Renovation of Old Communities with Prefabricated Housing

It is feasible to use prefabricated housing (prefabricated building technology) in the renovation of old communities, but it needs to be advanced in combination with policy requirements and actual conditions.

I. Technical Advantages and Typical Cases

Prefabricated housing involves the factory-based prefabrication of components such as walls and floor slabs, which are then hoisted and assembled on-site. 90% of the processes are completed in the workshop, significantly reducing construction dust and noise. For example, in the renovation project of a 1970s building in Xicheng District, Beijing, 156 prefabricated concrete modules were used, with the main structure capped in 46 days. Residents were able to move back within half a year, and issues such as wall cracking and balcony leakage were resolved. The integrated factory-cast bathrooms and window sub-frames eliminate leakage risks from the source, demonstrating the technology's role in enhancing living quality.

II. Policy Support and Planning Orientation

At the policy level, the construction of new prefabricated panel houses that do not meet safety standards is explicitly prohibited, but the renovation of existing houses is encouraged. Qinghai Province's 15th Five-Year Plan proposes to complete the renovation of 150,000 old urban communities by 2030, prioritizing projects involving public safety and people's livelihood protection. Due to its short construction period and low pollution, prefabricated housing technology has become an important way to realize the expectation of "good houses" in urban renewal. In addition, Guangzhou requires all newly built residential buildings to adopt prefabricated construction from 2026 onwards, and nearly 70% of newly built buildings in Hunan in the first four months were prefabricated, indicating strong policy support for technology promotion.

III. Market Development and Industry Challenges

Industry data shows that the newly built prefabricated building area in China will reach 1.61 billion square meters in 2025, with a market size of approximately 1.34 trillion yuan, and it will still maintain a growth rate of nearly 10% in 2026, indicating huge market potential. However, the technology still faces two major challenges:

1. High cost: It is 10%-20% higher than traditional processes, limiting the application of some projects;
2. Lack of unified industry chain standards: Some developers only make basic prefabricated floor slabs and do not truly implement integrated kitchen and bathroom and prefabricated decoration systems, affecting the overall efficiency of the technology.

IV. Applicable Conditions and Implementation Suggestions

The use of prefabricated housing technology in the renovation of old communities should meet the following conditions:

• Policy compliance: Ensure that the renovation plan complies with local requirements for prefabricated buildings;
• Matching residents' needs: Prioritize the resolution of livelihood issues such as leakage and structural safety;
• Cost-effectiveness balance: Reduce unit costs through large-scale application or seek policy subsidies;
• Industry chain collaboration: Promote the standardization of the entire chain of design, production, and construction to avoid the phenomenon of "semi-prefabricated" construction.