A 15-storey hotel built in 6 days? How about a hospital for 1000 people built in 10?
Let’s react to extremely fast construction time-lapses that will blow your mind.
Architecture Student Reacts to Extremely Fast Modular Construction
What is prefabrication in construction?
These buildings constructed in minimal time frames are assembled from prefabricated systems.
Prefabrication is the process of manufacturing a buildings component off-site in a factory or warehouse. The components are transported from the factory to the site, ready to be assembled and interlocked into place.
This greatly reduces construction time on site, ultimately lowering the timeline of a project as well as the cost of construction.
In these videos, Chinese developers utilise prefabrication and modularisation to construct and assemble a hotel in just 6 days, a hospital in 10 and a 30-storey hotel in just 15 days.
My name’s Kyle. I’m a third-year architecture student from South Australia. Although I don’t have a lot of knowledge in construction, modularisation or prefabrication, I thought it would be interesting to react to these incredible videos, showcasing China’s dedication and efficiency in construction and assembly.
In response to the recent pandemic originating from Wuhan, China, the Chinese government decided to construct a hospital for 1000 patients affected by the disease.
To ensure the prevention of spread, construction companies and manufacturers from around China collaborated together to form a group of 400 workers. With this team, the new hospital was able to be built in just 10 days after commencement. This is a huge feat considering Western countries would more than likely take months, or perhaps years, to achieve the same result.
Benefits of Prefabricated Modularised Architecture/Construction?
One of the benefits to prefabricated, modularised design is that, as witnessed in this video, construction time is greatly reduced. This not only reduces the timeframe of a project, but also the cost to construct it. The longer a project is under construction, the greater the costs.
Additionally, prefabricated components fit together with a higher precision that regular construction. There is a higher level of coordination on site for construction management as well as reducing construction waste.
What are the disadvantages to modularised/prefabricated design?
Some of the downsides include the environmental aspect of having to transport the components of the building to the site. You would also need a relatively even site in order to construct a modularised building. In this case, you can see the dozens of bulldozers and excavators levelling out the sites before construction commencing.
Additionally, there is a higher degree of planning and manufacturing required.
If one component is slightly miscalculated or there is an error in the manufacturing, it can throw off the entire project.
Lastly, every site is different. To prefabricate off site brings light to the complication of poor design.
If the solar orientation, landscaping and wind direction, as examples, are not considered, the design won’t perform to the best of its ability.
I hope you enjoy this video of me reacting to some incredibly fast construction projects in China. Let me know down below if you have any comments of questions.
Resources Mentioned
Similar Episodes:
- Architecture Student Reacts to INCREDIBLE Winning Submissions from Architecture Competitions
- The 10 Most Expensive Buildings in the World
- 7 Reasons You SHOULD Study Architecture
Other Resources:
- Get access to your FREE online architecture course! 70 Hacks for Archi Students
- Check out the Successful Archi Student’s podcast!