Prefabricated Construction in the Residential Real Estate Market
March 2025
http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/remav-2025-0004
Abstract
Persistent housing shortages and escalating housing investment costs in numerous countries drive the search for technologies that enable faster, cost-effective housing development. Prefabrication technology has emerged as a promising solution, which enables buildings to be constructed in significantly shorter timeframes compared to traditional methods. This approach utilizes prefabricated structural elements manufactured in controlled factory settings, leading to a substantial reduction in the carbon footprint associated with the construction process.
This study focuses on two primary objectives: 1) Identifying the key factors for integrating prefabricated construction technology into the multifamily housing market, especially within the framework of sustainable development policies and the growing housing gap, and 2) Examining buyer preferences to assess their openness toward prefabricated construction in the multifamily residential market. Identification of the determinants of the implementation of prefabricated technology was carried out based on comprehensive literature review and critique of source documents. Additionally, buyer preference surveys were conducted among residents in post-communist Central and Eastern European countries (Poland, Bulgaria, and Ukraine).
https://blog.prefabium.com/2025/03/prefabricated-construction-in.html
The Monetary and Non-Monetary Impacts of Prefabrication on Construction: The Effects of Product Modularity
April 2022
https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings12040459
Abstract
Prefabrication is rapidly increasing in construction, and previous research has identified various impacts of prefabrication on projects. Modular product architecture is a great enabler for prefabrication; however, practitioners would benefit from more explicit knowledge on the impacts of prefabricated product types with different levels of product modularity. This study investigates the connection between the modularity level and the monetary and non-monetary impacts of prefabricated products. First, the literature on prefabrication and modularity is used to form three propositions which are related to product modularity and the benefits of prefabrication. The level of modularity is considered with two dimensions: the proportion of modules and the module description detail. Second, four prefabricated products are analyzed to test the propositions. The analysis revealed that (1) the level of modularity adopted in the product is directly proportional to the benefits. More specifically, (2) a higher proportion of modules in a project product contributes to higher cost-benefits. On the other hand, (3) prefabricated products with highly detailed module descriptions seem to lead to higher non-monetary benefits, such as better ergonomics and work satisfaction. The study reveals new empirical evidence on the relationship between product modularity and the benefits of prefabricated products. Cost-benefit analysis revealed that even though some prefabricated products could have higher direct costs, the total cost can still be lower than conventional construction when also considering the indirect benefits. Practitioners can utilize the findings when selecting modular and prefabricated products that best fulfil their project objectives.
https://blog.prefabium.com/2022/04/the-monetary-and-non-monetary-impacts.html
Another way of living: The Prefabrication and modularity toward circularity in the architecture
2020
https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/588/4/042048
Abstract
The world requires housing capable of addressing the ecological challenge and social changes. Various architecture projects have used alternatives to solve these problems, like housing complexes to increase density, fast and low-cost constructions with prefabricated and modular methods and materials. The concrete will always be rooted in the culture of architecture, even the industry of construction can work with other materials and whose manufacture produces a considerable amount of CO2. Taking into account the different construction cycles and the evolution of uses and users, a change in architectural culture is required. This paper aims to shows that it is possible to achieve the concept of circularity in the built environment through the architectural design process. The research by design methodology was used to develop the recyclable typology named Slab focused on residential prefabrication methods, which will facilitate their disassembly and recycling. As a result, the design process and the models' evolution of the Slab prototypes are presented in this paper. Prioritizing prefabrication and the modularity within the architectural design process has advantages, such highly effective reduce footprint areas, large-scale infrastructure for flexible use, and individual housing units with communal activities, besides, assure the building conditions for future disassembly and recycle.
https://blog.prefabium.com/2021/08/another-way-of-living-prefabrication.html
Modular Timber Structures
2020
https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/800/1/012033
Abstract
Related to sustainability movement and minimizing the carbon footprint, timber structures are becoming more attractive. Wood, as main structural material, offers many benefits relate mostly to economic and ecological aspects, compared to other materials as steel or concrete. On the other hand, physical characteristics of wood complicate the usage of a timber for high-rise or large-span structures. It brings a new challenge for architects and engineers to deliver feasible solution for usability of timber, despite its features. One of the possible solutions could be implementation of CLT (Cross-Laminate Timber) panels in structural systems developed earlier for buildings made of prefabricated concrete slabs. SOM in cooperation with Oregon State University are currently testing composite slabs made of CLT and thin concrete layer reinforcing the wood and protecting it from fire. Although the system solution looks promising, and could bring the result, slabs limit using of the space in layout. On the other hand, frame structures would be much more efficient. This article comes up with an idea of modular frame structure, which could help to solve the problem. The scheme is based on “gridshell” type systems, where rods form a more efficient shell for dealing with stress forces.
https://blog.prefabium.com/2020/06/modular-timber-structures.html
Prefabricated Material for Modular House
2019
https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/662/4/042020
Abstract
This research identifies prefabricated materials which aim to save time and cost of
making a modular house. The purpose of this study is to provide the best solution for the entire
Indonesian population especially to the government and entrepreneurs who have a project
about housing that there is an appropriate solution to reduce development costs, reduce
development time and reduce the inefficiency of a typical residential house which is certainly
more expensive than modular. Modular housing has a unique system and is certainly fast in the
development process, usually a technology that is paid at a high price, but innovation is not
always expensive. There are various types of modular home systems, but not all systems are
compatible or compatible with climate conditions in Indonesia, but most modular systems are
widely used in Indonesia. This research used descriptive analysis methods to explain the
people growth in Indonesia, that increasingly very fast, so they need more house very fast too,
and the next stage is to explain the prefabrication of materials that are appropriate to the
climate in Indonesia. Besides, this study aims to obtain information on the types of prefabricated
materials that can be used in the manufacture of modular houses and specifications
from pre-fabricated. The results of this study explain that there is a prefabricated material
module system in the form of single and double modules which are used in making modular
houses, depending on the size and type of house. Therefore, this research is useful for architect
and developer in choosing modular materials.
https://blog.prefabium.com/2020/07/prefabricated-material-for-modular-house.html
Advantages of Modularity Applied in Architecture
June 2019
http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/603/3/032019
Abstract
This article intends to explore the concept of modularity, namely its advantages in the application to architecture projects. The world is constantly evolving, there are new needs, and architecture has to know how to respond to it. The choice of this topic rests on a very current theme - although modularity in architecture is not a recent concept, its use is becoming more and more widespread at an increasingly frenetic pace, in which time is quite valuable. Modularity is an interesting concept because of its effectiveness. There are many advantages of this working methodology - which begins at the design stage and is later reflected in its execution - and, therefore, this is an increasingly studied, developed and applied subject. When well applied, the use of modular systems proves to be quite effective. Planning is the keyword which ultimately translates into optimizing the time spent on a project and its execution, thus reducing expenses, through premeditation of problems, and the waste of raw material. The modular architecture is a very functional and appealing concept. Through a practical example in the application of the system in the rehabilitation of a street store to transform it into housing, a closed modular system – thought to be applied in rehabilitation works – is used in order to demonstrate these same advantages. This system consists of all the necessary parts for the rehabilitation of a space – a structure for the floor, the walls and the ceiling, and also includes all technical equipment – without being dependent on other constructive systems and with the advantage of being flexible and non-invasive. This article aims to raise the interest of the scientific community in this subject and to encourage the study and the application of modularity in the day-to-day practice so that in the future its use becomes the most common technique and not the exception.
https://blog.prefabium.com/2020/06/advantages-of-modularity-applied-in.html
Circular Housing Retrofit Strategies and Solutions: Towards Modular, Mass-Customised and 'Cyclable' Retrofit Products
June 2019
https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/290/1/012035
Abstract
The building sector consumes 40 % of resources globally, produces 40 % of global waste and 33 % of CO2 emissions. Creating a circular built environment is therefore of paramount importance to a sustainable society. The housing stock can be made more circular through circular retrofitting. However, strategies and solutions integrating circularity within housing retrofit are lacking.
This paper focusses on developing a circular housing retrofit strategy and solution for Dutch housing constructed between 1970 and 1990. Through literature study, potential circular retrofit approaches are identified and translated into a general strategy. By developing a concrete retrofit solution, we illustrate how this general strategy can be applied in practice.
It is found that in the Dutch context ‘all-in-one’ sustainable retrofits are difficult to realise. By applying modular (allowing component-by-component retrofit), ‘mass-customisable’, and ‘cyclable’ retrofit products, natural maintenance moments can be employed to gradually create a circular housing stock. As an example of such a product we describe the Circular Kitchen (CIK), which was developed together with industry. The CIK applies a plug-and-play design, separating components based on lifespan. The CIK supply-chain arranges ‘relooping’ of the CIK in a ‘return-street’ and ‘return-factory’. The CIK business model applies financial arrangements such as lease and ‘sale-with-deposit’, motivating the return and ‘re-looping’ of the CIK after use.
In conclusion, the strategy presented in this paper has the potential to support circular housing
retrofit in the Dutch context and for housing with similar characteristics. However, development
of more circular retrofit products is necessary to create a fully circular housing stock over time.
https://blog.prefabium.com/2015/07/circular-housing-retrofit-strategies.html
Livingbox Modular Home - typological, constructive and bioclimatic solutions, transportation, customization, environmental impact, thermal efficiency and building automation
June 2014
Abstract
The project of a minimum expandable living unit: LIVINGBOX has been developed at the Laboratory of Building Design of the University of Trento (Italy). It can be used as a minimum dwelling for two people (40.50 m2) or as a hotel room (18 m2 + optional spaces) finished in every detail: interior finishing, furniture and technological systems. The furniture is integrated in walls and the inner space is flexible and changeable. The furniture, the inner spatial organization and the inner and outdoor finishing are customizable. The modular home is built joining two precast modules. The dimensions of a single module are cm 249 x 999 x 300. LIVINGBOX has been designed to minimize the impact of the building on environmental matrixes: water, air, soil. The materials used are natural, recyclable or recycled. It is characterized by extensive use of wood to limit CO2 emission into the atmosphere and it was designed as Zero Energy House. To reach this target it is equipped with systems for producing energy from renewable sources, so as to minimize use of fossil energy. In addition the modular home is a low consumption building. The envelop transmittance value is between 0.20 and 0.25 W/m2
K, and the thermal lag of 10-15 h. To optimize the relationship between comfort and energy consumption LIVINGBOX is equipped with a modular home automation system. A prototype at real scale has been
built as so to verify the real building possibilities. It was displayed in Milano (Italy) at beginning of October 2013 at the “MADE EXPO 2013”. The prototype was transported by 2 trucks from Roma to Milano to Campobasso (more or less 1500 Km) for testing the effective transportability and we could verify no inconvenience or crack on the interior and on the furniture. This is also a real demonstration that it is earthquake resistant building.
https://blog.prefabium.com/2018/10/livingbox-modular-home-transportation.html
1100 sqft Kullman Frame System Modular House, Michigan
| Floor plans |
| Diagram |
| Construction |
| About Garrison Architects |
| Architecture | Garrison Architects |
| Project | Koby Cottage |
| Area | 1,100 sqft |
| Location | Albion, MI, United States |
| Year | 2008 |
This 1100 sqft modular house design is composed of two intersecting diagonal axes centered around social area - dining room as a meeting place. One axis incorporates the bedrooms, the other axis includes the living room and public entry hall. The design consists of two modules and uses new modular technology - Kullman Frame System (KFS), which allows build modular homes of prefabricated steel hollow tube frames. This prefabricated system has capacity to achieve 12 stories height and uses patented connection technology that speeds the overall construction process and minimizes field finishing.
Description by architects
Koby Cottage was designed to accommodate families visiting their children attending a boarding school for troubled teens. Surrounded by nature, it provides a peaceful, private domestic setting for reuniting families.
The eleven hundred square foot cottage has an X-shaped plan formed by joining two prefabricated steel modules. One wing is for parents, the other for their child. A dining table is situated where the two wings cross to create a place for meeting, discussion and to express family bonds. The structure is raised above the ground and the space between the modules is sheathed with glass to show the landscape as continuous and nature as enveloping.
Koby is a prototype constructed using the KFS (Kullman Frame System), an extremely strong and efficient modular space frame consisting of hollow tubular steel that allows for large cantilevers and window openings. The structural system was developed for the construction of multi-story modular buildings. Its tubular steel space frame has the unique capacity to achieve heights of twelve stories using patented connections that minimize field finishing and speed the overall construction process. The cottage features a high level of craftsmanship and detail as well as number of high performance components.
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Prefab SIP Panel House
Built with Structural Insulated Panels (SIP), this prefab SIP panel house is conceived as an attempt to achieve a maximum optimization of dimensional and structural qualities of this construction material. This modular house was built in 10 days with 40 split-level panels (21 cm x 488 cm x 122 cm) and 71 wall panels (11.4 cm x 244 cm x 122 cm). The SIP panels exposed on the facade are fashioned as terraces on the third and second floors.
Design: Alejandro Soffia, Gabriel Rudolphy
Area: 139 sqm
Year: 2011
Location: Santo Domingo, Chile
Photography: Felipe Fontecilla
Modular Prefab Elevated Home on Stilts, Maryland
| Floor plans |
| About Kieran Timberlake Associates |
| Design | Kieran Timberlake Associates |
| Project | Loblolly House |
| Area | 2,200 square feet |
| Assemble Time | 6 weeks |
| Year | 2006 |
| Location | Taylors Island, Maryland |
| Photography | Barry Halkin, Peter Aaron / Esto, Halkin Photography |
Awards
AIA Institute Honor Award
AIA Housing Award
AIA Pennsylvania Honor Award
AIA Philadelphia Gold Medal
AIA TAP BIM Award
Architect R+D Award
Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award and International Architecture Award
EPA Lifecycle Building Challenge
World Architecture Festival (shortlisted)
This modular prefab elevated home on stilts is composed entirely of ready-made components and off-site manufactured elements, assembled in less than six weeks. The install process begins with off-site manufactured ceiling and floor panels. They distribute cold and hot water, radiant heating, waste water, electricity and ventilation through the building. Fully integrated mechanical room and bathroom modules are lifted into planned position. Wall panels containing insulation, structure, windows, exterior rain screen and interior finishes complete the cladding.
Description from architects
How can we holistically transform the way we make architecture, compressing the construction timespan and making use of technology to create a truly sustainable, aesthetically moving shelter?
Loblolly House was inspired by the childhood urge to build tree houses. An effort to bring back the magic of a house in the trees — one that requires climbing up to gain a view — Loblolly House appeals to a primal instinct about how we inhabit space. It also represents a home that is uniquely integrated with its setting among the tall loblolly pines from which it takes its name.
Site
Positioned between a dense grove of pines and a lush foreground of saltmeadow cordgrass leading to the bay, the prefab modular elevated home on stilts is formed about and within the elements of trees, tall grasses, the sea, the horizon, the sky, and the western sun. The skewed piles upon which the foundation rests mimic the form of the forest, fusing the natural elements of this barrier island to architectural form.
Loblolly House also reflects an environmental ethic; by lifting it off the ground, we ensure that it touches the site very lightly. Our desire in conceiving this stilt home was to reimagine what was possible in the realm of building — with the intention to improve the productivity of design and construction, enhance affordability and quality, and do so in an ethical and aesthetically moving manner.
Fabrication
Most houses are built from thousands of parts, which are transported separately to the construction site and pieced together by hand — a process of extraordinary duration, cost, and environmental impact. With the prefab home made from pre-built modules, by contrast, we wanted to use integrated assemblies of those parts, fabricated off site, to build a house in an entirely different way. Specification was no longer structured around the 50 divisions of the Construction Specifications Institute traditionally used to organize the multitude of parts. Instead, the conception and detailing were formed about four new elements of architecture: scaffold, cartridge, block, and equipment. The connections between elements were designed to be made using only simple hand tools.
Each element — and its junctures with other elements — was first digitally modeled to an exquisite level of detail. At the time, in 2004, parametric modeling software was in its nascent stages and required significant effort, but its use ensured that elements fabricated simultaneously would fit together perfectly. The assemblies were then fabricated off site, anticipating their attachment to the aluminum scaffold system that would eventually support and connect them. Unlike a traditional building process, in which construction must happen sequentially from the ground up, with the prefab home made from pre-built modules, the various elements could be prepared at the same time, shifting 70 percent of the effort to the factory. All of the modular prefab elevated home's systems were pre-integrated into the floor and ceiling panels, termed smart cartridges, to distribute radiant heating, hot and cold water, waste water, ventilation, and electricity throughout the prefab elevated house on stilts.
Assembly
At the Taylors Island site, the building began with traditional, site-based preparation of the foundation. However, once the aluminum frame was in place, the assembly process could continue apace. Floor and ceiling cartridges and pre-built modules — including entire bathrooms and mechanical blocks — were lifted and fitted into place. Exterior wall panels containing structure, insulation, windows, interior finishes, and a wood rain screen of western red cedar completed the cladding. From the platform up, the prefab home made from pre-built modules was assembled in less than six weeks.
As you approach this modular stilt home from the 800-foot-long drive in the afternoon, when the sun shifts to the west, you can see a mysterious glow at its center: the orange glass of the footbridge connecting the main house to the guest quarters. Like its perch amidst the trees, this is one of the elements of magic to the structure of the prefab elevated house on stilts, accentuating the daily ritual of the passing of the sun. With this project, we wanted not only to envision anew the process of design and construction, embedding within it an environmental ethic, but also to create a house that evokes the extraordinary natural world that is its home.
Modern white prefabricated home design, Italy
This modern white refabricated home design (Italy) born from the notion that the house should be a manifestation of function, environmental responsibility, fashion, elegance and poetry in life. This open, modern concept house features futuristic edge with a minimalist interiors, because everyday living should never be boring, but simple.
Design: Subissati
Small one bedroom modular building
This complete small modular building offers a living room, a kitchen room, a bedroom and a separate bathroom. The house fits on semi truck trailer and can be transported just about anywhere. The 280 SF modular unit come with all the essentials appliances. It is pre-plumbed, pre-wired and ready to plug in.
Design: Modular Dwellings
weeHouse - Modern Prefab Homes by Alchemy Architects
Marfa weeHouse - 440 sq ft 1 Bedroom Modern Prefab Home, Texas
| Installation |
| Floor plans, Drawings |
| Video |
| About Alchemy Architects |
| Project | Marfa weeHouse |
| Design and manufacture | Alchemy |
| Location | Texas, United States |
| Area | 440 sq ft |
| Bedroom | 1 |
| Year | 2007 |
| Photos | Scott Ervin |
AIA Honor Awards
Small Projects 2011
This 440 sq ft 1 bedroom prefab home serves as a simple retreat space on the beautiful remote area outside an arts colony in Texas. It is the first of three prefab modules that are planned to install for the site. The module installed complete with an outdoor shed and a fully finished exterior and interior, leaving only sun-shielding canopies, decks and utility hookups to be assembled on-site.
Description by architects.
This weeHouse and its cool, calming interior serves as a simple 440 SF retreat space on the fairly remote site outside a small arts colony in West Texas. It is designed to be the first of three weeHouse modules that are planned for the site.
The module arrived complete with an outdoor shed (housing w/d + hot water heater) and a fully finished interior and exterior, leaving only utility hookups, decks and sun-shielding canopies to be installed on- site. A stepped foundation provides a proud platform for sweeping views of an amazing landscape.
Program
The client wanted a modestly-scaled retreat that sat lightly on the landscape in a remote site, 20 minutes outside the small arts colony of Marfa, in West Texas. The initial house is a do-all outpost, the first of three modules that are planned for the site. The module arrived complete with an outdoor shed and a fully finished interior and exterior, leaving only utility hookups, decks and prefabricated sun-shielding canopies to be installed on-site. The architects sought to re-imagine the ideal of luxury based on size, instead looking to leverage the uniqueness of place through effcient multi-use space with simple, elegant detailing. They also concentrated design efforts on the process of producing high-quality work within a modest budget and a geographically challenging location.
The house is reduced to a floor and ceiling, the end walls creating a TUBE that locates a nexus on the landscape.
The simplicity of the living space and its amenities offer livability and a sense of luxury without detracting from the reason to be there in the first place: respite. Expansive decks promote outdoor living, the glass allows natural cross ventilation, and large awnings that block the intense SW Texas sunshine.
Process
The remoteness of the site created unique challenges to delivering high quality architecture. The Client contracted with the Architect to purchase not only design services but also the actual house - as a product.- prefabricated in a modular factory. This gave the Architects complete control over the process: from concept to completion, and allowed the house to be "plugged in" with all electrical, infloor heating, and final plumbing items compelte upon delivery.
The house is located in the high deserts of Texas and is a minimalist refuge. One room serves as bedroom, kitchen, dining room and living room. The adjacent room is a luxurious bathroom with views of mountains to the north and south. A prefabricated utility shed houses an outdoor kitchen and laundry,
leaving the rest of the essentials to the main module.
Data
- Size: the project consists of a 15’ x 35’ house (525 sf of conditioned space) and a 4’ x 15’ shed, for a total of 585 sf.
- Cost: modular work and design, $155k. Site costs withheld.
- Structure: standard wood frame with simple “framing square” type bolt-on moment brackets to reduce cost, weight, installation labor.
- Ceiling height: 8’.
- Siding: fibercement panels and trim, painted with an oxidized latex paint with suspended iron filings.
- Windows: standard Andersen 8’x8’ sliding doors.
- Roof: Epdm rubber, vented.
- Heating: The house is heated via wood-burning fireplace, on-demand electric boiler with hydronic in-floor heating located in the bath cabinet. A small 19-seer rated split wall AC unit provides all the cooling needed.
Curtain tracks are integrated into the ceiling/door trim.
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