Dapeng Town Industrial Park, Tongshan District, Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, China
With the rapid development of the construction industry, steel modular construction is gradually emerging as an innovative construction method.
Steel modular construction is the division of a building structure into a number of modular units according to function and space, and these modules are prefabricated and processed in a factory, including the fabrication and assembly of the steel structure, as well as some of the processes such as interior decoration and equipment installation. In a factory environment, high-precision mechanical equipment and standardised production processes can be used to ensure the quality and accuracy of the modules. For example, for a bathroom module in a residential building, the installation of sanitary appliances and the tiling of the wall and floor can be completed in the factory, and its processing accuracy can reach the millimetre level.
The modules are prefabricated and transported to the construction site for assembly. Only the splicing and connection of the modules is required at the construction site, which greatly reduces the amount of on-site wet work and construction time. Taking a multi-storey steel structure apartment building as an example, the construction period can be shortened by about 30% – 50% by adopting modular construction compared with traditional construction methods. At the same time, due to the reduction of on-site construction procedures, it also reduces the noise, dust and other pollution at the construction site, which is conducive to environmental protection and civilised construction.
In China’s construction industry, modular steel structure construction has a wide range of application prospects. In the field of residential construction, especially assembly-type housing, modular construction of steel structure can quickly provide standardised living units to meet the demand for large-scale construction such as guaranteed housing. For example, the pilot projects of assembly-type housing in some cities, which are built with steel structure modular construction, are not only of reliable quality, but also have a reasonable layout of household types, and are well received by the residents.
In commercial buildings, such as hotels and flat hotels, steel structure modular construction can achieve rapid opening and operation. The guest room module of a hotel can be decorated and furnished in the factory, and can be put into use after being transported and installed on site, which effectively saves the construction cost and time cost, and improves the return on investment.
In the field of emergency construction, modular steel structure construction plays a unique role. For example, in the construction of temporary resettlement sites after earthquakes, floods and other natural disasters, as well as in the construction of temporary buildings during large-scale events and activities, modular steel structure buildings can be quickly erected and dismantled to flexibly and conveniently meet the needs of temporary residence and use.
However, modular steel structure construction also faces some challenges. Firstly, the transport cost is high. Due to the large volume and weight of the modules, it is difficult and expensive to transport them over long distances or in areas with inconvenient traffic. Secondly, the standardised design of the modules is not perfect enough, and the demand of different projects varies, making it difficult to achieve a unified standardised production, which affects the efficiency of factory production to a certain extent.
Despite the challenges, with the continuous progress of technology and the accumulation of experience in the industry, modular construction of steel structure is expected to be more widely applied and developed in China’s construction industry, and to promote the construction industry to move forward in the direction of industrialisation, high efficiency and greening.
