How Modular Construction is Transforming Perceptions

What is Modular Construction?

Buildings architecturally designed to be built in modules are highly adaptable in both form and function. The design can be as simple or as elaborate as a client requires – from single family homes and cottages to high rise apartment buildings and hospitals. For example, in 2011, the US Army Corp of Engineers decided to use modular construction methods to build the Fort Sam Houston Medical Education and Training Complex Barracks in San Antonio, Texas. The project consisted of 1,705 modules – or 1.6 million square feet. There were five buildings in total, 4 storeys high, each comprised of 341 modules and each building was completed in about eight weeks. (source: McGraw Hill’s 2011 Report on Prefabrication and Modularization)

Let’s take a look at modular homes. Our homes are factory build in Alberta and British Columbia with increased construction efficiencies that allow us to streamline the building process while limiting our carbon footprint. Modular construction allows us to build and deliver homes in as little as three months – a fraction of what our stick-built counterparts can construct.

This streamlined construction process can allow for build times up to 50% faster than traditional stick-built homes. Our speedy construction doesn’t sacrifice any quality. Here are just a few ways we’re able to build our homes so quickly:

1. Site permits can be pulled and site preparation work can be occurring at the same time as the modules are being constructed in the factory. This allows for much earlier building occupancies, much shorter overall construction timelines and some financial savings in labor and supervision costs.
2. Unique to modular construction is the factory’s ability to construct a building’s floors, ceilings, walls – all simultaneously. Onsite construction forces the builder to construct the home one phase at a time.
3. Traditional building sequences require designers, engineers and contractors. These individuals are often working for different firms, and sometimes without much collaboration. Modular building eliminates this productivity issue.
4. Also unique to the modular construction industry, modules are being built indoors, no matter the weather conditions. This is vastly superior to on site building, which is subject to weather delays. Dependability and few deviations from scheduling – knowing exactly when a project will be completed – is a major benefit of modular construction methods.