all elements, including structure, decoration, and utilities, which are then assembled on-site into complete buildings.

2. Technical Implementation

• Prefabricated Panel Houses: Primarily rely on single cement components (solid or hollow prefabricated panels), formed by nailing wooden models, laying out steel bars, and pouring cement. On-site assembly depends on manual alignment and fixation, with relatively basic technology.
• Lego-style Modular Houses: Integrate digital design (BIM technology) with the entire assembly-based industrial chain. Over 90% of the processes are completed in the factory, including structural reinforcement, interior and exterior decoration, and pipeline embedding of modules. On-site work only involves lifting and connecting, with minimal construction errors.

3. Performance and Advantages

• Prefabricated Panel Houses: Suffer from weak earthquake resistance, poor sound and thermal insulation, a lifespan of about 30-50 years, high solid waste emissions, and construction periods significantly affected by on-site conditions.
• Lego-style Modular Houses: Significantly enhance building quality stability through industrial prefabrication and precise assembly, offering superior earthquake resistance, sound and thermal insulation compared to traditional structures. They also reduce solid waste emissions by 75%, shorten construction periods by 60%, and are more environmentally friendly and efficient during construction.

4. Core Differences

Traditional prefabricated panel houses focus on 'single-component assembly,' with technology remaining at the basic industrial stage. In contrast, modern Lego-style modular houses achieve 'industrial prefabrication of all building elements,' forming a complete construction system that integrates digital design, efficient production, and precise assembly, representing an advanced stage of building industrialization.