Following the recent announcement that ministers are planning a new batch of 100,000 prefab, modular homes in an effort to solve the housing crisis, we thought it would be prudent to look at why this method of construction seems to be becoming the answer to a lot questions. Indeed at many constructions shows, innovation events and talks, the word on many people’s lips seems to be ‘modular’.
It is likely you know what modular construction is as a concept. But just as a refresh, and this is one of the reasons why it is seemingly so popular, is it cuts away a lot of the time consuming stages of a project. A building or home is assembled offsite under controlled conditions. This work is typically done in a plant or warehouse. One or more architectural designs are created and then repeated using the exact same materials and standards. In this highly controlled environment, with highly repeatable design and construction methods, a modular home can be built and delivered onsite in as little as 2 months.

Now in this very have to have it now, instant world we live in, that is very appealing. The Government has set a target to build 1 million new homes by 2020. With the help of prefab construction, this target is attainable. Time is an extremely precious commodity, and using a construction method that only needs half of the time (in most cases 50% – 70% less time) than any traditional building method, in order to be constructed, transported and installed, is invaluable.
But it’s not just the timing element of the modular method that gets the juices flowing. Prefab homes and buildings are also energy efficient. Features such as LED lighting, ungraded triple glaze window, geothermal systems and solar panels can be installed during the construction process. So there is no reason that a prefab home or building cannot be eco- friendly.

It must have some bad points though. Maybe you might picture these prefab homes getting produced en masse, looking ugly and identical, just to make sure enough are made to hit those Government targets. Well in fact modular homes and buildings can all be customized to look exactly how you want them. Each modular building manufacturer has hundreds of different designs to choose from. Modular buildings make it very easy to have a custom looking home at an affordable price. As for looking ugly, that is up to how you the homebuyer chooses to make your home look. So if you want a bright pink and green exterior, you may get a passing comment from a neighbour, but each to their own.
With these new announcements and targets, and industry professionals talking up modular, it is rising to the very top of discussion on how projects will look moving forward. It is a massive time saver, is energy efficient, provides freedom of mobility and also increases on site safety. The time is now to move to the modular groove.

Is now the perfect time for prefab? What do you think? Let us know in our LinkedIn post!