Prefabricated Building Prefab House

Prefabricated building prefab houses are a form of construction that involves industrial production of building components and on-site assembly. They have various types, technical systems, and significant advantages, with a long development history in China and have even expanded overseas.

Main Types

• Panel-based Prefabrication: This type uses prefabricated wall panels and floor slabs as core components. It can expand the usable area but has certain limitations in design flexibility. For example, it is commonly used in construction projects with relatively fixed and simple spatial layout requirements.
• Box-based Prefabrication: It combines prefabricated functional units. Its notable feature is a significant increase in construction speed, which can be improved by 50% - 70%. However, it has high requirements for transportation and lifting equipment, necessitating corresponding large-scale transportation and lifting capabilities for successful assembly.
• Modular Construction: It is a more highly integrated model within prefabricated construction. It highly integrates and prefabricates the building's functional modules, further improving construction efficiency and quality.

Technical Systems

It covers prefabricated concrete structures and steel structures, with components including prefabricated products such as beams, slabs, walls, and columns. Different structural systems are suitable for different construction scenarios and requirements. Steel structures have advantages such as high strength and light weight, making them suitable for large-span buildings. Concrete structures, on the other hand, have good durability and fire resistance.

Development History

China's prefabricated concrete technology began in the 1950s and was initially applied to factory and residential construction. In the 1970s, driven by the policy of construction "industrialization, mechanization, and prefabrication," technical systems such as large-panel structures and box structures were formed. In the mid-1980s, it stagnated due to cost and quality defects. After the 21st century, it recovered due to production efficiency and environmental advantages. Companies like Vanke Group developed prefabricated shear wall residential structural systems and applied prefabricated frame technology in projects. For example, the Nanjing Jindi Yufang project adopted a prestressed prefabricated concrete assembled integral frame structural system.

Practical Applications

There are fully prefabricated residential samples in Zhejiang Province. Their prefabricated components are of a panel structure, connected by mechanical bolts, and use sandwich insulation materials inside, improving the building's thermal insulation performance and living comfort. In addition, Chinese-made prefab houses are selling well overseas. According to customs data, in the first four months of 2026, the Guangzhou Customs District exported movable houses worth 1.4 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.1%.