2/1/2015

COLLEGE OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

Department of Architecture and Building Sciences

ARCH 436
Contemporary Building Construction Methods

12- PREFABRICATED BUILDINGS

Dr. Mohammed Ghonim

Lecture Objectives
Upon completion of this lecture, the student will be able to:
1. Explain the concept of Prefabricated Buildings.
2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Prefabricated Buildings.
3. Classify the types of prefabricated systems.
4. State the design consideration for joints of prefabricated buildings.

1
 2/1/2015

Lecture Content
Introduction.

Historical Background.
Applications of Prefabricated Buildings.
Structural Scope.
Advantages & Disadvantages of
Prefabricated Construction.
Types of Prefabricated Systems:
1- Elemental Systems.
2- Volumetric Systems.
3- Complete Buildings Systems.
Joints in Prefabricated Buildings.
Transportation of Prefab Units.
Famous Prefab Case Studies:
- Habitat 67, Montreal, Canada.
- Nakagin Capsule Tower, 1972, Japan.
- The Plug-in City, 1962.
Prefab Buildings Installation.

Introduction
Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or
other manufacturing site, and transporting the complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to
the construction site where the structure is to be located.

For example to illustrates the process of prefabrication, the conventional method of

building a house is to transport building materials, to the site, and to construct the house
on site from these materials. In prefabricated construction, only the foundations are
constructed in this way, while sections of walls, floors and roof are prefabricated or
assembled in a factory -possibly with window and door frames included- then transported
to the site, lifted into place by a crane and bolted together.

2
 2/1/2015

Introduction
In order to build in remote locations, deliver buildings more quickly, or to build in mass
quantity, society has used prefabrication, taking the construction activities that traditionally
occur on a site to a factory where frames, modules, or panels are fabricated.
Prefabricated buildings is completely assembled and erected building of which the
structural parts consists of prefabricated individuals units or assemblies using ordinary or
controlled materials.

Introduction
The terminology of Prefab is used as a short for prefabricated buildings, Prefab is a
broad term that encompasses several different types of buildings Technically, any home
that has sections of the structure built in a factory and then assembled on site can fall
under the prefab designation. Both Modular and Panel Built fall under the umbrella term
of prefab.

3
 2/1/2015

Historical Background
Prefabrication has been used since ancient times. For example, it is claimed that the world
oldest known engineered roadway, The Sweet Track constructed around 3800 BC, employed
prefabricated timber. Sinhalese kings of ancient Sri Lanka have used prefabricated buildings
technology to erect giant structures, which dates back as far as 2000 years, where some
sections were prepared separately and then fitted together.
In 19th century Australia a large number of prefabricated houses were imported from the
United Kingdom. The method was widely used in the construction of prefabricated housing
in the 20th century, such as in the United Kingdom to replace houses bombed during World
War II.

Possibly the first advertised prefab house was the Manning Portable Cottage. A London carpenter, Henry Manning,
constructed a house that was built in components, then shipped and assembled by British emigrants. This was
published and a few still stand in Australia.

Applications of Prefabricated Buildings

Prefabricated buildings are used for sites which are not suitable for normal construction
method, and also when normal construction materials are not easily available, or when there
is difficulties to provide enough workers.
Prefabrication is usually applied in structures which are used repeatedly and can be
standardized such as; mass housing, sheds, bus stands, security cabins, site offices, and
road bridges.

4
 2/1/2015

Structural Scope
The structural elements are prefabricated and assembled in a factory, they usually comprise
a frame of metal, metal and timber or concrete. Concrete Units may be monolithic or may
include joined panels, in some cases, prefabricated composite panels are part of the load
bearing structure. Floors may be prefabricated, installed or, in the case of concrete, cast in
site. Building Units may be supplied with varying degrees of completion but all components
required for structural stability -when the Units are assembled into a building- shall be
included.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Prefabricated Construction

Advantages
Prefabricated components speed up construction time, resulting in lower labor costs.
Prefabrication allows for year-round construction, work is not affected by weather delays
(related to excessive cold, heat, rain, snow, etc.).
The mechanization used in prefabricated construction ensures precise conformity to
building code standards and greater quality assurance.
There are less wasted materials than in site-built construction.
Worker safety and comfort level are higher than in site-built construction.
Computerization of the production process permits a high degree of customization, at an
affordable cost.
Quality control and factory sealing and design can ensure high energy efficiency.

Disadvantages
Design and construction of modular buildings, require high levels of collaboration among
project parties, especially architect, structural engineer and manufacturer.
The requirement to transport manufactured homes or modules to their intended site can
mean that prefabrication potential may be limited for infill projects in inner city areas; and
Increased production volume is required to ensure affordability through prefabrication.
Prefabricated buildings typically depreciates more quickly than traditional site-built
housing. Because of its shorter economic life.

5
 2/1/2015

Types of Prefabricated Systems

1- Elemental Systems
Linear or 2D components in the form of assemblies of structural frames and wall panels, this
type of construction can be useful in building houses that do not work neatly as modules and
it can be just as structurally sound as other types of prefabricated building. It is also much
less expensive to transport a building in panels than in modules if it is large enough.

Types of Prefabricated Systems

2- Volumetric Systems
Volumetric or modular construction units could be manufactured from 2D wall panels and
floor cassettes, and they are assembled into load-bearing boxes or 3d sections which are
fitted out and transported to the construction site. The primary disadvantage of this system is
transportation constraints that limit the width and height of the unit.

6
 2/1/2015

Types of Prefabricated Elements

3- Complete Buildings Systems
Complete building systems, which comprise modular components, and are essentially fully
finished before delivery to site. These systems do not tend to age well, they are susceptible to
to maintenance issues, and are generally considered to be lowest type of home to live in, so
they mostly used as a temporary shelter.

Joints in Prefabricated Buildings

Joints design and industrialization
should be evaluated with respect to the
following criteria:
1. Stability and Strength:
The stability of joint shall be determined
by its loads-carrying capacity in the
particular situation in which the joints is
to function.
2. Practicability:
Practicability of joint shall be
determined by the amount and type of
Material, and the time for fabrication
and erection.
3. Resistance:
Resistance shall be determined by the
joints expected behavior to possible
overloading and exposure to climatic or
chemical conditions, or to fire.
4. Appearance:
Some aesthetic aspects might be taken
in consideration when designing
exposed joists.

7
 2/1/2015

Transportation of Prefab Units

Prefab buildings are commonly shipped by trucks or railways, but sometimes ships are used
for delivering prefab homes. Studies have shown that shipping modules becomes cost
prohibitive when they must travel more than 150 to 200 miles from factory to site. The industry
generally recognizes 125 miles as the maximum practical distance modules should need to
travel from factory to site.

Famous Prefab Case Studies

Habitat 67, Montreal, Canada.
This project designed by architect
Moshe Safdie at the World
Exposition of 1967, Safdie explored
the possibilities of prefabricated
modular units to reduce housing
costs and allow for a new housing
typology.
Habitat 67 was constructed from
354 identical and completely
prefabricated modules or boxes
stacked in various combinations
and connected by steel cables.

8
 2/1/2015

Famous Prefab Case Studies

Nakagin Capsule Tower, 1972, Japan
It is a mixed-use residential and office tower designed by architect Kisho Kurokawa, this
project utilized a prefabrication system called clip-on system, these capsules were
prefabricated & delivered by railroad vehicle. After being transported to the building site, they
were hoisted by crane and fastened to the concrete shafts starting from the bottom up.
Each capsule was installed independently and cantilevered from the shaft so that ideally any
capsule could be removed without affecting others. The entire construction took only a year.

Famous Prefab Case Studies

The Plug-in City, 1962
Plug-in City, is a conceptual project
designed by Archigram Architects in
1962, this project had an infrastructure
with rail-mounted cranes that would
install and replace prefabricated
housing, office, and shop modules
planned for obsolescence, so, people
could pick up their pods using one of
several communal cranes and plug
them into the common infrastructure
anywhere.

9
 2/1/2015

Summary
Prefabrication is the practice of assembling
components of a structure in a factory, and
transporting them to the construction site where the
structure is to be located.
Prefabrication is usually applied in structures which
are used repeatedly and can be standardized such as;
mass housing, sheds, bus stands, security cabins, site
offices, and road bridges.
Prefabricated structures are used for sites which are
not suitable for normal construction methods.
prefabricated components speed up construction
time, resulting in lower labor costs. prefabrication
allows for year-round construction, work is not
affected by weather delays.
Design and construction of modular buildings, require
high levels of collaboration among project parties,
especially architect, structural engineer and
manufacturer.
Also the requirement to transport prefab modules to
the site might limit prefabrication for infill projects in
inner city areas.
There three types of prefabricated systems; Elemental,
Volumetric, and Complete Buildings Systems.

References
Ahmed, Munir et. al. (2008) Prefabs as a shelter solution in the northern areas of Pakistan,
Journal of Himalayan Earth Sciences.
Allen, Edward & Lano, Joseph (2009) Fundamentals of Building Construction: Materials and
Methods, John Wiley & Sons.
Ching, Francis (2008) Building Construction Illustrated, John Wiley & Sons.
Lawson R. et. al. (2005) Developments in pre-fabricated systems in light steel and modular
construction, UK.
Mehta, Madan et. al. (2013) Building Construction, Pearson, USA.
http://en.wikipedia.org
http://modularhomeowners.com/do-you-know-the-difference-between-prefab-and-manufactured-homes/
http://youtube.com

10
 2/1/2015

Lecture Activity
Each student is required to prepare a brief but informative internet-based research about one of the topics
related to this lecture (Prefabricated Buildings); i.e., new developments, successive and local case studies
or important details. The research should be presented in only one A4 sheet.

11