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Modular Construction: Design Considerations and Opportunities
Abstract
The realization of Modular Construction (MC) is impeded by several barriers, e.g., initial investment, logistics constraints, and negative perception. Design, a profoundly creative process to alleviate difficulties in the built environment, is prospected to enhance this construction method. Under this circumstance, many guidelines, recommendations, and avoidances have been proposed to design. However, every coin has two sides. This research, therefore, argues that MC also provides new design opportunities, which have not been yet extensively investigated. It does so by comprehensive literature review and detailed archival study of successful case studies. The result unveils that although MC, by nature, may impose several design limitations, e.g., design simplification, standardization, and limited dimension, it can also serve demands and construct an outstanding architectural design by, for example, a composition of three-dimensional unit, mass customization, and product prototype. This research creates a balanced view of MC in a design process, and highlights the new approach for further design and research development in this discipline. [Outstanding Paper Award]
... Architectural education has attracted attention owing to the special category of pedagogy strategies [24,25]. Conventional architectural education is based on faceto-face lectures and design studios [26], including desk critique and design juries [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. ...
The health, economic, social, and educational impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are among the greatest challenges being faced by the world. Consequently, new paradigms of post-pandemic have been developed in various fields, including the learning processes. Blended learning, as a thoughtful integration of conventional and e-learning, has gradually been provided in several classifications. However, architectural education represents a special classification and requires considerable strategies and methods particularly, during the COVID-19 lockdown, considering the active learning approach. In this study, we investigated the importance of an active learning environment and student-centered approach as key to promoting not only learning but also the social and cognitive environments, besides the responsibility and engagement of students in the learning processes. This paper was performed using a systematic review that covered an overview of architectural learning in accordance with E-Learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, we developed a post-pandemic active learning (PPAL) framework to support active learning related to post-pandemic architectural education. The proposed framework provides specialists to develop and integrate proposals and strategies to maximize students’ opportunities for active learning in numerous classifications.
Design for excellence (DfX) presents a significant opportunity for early design to ensure the efficiency and buildability of high-rise modular buildings and realize their multidimensional benefits. Previous DfX contributions have primarily concentrated on its conception, offering various considerations from downstream construction stakeholders. Little research has integrated and transformed them into more practical, ready-to-use guidelines for upstream design professionals. This research, therefore, aims to incorporate prevailing piecemeal DfX considerations and establish module design guidelines. The guidelines were initially developed based on prior literature and case study, and their alignment with existing practices was subsequently tested. They recommend 1) a simplified rectangular module shape, 2) suggested module size, 3) standardized space across projects, and 4) dimensional coordination among modules and spaces. By utilizing them to analyze 39 high-rise module designs in Hong Kong, the results reveal some similarities between the proposed guidelines and real-world practices, affirming their concurrent validity and creating warrant assertions. This research bridges the knowledge gap between upstream and downstream practitioners, offers transformed DfX knowledge to systematically guide future implementations, and finally explains changes in architectural design. Future studies are advised to fine-tune the guidelines and incorporate findings with computational technologies to enhance generative DfX.
In recent years, the topic of climate change has been increasingly noticed by the public, and carbon emission reduction is one of the primary targets for various industries worldwide. The construction industry has a profound influence in this field, so it is significant to consider what kind of efforts can be made in building projects. Many scholars agree to promote prefabrication technology for construction, but its application still faces several challenges. By undertaking desk research, this paper explores the motivation and barriers to adopting modular techniques in construction projects under the lifecycle analysis. The preliminary information of the literature review is collated from dozens of peer-reviewed academic papers. Under the whole lifecycle thought, the PEST analysis tools also present the analytical results. This research finds that the top five barriers are the attitudinal resistance to using modular constructions, lack of sufficient modular expertise and practice, increasing costs and risks on supply chain management, insufficient government support and policy making, and high design and planning requirements. Moreover, the lifecycle analysis can divide the collated barriers into each stage, and adequate government support can assist in promoting the prefabrication in building projects in financial, legal, and technical aspects. The current findings can facilitate the broader use of prefabrication in building projects, improving the environmental sustainability of stakeholders. The process of proposed desk research can also be considered a referenced pattern for other related studies. More first-hand data should be collected and evaluated in further research to improve accuracy and adapt to the newest research field and industrial situations.
Prefabricated buildings (PB) are assembled using prefabricated components, known for their cost-effectiveness and high efficiency. They are seen as an effective means to achieving sustainable development goals and mitigating climate change. This paper examines the impact of prefabricated buildings on urban green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) using panel data from 278 cities in China. The analysis is conducted through the application of a super-efficiency slack-based measure (SBM) model and a difference-indifferences model. The results of the study indicate that the promotion of PB can significantly improve urban GTFEE; there is hetero-geneity in the improvement of urban GTFEE by PB; the innovation effect, industrial effect and marketization effect of PB are the main ways to improve urban GTFEE. Specifically, PB exerts an innovation effect by promoting technological innovation. It influences consumer and investor demand, leading to increased activity in the secondary industry, thereby creating an industrial effect. Moreover, PB facilitates the marketization effect by phasing out outdated industries, encouraging autonomous enterprise innovation, and fostering the growth of new advanced enterprises. This study reveals the critical role of PB in urban GTFEE improvement. It clarifies its mechanism of action, which provides a reference for urban sustainable development strategies and energy efficiency.
The pursuit of modern product sophistication and production efficiency has bolstered Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) around the world. Being both a design philosophy and a methodology, DfMA has existed in manufacturing for decades. It is coming into vogue in construction as a potential solution to the industry’s lackluster productivity amid enduring exhortation of cross-sectoral learning. However, many studies of DfMA in construction are still simply following the DfMA guidelines developed from manufacturing without adequately considering important differences between the two sectors of construction and manufacturing. This study aims to develop a series of construction-oriented DfMA guidelines by adopting a mixed-method approach. It critiques existing DfMA guidelines in relation to the characteristics of construction, and further argues that construction-oriented DfMA should consider five fundamental aspects: contextual basis, technology rationalization, logistics optimization, component integration, and material-lightening, either individually or collectively. A case study is then conducted to substantiate and verify the feasibility of these guidelines. This research sheds new light on the cross-sectoral learning of DfMA from manufacturing to construction. The guidelines can be used as the benchmark for the evaluation of manufacturability and assemblability in practice. It also opens up a new avenue for further DfMA studies in construction.
In modular construction projects, unit production and onsite work are conducted concurrently, enabling shorter duration, lower cost, and improved quality. Because of the nature of the work, building design details should be determined early in the design phase, which requires information from participants. However, the design process for stick-built construction does not include such information, which leads to errors in design, such as omissions and conflicts of information from participants, causing reworking in the design phase. To reduce errors, an information flow should be identified representing when/what/how the information should be shared, and with whom. This paper proposes an integrated design process based on the information flow. To identify the flow, a precedence relationship between activities is represented using a dependency structure matrix (DSM). Then, the order of activities is rearranged using a partitioning algorithm. In this manner, unnecessary feedback and reverse information flow, which are related to errors, are reduced. Finally, the rearranged activities are proposed as an integrated design process. To validate the impact of the proposed process and methodology, interviews with experts were conducted. The validation results suggest that the project delivery method should also be considered in the early project phase in practical application.
Prefabricated prefinished buildings (PPVC) is a more innovative and cleaner way to reorganize production in the construction industry. Although the application of PPVC has been well received over the past few decades, the limitations of using PPVC have not been explored. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the main factors influencing the adoption of PPVC and propose a set of feasible mitigation strategies to address these factors. To achieve these goals, a comprehensive literature review was conducted first, followed by a structured questionnaire survey of 41 Singapore construction organizations. The analysis showed that the top five major limiting factors and found the top three most effective mitigation strategies. This study contributes to the knowledge system by studying the constraints and mitigation strategies of PPVC. At the same time, the results of this study also have some implications for the industry to understand and implement PPVC better.
Prefabrication has been considered an effective alternative to conventional building. It has gained an increasing amount of attention over the last few decades as a way to advance sustainable construction. This study focused on the construction stage to compare sustainable performances of prefabrication with conventional building. Sixteen indicators were extracted from a literature review and specialist interviews to conduct a sustainability evaluation. A survey was delivered to developers, designers, superintendents, manufacturers, and contractors of a Chinese case project. A total of 51 valid responses were collected. Projection pursuit (PP), based on the real-coded accelerating genetic algorithm (RAGA), was employed to evaluate the sustainability of prefabrication. The results showed that there was a consensus among the participants that prefabrication has more obvious sustainable performances in the construction phase compared with conventional building. However, cognitive differences among the participants regarding the sustainability of prefabrication were also pronounced. The findings presented in this paper may assist the government to propose feasible policies and measures to promote the development of prefabrication in China.
The housing sector accounts for a majority of newly constructed buildings. Prefabrication, defined as the factory construction of houses or significant components, is widely promoted as a means to improve efficiency. This paper focuses on the research questions: RQ1. What are the attitudes of builders towards prefabrication adoption? RQ2. What types of stakeholders do builders believe influence their adoption decisions? RQ3. What types of contextual influences do builders believe impact their adoption decisions? Current prefabrication research has focused on the advantages and disadvantages of prefabrication, without further unpacking the beliefs of stakeholders that underpin them. This paper addresses this gap and increases the understanding of beliefs that can frame interventions to increase the market penetration of prefabrication. Fourteen interviews with Australian prefabricators were undertaken as a Belief Elicitation Study. This qualitative methodology is framed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Results show that modern high-quality prefabricated housing has struggled to overcome historical stigma; improved construction speed has not and is not likely to translate to reduced totals costs for a majority of firms; and prefabrication adoption has been hindered by an almost completely unsupportive industry infrastructure. Recommendations are made to frame arguments in improving short-term outcomes for an industry driven by practical considerations. Future discourse must focus on cost impacts, financial security and risk reduction. Establishing networks of prefabricators that can build a strong, unified voice for the industry should be prioritised.
The benefits of modular integrated construction (MiC) are extensively documented. Rapid and effective implementation of MiC will leverage significant gains in construction project performance. However, its widespread diffusion and uptake have been hindered. Although manifold empirical studies have identified the barriers to the adoption of MiC in different countries, a holistic international review and integrated conceptual framework for the barriers are not well-established. This research analysed studies on the barriers conducted in 15 countries across five continents. Based on a meta-synthesis framework, the research identified 120 barriers to the adoption of MiC. The analysis revealed a co-existence of both perceived and real barriers, for which the authors argued that some existing studies may have engaged inexperienced participants during their surveys. An extended classification framework is proposed to group the 120 constraints into knowledge, attitudinal, financial, technical, aesthetic, industry, process, and policy clusters of barriers. The paper proposed an integrated conceptual framework mapping the interactions among the barriers. The framework revealed that the 5 most symbiotic clusters include industry, knowledge, process, financial and technical barriers which have at least 4 interactions with other groups. The paper further proposed strategies to address the identified groups of barriers. Thus, this research has established the ecosystem of the barriers, and how they hinder the wider diffusion of MiC. As such, it provides a holistic perspective of the barriers to the wider diffusion of MiC and initiated a debate towards developing integrated strategies to promote uptake of the technique.
Modular construction offers faster and safer manufacturing, better predictability to completion time, superior quality, less workers on site, less resource wastage, and a more environmentally friendly solution than the conventional construction process. Despite having several advantages of modular construction, the private sector still relies heavily on the traditional on-site construction method. To understand the scientific reason behind this situation, this paper critically reviews the recent developments, performances, challenges and future opportunities of modular buildings. Modular constructions are extensively used for low-rise buildings and further attracts strong interest for multi-storey building structures. Prefabricated modules demonstrated satisfactory performance under static, dynamic impact, cyclic, seismic, blast, fire and long-term sustained loading, and offer environmental, economic and social benefits. The acceptance and application of modular construction will further spread with the development of design guidelines, more skilled workers, addressing handing and transportation difficulties, and the development of novel interlocking connections between modules. Recently, composite materials demonstrated high potential to manufacture prefabricated building modules. In Australia, it is expected that modular construction will increase from the current stage of 3% to 5-10% by year 2030.
Many countries or regions, in recent years, show a rising interest in prefabrication as a “cleaner” production strategy to meet their enormous construction demand, e.g. for housing and infrastructure. Along with this trend is the observation that many governments tend to set forth a high level of prefabrication as a part of their ambitious construction plan. This paper argues that unnecessarily a higher level of prefabrication is better and develops an analytical framework for questing the optimal level of prefabrication adoption in a certain PEST (political, economic, social and technological) background. This framework contains thirteen PEST factors affecting the prefabrication adoption, including policy, supply, labor, social attitude, user acceptance, and so on. These factors in combination will determine the optimal prefabrication adoption level from 0 to 4, which was defined by Gibb 2001 to represent the range from entire cast-in-situ construction to complete prefabricated building, respectively. The framework was substantiated by using Hong Kong’s prominent offshore prefabrication construction as a case. It was identified that Levels 2 and 3 are the optimal level of prefabrication adoption subject to the current PEST background in Hong Kong. This paper helps to clarify the prevailing misconception that “the higher the prefabrication level, the better”. The developed framework can be used by other economies to devise their proper prefabrication roadmaps.
Prefabricated prefinished volumetric construction (PPVC) is an innovative and cleaner approach that has restructured the production of the construction industry. It can improve the workflow continuity, increase the efficiencies in the use of resources, minimize construction wastes, and reduce the number of on-site contractors as well as construction durations. While the benefits of PPVC have been widely recognized over past two decades, the constraints on using PPVC remains unexplored. As a result, the aims of this study are to investigate the significant constraints demotivating the adoption of PPVC and to propose a group of feasible mitigation strategies to tackle these constraints. To achieve these goals, a comprehensive literature review was conducted first, followed by a structured questionnaire survey administered to 41 Singapore-based construction organizations. Lastly, an in-depth case study was conducted to verify the empirical findings. The analysis results showed that the top five significant constraints were “extensive coordination required prior to and during construction”, “need for additional project planning and design efforts”, “increased transportation and logistics considerations”, “requirement for early commitment”, and “higher initial cost than conventional construction method.” It also revealed the top three most effective mitigation strategies: “encouraging close collaborations between project stakeholders during the early phase of the project”, “use of BIM to improve coordination and facilitate communication among project stakeholders”, and “offering training courses for project team and workers to enhance their knowledge and skills”. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by examining the constraints and mitigation strategies for the adoption of PPVC. Also, the findings from this study are informative to the industry practitioners to have a better understanding and implementation of PPVC.