Prefabricated House Basics

Prefabricated houses are a form of construction where building components are industrially produced and assembled on-site, featuring various types, technical characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, with broad application scenarios and significant market potential.

Types and Technologies

Based on assembly methods, prefabricated houses mainly include panel-assembled, box-assembled, and frame-assembled types. In terms of form, there are steel, concrete, and wooden structures. Chinese companies have significant advantages in steel and concrete structures. Steel structures are lightweight and suitable for ocean transportation and high-rise buildings, while concrete structures offer a more traditional living experience and are well-accepted in the domestic market. The technologies cover prefabricated concrete and steel structures, with components including prefabricated products such as beams, slabs, walls, and columns.

Development History

Prefabricated houses originated in the early 20th century, with China's prefabricated concrete technology beginning in the 1950s, initially used for factory and residential construction. In the 1970s, driven by the policy of 'industrialization, standardization, and mechanization' in construction, technical systems such as large-panel and box structures were formed. By the mid-1980s, the industry stagnated due to cost and quality issues. However, in the 21st century, it has revived due to production efficiency and environmental advantages. Companies like Vanke Group have developed prefabricated shear wall residential structural systems and applied prefabricated frame technologies in projects.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages: Short construction period, with modular buildings reducing the time by over 60% compared to traditional construction; high quality, with prefabricated components having millimeter-level precision and regular prefabricated concrete or steel structures capable of withstanding seismic intensities up to magnitude 8; environmentally friendly, reducing noise, dust, and other nuisances at construction sites, and cutting construction waste by over 70%; low lifecycle costs, with the comprehensive cost of a 200-square-meter light steel structure being lower than that of brick-and-mortar, and steel structures having a long service life and high recycling rate. Disadvantages: Limited design flexibility, with panel-assembled and modular buildings making it difficult to adjust floor plans and utility lines according to lifestyle changes; high transportation requirements, with box-assembled types demanding advanced transportation and lifting equipment.

Application Scenarios and Market

Application scenarios continue to expand, such as in affordable housing projects. Chinese-made prefabricated houses are selling well overseas, with Guangzhou Customs reporting exports of movable houses worth 1.4 billion yuan in the first four months of 2026, a 38.1% year-on-year increase, and Shenzhen Port reporting exports worth 1.68 billion yuan, a 19.6% increase. According to market research institutions, the global modular construction market is expected to exceed 142.8 billion USD by 2030.