Prefab housing to redefine construction with quick-building solutions
As issues with housing supply continue to rise, researchers at the University of Melbourne’s Australian Research Council Training Centre for Advanced Manufacturing in Prefabricated Housing (ARC-CAMPH) are looking at prefabricated modular homes as an effective solution.
According to the Australian Financial Review, the rising population and increased demand for housing have led to a housing crisis. Due to high building costs, scarcity of supplies and lack of qualified labour, the building supply process has been reduced to dangerously low levels.
Professor Tuan Ngo, research director of ARC-CAMPH, said that, unlike traditional construction methods, prefab housing requires less labour, is higher in quality and is more energy efficient, due to the houses being built inside the controlled environment of a factory.
“Since the process is mainly carried out off-site, it yields faster results, with construction taking just six months instead of a typical year. Additionally, the cost of maintenance can be reduced by up to 30 per cent and waste generated from construction can be minimised by up to 90 per cent,” Professor Ngo said.
(Pixabay).
While prefab housing has numerous benefits, there are also some drawbacks. Factory-built homes are more expensive, compared to the traditional build for residential homes and there is a risk of damage to prefab houses during transit.
prefabAUS executive chairman Damien Crough said in the 'Australian Financial Review' "The sector currently accounts for about five per cent of the $150 billion Australian construction industry". The market share of this industry is expected to increase by 7-15 per cent by 2025, creating employment opportunities and a $30 billion boost to the country's economy.
In order to remove unnecessary barriers, promote greater acceptance and awareness of the viability and efficacy of prefabricated construction, the Housing Industry Association (HIA) has called for Australia's regulatory systems to be modified and updated to enable an easier pathway for the required permits.
The future of factory-built homes seems bright, as predicted by HIA, which claims that there is a possibility of a significant proportion of construction projects, including homes, to switch to remote prefabricated modular housing in the next decade, due to the rising need for quicker construction.
Find out more here: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/21/could-prefab-homes-be-future-australian-house-houses