What is a Prefabricated Panel Structure House

A prefabricated panel structure house is a house built primarily with prefabricated panels, which are industrially produced and assembled on-site.

Structure and Types

Prefabricated panels are cement components manufactured in factories. During production, a wooden mold is first nailed together, then steel bars are arranged and cement is poured to form the panel. These panels come in two types: solid and hollow. The hollow structure achieves lightweighting by reducing the non-load-bearing concrete, lowering material usage and the building's self-weight while maintaining load-bearing capacity.

Construction Characteristics

Prefabricated panel houses adopt an industrial production model. Wall panels, floor panels, and other components are prefabricated in factories and then transported to the construction site for assembly piece by piece using equipment like cranes. This construction method significantly shortens the construction cycle and is more efficient compared to traditional on-site pouring methods. For example, the housing allocation for unit employees widely used from the 1960s to the 1990s often adopted this rapid construction model.

Historical Applications and Issues

This building form was widely applied in the mid-to-late 20th century but has obvious drawbacks:

• Poor earthquake resistance: The strength of the connection nodes between components is limited, making them prone to separation or collapse under seismic action;
• Insufficient durability: Over long-term use, cracks can easily appear at the joints between prefabricated panels and walls due to material shrinkage or foundation settlement, affecting structural safety;
• Functional limitations: Early design standards were relatively low, and some houses have issues such as unreasonable floor plans and aging pipelines.

Renovation and Demolition Policies

For old prefabricated panel houses, the state adopts a classified disposal strategy:

• Renovation as the priority: For non-dangerous houses with reasonable maintenance costs, measures such as structural reinforcement, pipeline updates, and elevator installations are taken to improve living quality. For example, after renovation in a residential area in Fengtai, Beijing, the seismic resistance of the houses was upgraded to Level 8, with residents only bearing 30% of the costs and the rest subsidized by the government;
• Demolition conditions: The 2025 new regulations specify that only three types of houses need to be demolished:
  1. Houses identified as dangerous at the prefectural level;
  2. "Stubborn houses" that hinder urban planning implementation;
  3. Houses over 25 years old with maintenance costs higher than reconstruction costs.
     Currently, about 80% of old prefabricated panel houses are renovated, and the demolition ratio is strictly controlled.