Building Science is advancing all the time. Because of new construction materials and new building methods that are being introduced every year, the building science experts have to keep up and help out designers with effective means of building new construction. Making sure the occupants are healthy and safe from polluted air and making sure they are comfortable are their number one priorities. The relationships to electrical and mechanical systems of building science, including the building envelope, indoor air, moisture dynamics, ventilation, and thermal insulation have to be taken seriously. It is becoming clear that building designers must have some knowledge of building science and the performance of the building enclosure in order to design better building enclosures and better buildings. In this sense prefab construction is most attractive method. Prefabricated building is a type of building that consists of several factory-built components or units that are assembled on-site to complete the unit.
Prefabricated construction
Buildings have been built in one place and reassembled in another throughout history. 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. A few still stand in Australia (South Australian Record, 1837). One such is the Friends Meeting House, Adelaide. The peak year for the importation of portable buildings to Australia was 1853, when several hundred arrived. These have been identified as coming from Liverpool, Boston and Singapore (with Chinese instructions for re-assembly). In Barbados the Chattel house was a form of prefabricated building which was developed by emancipated slaves who had limited rights to build up on land they did not own. As the buildings were moveable they were legally regarded as chattels.
They're a 21st century super power with super computers and a super economy that's the envy of the world.,China can claim another title - the fastest builders on the planet after putting up a 30-storey 183,000-square-foot hotel in just 360 hours(15 days). A construction crew in the south-central Chinese city of Changsha completed this remarkable achievement with no injuries to any worker.
Pre-fabricated construction is not entirely new to the Indian construction space. Office and commercial buildings have been using prefab wall panels, ceiling panels, plasterboards and flooring systems to create interiors of offices and other places such as hospitals.
Buying a ready-made modular kitchen or bathroom is now par for the course for a number of Indians. But what if you could go to a store, buy a house and get it assembled on your plot? With pre-fabricated, or prefab, technology becoming popular, this might become a reality in a few years.
Low Price-Long life
Prefab technologies can be used to build homes quickly and cost-effectively, especially as traditional construction costs continue to rise. As the cost of borrowing is steep and developers are facing a liquidity crunch, time means money. Modular construction is faster and adds to the revenue stream of builders.
Prefab technology involves use of factory-manufactured components in buildings. Some commonly used prefab materials include steel frames for structures, panels made of wood, cement, gypsum and other materials for floors, walls and ceilings, factory-made doors, windows and ventilators.
In large construction projects, various modules of the structure are cast off-site in factories and then assembled on the site. In the process, prefab materials such as wall and terrace blocks, wall panels, steel frames and plaster boards are used along with innovations such as the dry-wall technique. In prefab technology, the entire building can be designed using architecture software. Later, components such as steel frames, wall and ceiling panels and floor tiles can be custom-made. The components are then brought to the construction site and the structure is assembled on-site. Houses using steel frames for structure can have multiple stories without pillars, beams and concrete. Alternatively, the main structure and outer walls can be constructed using the conventional techniques and inside partitioning and interiors done with prefab materials.
Pre-fabricated concrete panels as shear walls and roof slabs, which are assembled like Lego blocks. Apart from prefab panels, complete kitchen and bathroom units are also being assembled as separate units with complete electrical and plumbing systems. These kitchen and bathroom pods are then fit into place.
Prefab construction reduces construction time and improves the quality of the building. Though prefab materials are 15-20% expensive than the traditional ones, higher efficiency and less wastage and labour costs can bring down the overall cost substantially for large buildings. They also eliminate the need for auxiliary activities such as plastering, electrical wiring and plumbing as these are done at the casting stage itself. Buildings constructed using prefab technologies have a life span of 30-50 years, equivalent to the life span of structures using conventional methods.
Easily Change The Structure
Using prefab materials in buildings also gives flexibility in terms of expansion and modifications. Most of these buildings are modular with independent blocks that can be added or removed. Computer-aided design and certain materials produce structures which can be easily assembled and dismantled a number of times without damage. Additionally, changes in the structure can be made on-site in a short span of time. Prefab panels and boards are eight-ten times lighter than brick-and-mortar walls. This reduces the load on the structure, which lowers the building cost. The use of prefab materials gives the option of customising buildings for specific needs such as fire and water resistance and sound-proofing. Most of the demand for prefab materials is from large developers and for commercial spaces such as offices. Use by individuals for their homes is yet to gain popularity. prefab construction techniques, quite common in developed countries, will become popular in India too.The use of pre-fabricated materials and methods is on the rise in the US as the construction industry has begun to adapt to changing market conditions, new materials and methodologies. The prefab buidings are attractive, comfortable, affordable, and healthy and zero-carbon and also can withstand magnitude of 8.5 earthquake and strong winds.
Finland Moving Building
The World’s First Truly Mobile Apartment Building is Completed in Finland Moving Building. A Finnish architecture group has just built and successfully installed the world's first mobile apartment building. The 3-story, steel-framed building is a whopping 108 feet long, 40 feet high and weighs a total of 485,017 pounds. It was completely assembled. Finnish architecture has just built and successfully installed this and assembled in a shipyard warehouse and successfully moved en masse to a water front location in Turku, Finland earlier this month. NEAPO, the company that built and moved the building, is an architecture and construction company that has roots in the ship building industry, so it's no wonder they are so good at moving large steel objects.
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