Future of building with modular and prefabricated buildings

 Mark of a civilization can best be physically portrayed in the form of structures they built. Building shelters, places of deity worship or burial grounds to mark respect for their ancestors are seen as the emergence of higher intelligence and greater social bonding. It portrays humans, capable of thinking about far more than that of just food, mating and protection. Ancient rudimentary constructions are excavated all the time around the world by archaeologists to study the behavior, social hierarchy and attributes of those who lived during the time. The building can reveal the social practices or customs, type of economy they followed or the governance they practiced if any. Remnants of these structures can even reveal whether they were invaded by other tribes or were simply wiped out due to natural consequences like flooding or volcano. Use of mud, clay and brick is documented in ancient Mesopotamia, Indus valley and Harappan civilization etc. From the mighty Pyramid of Giza to the roman colosseum, these mega structures have served their surfaces. It has shown complexities of human nature or the need for higher pleasure. While pyramids were built for burial grounds of high born like king, queen or ministers etc, roman colosseum served as an amphitheater for the entertainment of the masses using fighting gladiators. Highest structures during the medieval period across most of Asia and Europe were mostly reserved for Churches and Mosques. It was considered impertinent to build any structure greater than that of the mosque, temple or the church. Example being that the church of Notre dame and mosque of Hagias Sophia benign the biggest building in their respective cities for a very long time. The highest building represented the seat of power when these structures were destroyed or desecrated by rivalling power to mark their arrival to authority or subordinating the opposite rules. The vast majority of the wealth that was accumulated in these mighty structures were usually plundered. 

The medieval world constructed some marvelous pieces of architecture all around the world, from Taj mahal to the Great Wall of China to Hagias Sophia. Medieval engineering saw the use of much more refined raw material, colors and complex structures. They also gave rise to medieval engineer cum architects under state patronage. Lots of materials used were not native in origin and were transported from thousands of miles away from the sources of construction. This shows the importance of trade between kingdoms and states. More diverse your structure or building is, the more varied your sources are leading to better trade and overall prosperity. With the rise of steam engines and kick-starting of the industrial revolution underway, construction saw the biggest paradigm shift in thousands of years. Earlier construction was limited to religious places, castles or simple public utilities roads or bridges, the rise of industries led to the search for better transport infrastructure for the finished goods and building of megastructures for manufacturing. 

What is a modular construction?

To put it simply modular construction is building of modules off-site, usually under large industrial warehouses and putting it together on-site while maintaining the same quality and functionality. Modules are repeated sections which can be dismantled and also used in other sections of the same house or different house altogether. After manufacturing of modules, they are shipped assembled and joined together. Modular and prefabricated buildings can be used as both relocatable and permanent structures. 

1. Permanent modular construction: Permanent construction is permanent in their location. They cannot be shifted once assembled. This is mostly because of the use of things like concrete and steel in the base and for reinforcing structures. Visually speaking they look just like any other building. And are just as durable and as a non-modular home.

1. Relocatable building construction is designed to be reused, repurposed and transported after its use. They provide flexible solutions for all the temporary space needs. Lately, it has been used in many music festivals and sports events where there is a sudden spike in housing need for a few days and is usually located in some remote parts of the world with less than adequate amenities.

Why should you opt for modular prefabricated buildings?

In the west prefabricated homes are quite a rage for over the past few decades. This is because they are cheaper to assemble since they are industrially made, compared to in site construction where labor charges are extremely high. This is one of the biggest reasons why brick walls are being replaced by gypsum boards from the late 1930s. India despite being a poor country and having less infrastructure, has not fully opened up modular prefabricated buildings. This has more to do with cultural elements than purely logic. For Indian home or any other construction is of emotive value and trust plays a very important factor in all the decisions. Gladly more and more Indians are opening up to the idea of modular homes. These are one of the biggest benefits of choosing a prefabricated modular home.

1. Cheaper: for the same square footage, prefabricated modular homes can be cheaper by 50 % to even 25% in some cases. Later is possible at places where labor is not cheap, especially in bigger cities and OECD countries.

2. Flexibility in construction: since these buildings are brought in modules, there is always an option to add more modules in future. Lesser upfront cost makes these modular prefabricated buildings much more accessible. So yes for the first year just one bathroom will do!

3. Reuse and recycle: borrow an extra living room from your friend. Sounds ridiculous right now, but soon in the prefabricated modular future, you can. If the schematics and space around it allow then you can choose different types of modules to be joined with your building. In case you are building something new, you can use old parts of your previous building. Just liking people using timber of their previous home to build barns in the past but bit more sophisticated. 

4. Reduced construction time: Gone are the days where you are dependent on your contractors on your housewarming schedule as construction takes just a few days to few weeks depending upon the complexity of the project. The number of man-hours required has decreased considerably since putting modules together is way easier than building it from scratch.

5. Safer construction and reduction and compliance cost: each county, state or the country has rules and guidelines or zoning restrictions placed under its jurisdiction which residents have to follow. It could simply range from the length of the main entry to more complex like the width of the wall required to hold the roof. Floor to area ratio is another important metric. It can also range from sanitary arrangements like the placement of sewage tanks or connection of freshwater to home. Electric and fire safety is also taken into consideration. Before building any building, planners or the architect have to design home considering all the parameters. Property owners will have to submit plans and get regulatory approvals from local bodies. In case there is any objection those change of plans have to be incorporated in the plan and sent for regulatory bodies. The whole process can be cumbersome and time-consuming. It can range from a few weeks to many months depending on the location and complexity of the project. This involves various visits to your local zoning office and various fees to lawyers and planners. Since prefabricated modular builds are built only after getting regulatory approval from the local or federal government, it eliminates the delay and speeds up projects.

6. Quality is a very important aspect of any construction. Since most structures last more than 30 years they have to be built diligently. Build quality may change substantially from one contractor to another. Prefabricated construction assures quality for years since they are built industrially under tough quality standards.

7. Use of pollutants like carbon-emitting concrete or lime is lowered.

8. Building modular buildings is a much more green option. It is environmentally safe and sound and produces much less carbon emission compared to normal construction.

Prefabricated modular homes are not just another fad, this is in true sense the next evolution of construction. Technology has swept away a lot of traditional ways of doing things in the field like farming, manufacturing and travel. But building or construction has remained under human labor. This is about to be changed and changed for good.