Prefabricated Assembled Housing

Prefabricated assembled housing is a building form that uses industrially produced building components assembled on-site. It offers advantages such as short construction periods and controllable quality, with main types including panel-assembled, box-assembled, and frame-assembled structures.

Main Types and Technical Characteristics

The core types of prefabricated assembled housing fall into three categories:

1. Panel-Assembled: Using prefabricated wall panels and floor slabs as key components, the building's main structure is formed through on-site assembly. Its advantage lies in expanding indoor usable area, though it has lower design flexibility and is suitable for standardized residential or factory buildings.
2. Box-Assembled: The building is divided into independent functional units (such as bathroom and kitchen modules), which are internally fitted and piped in the factory before being transported to the site for assembly. Construction speed increases by 50%-70% compared to traditional methods, but it requires higher transportation and lifting equipment, often used for temporary buildings or rapid-delivery projects.
3. Frame-Assembled: Using prefabricated beams, columns, and floor slabs to form a frame structure, which is connected on-site via bolts or welding. This type offers excellent earthquake resistance and is suitable for high-rise buildings or complex structural projects.

Technically, it covers prefabricated concrete structures and steel structures, with components including prefabricated beams, slabs, walls, and columns. Modular construction, as a more integrated model, prefabricates ceilings, floors, plumbing, and electrical systems entirely in the factory, enabling extremely efficient on-site assembly. For example, a residential project in Shanghai adopted this model and reduced its construction period by over 60%.

Advantages and Application Cases

Compared to traditional construction methods, prefabricated assembled housing offers significant advantages:

• Short Construction Period: A social housing project in Shenzhen, Guangdong, used 6,028 concrete modules for assembly, reducing the completion and delivery time from 2.5-3 years to just 1 year.
• Controllable Quality: Factory-standardized production minimizes human error, with component precision reaching the millimeter level.
• Energy Efficiency and Environmental Protection: On-site labor is reduced by about 50%, significantly lowering noise, dust, construction waste, and traffic congestion—factors that disrupt local communities.

Typical cases include:

• Nanjing Jindi Yufang Project: Utilized a prestressed prefabricated concrete integrated frame structure system, validating the feasibility of frame-assembled structures in high-rise buildings.
• Overseas Exports: In the first four months of 2026, the Guangzhou Customs district exported movable houses worth 1.4 billion yuan, a 38.1% year-on-year increase, demonstrating the competitiveness of Chinese prefabricated housing in the international market.

Development History and Policy Support

China's prefabricated concrete technology began in the 1950s, initially applied to factory and residential construction. In the 1970s, under the policy of promoting "industrialization, standardization, and mechanization" in construction, technical systems such as large-panel and box structures emerged. By the mid-1980s, the industry stagnated due to cost and quality issues. In the 21st century, it revived thanks to production efficiency and environmental advantages, with companies like Vanke Group developing prefabricated shear-wall residential structural systems to drive technological iteration.