Prefabricated House

Prefabricated houses are commonly known as 'prefab houses' or modular buildings, referring to a construction mode where buildings are disassembled into independent modules, prefabricated in factories, and then transported to the site for assembly.

Construction Process and Characteristics

The core of prefab houses lies in 'factory prefabrication + on-site assembly'. Components such as ceilings, floors, and water and electricity pipelines are all prefabricated on factory assembly lines. Some projects even incorporate detailed processes like wall installation and waterproofing into the factory's overall assembly环节 (assembly process). For example, the CSCEC Hailong Intelligent Construction Industrial Park in Shenzhen, Guangdong, completes module assembly using welding manipulators and highly automated equipment, with on-site assembly being as simple as 'building with blocks'. This mode transfers wet construction processes (such as concrete pouring) that traditionally need to be completed on-site to factories, significantly improving construction efficiency.

Core Advantages

1. Short Construction Period: The construction cycle of modular buildings is more than 60% shorter than that of traditional buildings. Taking a public housing project in Shenzhen as an example, five residential buildings nearly 100 meters high were assembled from 6,028 concrete modules, with the completion and delivery time compressed from 2.5 - 3 years to 1 year.
2. Controllable Quality: Each module is equipped with a detailed 'ID card' recording information such as the project name, product model, and production date. The design precision is measured in millimeters, and the positions of steel bars and component errors are strictly controlled through digital technology, avoiding human deviations in on-site construction.
3. Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection: Factory prefabrication reduces on-site wet construction, significantly lowering pollution such as noise, dust, construction waste, and traffic congestion. According to statistics, modular buildings can reduce on-site waste by about 70%, aligning with the development trend of green buildings.
4. Convenient Maintenance: Modular design makes maintenance more flexible. Individual components can be quickly replaced when damaged, and the application scenarios have expanded from residential buildings to diversified fields such as nursing homes and temporary hospitals.

Mainstream Forms and Technical Paths

Prefab houses are mainly divided into three forms: steel structure, concrete, and wood. Chinese enterprises have comparative advantages in the steel structure and concrete fields: steel structure modules are lightweight and suitable for ocean shipping and high-rise buildings; concrete modules are closer to the traditional living experience and have higher acceptance in the domestic market. For example, the modular nursing homes purchased by the UK from China adopt a steel structure. After 63 modules were shipped from China to the UK, on-site hoisting was completed in just two weeks, highlighting the global application potential of prefab houses.

Market Development and International Recognition

Prefab houses have become a new growth point for China's construction exports. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that China's prefabricated building exports nearly tripled from 2015 to 2025, with a growth rate of 45% in the first quarter of 2026. Countries such as the UK and Singapore have quickly addressed housing shortages and emergency construction needs by purchasing Chinese prefab houses, further promoting the international promotion of modular buildings.