Architecture-lovers know this trend quite well, but for those who are unfamiliar with prefabricated buildings, worry less; we’ll fill you in! Basically, when you hear the term “pre-fabricated building,” think of it as several factory-built units or components that are then built on the site to complete the building.
The pieces are already made and then usually shipped to another location to be assembled into one building. Pretty cool, right? The building is almost fully constructed before it even gets to the site and becomes a building. Many prefer it because it cuts construction time down dramatically.
Whereas you can make your own prefab buildings, such as a garages or little cabins, there is much debate about whether tall prefab buildings are the answer for the future. Although they seem like a great idea now, will they be as durable as the buildings constructed traditionally? More research is still being done on this subject.
Some examples of major prefab buildings include the T30 Hotel in China.When we first heard that this hotel was built in just TWO weeks, we almost didn’t believe it. It literally takes months and years to build an entire condo building, so how is someone doing it in two weeks?! Well, it’s true. Broad Sustainable Building is a pro and with the help of 200 workers, a 30 storey tower was built in just about 360 hours or 15 days. Follow this link to watch a timelapse video of the build.
Another example that we’re still waiting on to be built is Sky City, also in China. It would be the world’s tallest prefab building, and will be the sustainable solution to accommodate China’s ever growing population. This building houses 92 elevators, basketball courts, tennis courts, swimming pools, theatres, and vertical organic farms. The belief is that it’s better to build a city vertically, than take up valuable road space and surrounding area. It’s estimated to take less than six months to build the tower.
Wanna know who else uses prefabricated structures for their buildings? McDonald’s! That’s exactly why you sometimes see a McDonald’s pop up in less than a week!