Innovative prefabricated modular structures – an Overview and life cycle energy analysis

Abstract

Speed of construction and improved environmental performance are two critical concerns which modern construction industry pays a significant amount of attention on. Employing innovative prefabricated modular structures is one key strategy used to achieve these goals. However, there is an absence of detailed scientific research or case studies dealing with the potential environmental benefits of prefabrication, particularly in the areas of embodied energy savings resulting from waste reduction and improved efficiency of material usage. This paper gives a brief overview of prefabricated modular structures and aims to quantify the embodied energy of modular prefabricated steel and timber multi-residential buildings in order to determine whether this form of construction provides improved environmental performance over conventional concrete construction methods. A case study was carried out on an eight-storey, 3943 m2 multi-residential building. It was found that a steel-structured prefabricated system resulted in a significantly reduced material consumption of up to 78% by mass compared to conventional concrete construction. However, the prefabricated steel building resulted in an increase (~50%) in embodied energy compared to the concrete building. This form of construction has the potential to contribute significantly towards improved environmental sustainability in the construction industry.