SOMUNDY
CENTURY MAKES MODULAR BUILDINGS FOR THE NEXT ILLENNIUM...
... NOT THE LAST ONE
Modular construction
is a term that is used for the factory production of pre-engineered
building units that are delivered to site and assembled as large
volumetric components or as substantial elements of a building.
The modular units may form complete rooms, parts of rooms, or separate
highly services units such as toilets or lifts. Modular units can
usually forms a self supporting structure in their own right or,
for tall buildings, may rely on an independent structural frame
work.
Modular Units may be used for a wide range of
building types from residential buildings to complete fitted-out
buildings such as fast food restaurants. Modular construction should
be differentiated from temporary or re locatable buildings, which,
although similar in volumetric concept, differ greatly in terms
of their quality, structural design, use of cladding materials,
and general performance criteria.
The motivation for using modular construction
lies in the business-related benefits that make this form of construction
more attractive to the client than alternative forms of conventional
site-built construction. In such cases, the design decisions are
most strongly influenced by:
Speed of construction on site. Rapid construction
leads to business-related benefits to the client, due to early
completion and early return on capital investment.
Avoidance of disruption and loss of operation
of adjacent buildings, such as hotels, and in sensitive sites.
Buildings or components with a high degree
of servicing. These require careful site
installation, and pre-compliance trials, which are better carried
out off site and off the critical construction path.
A large number of regular or repetitive units.
Factory production can facilitate transportation and can achieve
economy of scale in production.
Planning constraints, such as on deliver times,
time of working, noise control on site.
A short “weather window” or other
site constraints to the construction operation.
Lack of suitable skills at site. This might
be the case at a remote site.
Client requirements for an exceptionally high
degree of quality control. This can best be achieved by off-site
manufacture and pre-installation checks.
A requirement for a single point procurement
route. This can be achieved through a design manufacture and build
service, which the modular industry provides.
Security or other related issues on site.
Construction operations can be controlled more precisely when
modular units are used.
It is often thought that modular construction is by
definition more expensive than traditional construction. While this may
be true for “one-off” buildings, there are considerable economies
of scale that can be obtained from greater refinement of the design (often
by testing) and by investing in mechanized and possible automated production.
The Japanese house building market is dominated by modular construction,
and over 150,000 are produced annually in modular form. The high degree
of sophistication at the design state permits considerable input by the
purchases into the choices of finishes and even into the internal layout.
A typical large Japanese house is shown below. The extremely high cost
of land in Japan creates an economic imperative to build quickly and to
achieve rapid pay-back, which could not be achieved by a conventional
program.
In
the UK , many major companies choose to go the “modular route”
because of the greater control they can exert over quality, speed and
reliability, which are all business related benefits. Good examples of
the move from conventional to modular have been in hotels and fast food
restaurants, where on-site construction times can be reduced by over 60%.
Modular
construction may be combined with other constructional systems including:
Framed construction. Modular units can be inserted on the floors or
roofs of framed structures constructed of beams and columns.
Panel construction. Modular units can be used for the more highly services
elements, while the remaining structure is built from two-dimensional
wall and floor panels.
Modular
units may also be combined together to from larger rooms. In this case,
the length of the modular unit is equal to the span of the floor or roof
members forming the complete space. The “open” face of the
unit is braced or stiffened during the lifting and transportation to provided
stability.
Alternative
forms of modular construction using single room-sized units or multiple
units used to form larger rooms are shown below
