Prefabricated Components for Housing Construction

Prefabricated components for housing construction are products related to a building form that involves industrial production of building components and on-site assembly. They cover a variety of types and technologies, offering significant advantages and having a wide range of applications.

I. Definition and Types Prefabricated components for housing construction mainly fall into two categories: First, prefabricated assembled buildings, which include panel-assembled types (using prefabricated wall panels and floor slabs as core components to expand usable area), box-assembled types (combining prefabricated functional units to increase construction speed by 50%-70%), and frame-assembled types (such as the prestressed prefabricated concrete assembled integral frame structural system). Second, modular buildings, as a more integrated model, break down buildings into independent unit modules, which are prefabricated in factories and then assembled on-site, reducing construction time by more than 60% compared to traditional buildings.

II. Technologies Covered Prefabricated component technologies cover prefabricated concrete structures and steel structures, with component types including prefabricated beams, slabs, walls, columns, and other products. For example, the Nanjing Jindi Yufang project adopted a prestressed prefabricated concrete assembled integral frame structural system, demonstrating the combined application of steel and concrete structures.

III. Development History China's prefabricated concrete technology began in the 1950s, initially applied in factory and residential construction. In the 1970s, driven by the policy of "industrialization, standardization, and mechanization" in construction, technical systems such as large-panel structures and box structures were formed. In the mid-1980s, the technology stagnated due to cost and quality issues. After the 21st century, it recovered due to production efficiency and environmental advantages, with companies like Vanke Group developing assembled shear-wall residential structural systems to drive technological iteration.

IV. Advantages

1. Construction Time and Quality: Modular buildings have short construction times and controllable quality, reducing construction time by more than 60%. Panel-assembled and box-assembled types optimize efficiency by expanding usable area and increasing construction speed (50%-70%), respectively.
2. Environmental Protection and Market: Domestically produced prefabricated components have gained increasing recognition in overseas markets due to their advantages of rapid delivery, environmental protection, energy efficiency, and strong adaptability. For example, Fujian Province has established industrial bases with policy support, achieving a reduction in construction waste of more than 70%.

V. Application

1. Domestic: Policy-driven industrial base construction has shown significant results in reducing construction waste, as seen in Fujian Province.
2. Foreign: Exports of Chinese-made prefabricated houses have grown rapidly. In the first four months of 2026, Guangzhou Customs reported exports of mobile homes worth 1.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.1%. Huangpu Customs supervised exports of modular houses worth 548 million yuan, a 7.3-fold increase year-on-year. Shenzhen Customs data showed that enterprises across the country exported mobile homes worth 1.68 billion yuan through Shenzhen ports, covering more than 150 countries and regions. In terms of corporate cases, Guangdong CIMC Construction Manufacturing Co., Ltd.'s products cover a diverse range of categories such as high-end office buildings and hotels, with a market presence in more than 20 countries and an average annual output value of 77.458 million yuan. Jiangmen CIMC Digital Energy Equipment Co., Ltd.'s modular data center business has delivered projects with a total installed capacity of over 1,000 megawatts, covering regions such as Malaysia, Indonesia, the Middle East, and Italy.