Prefab building system boosts global skyscraper delivery pace

Though it is still struggling to benefit from Nigeria’s $400 billion housing market, prefabricated building systems, a new technology-driven approach to construction, is boosting the rapid pace of skyscrapers delivery globally with awesome record of completing a 30-floor tower in just 15 days.

The innovative building system already in use for the delivery of some world’s renowned super-tall buildings, has also been retooled to further slash construction time by as much as one-third of the normal time while maintaining the majestic and energy efficient performance of such buildings.

In a recent interview, Andy Davids, Aurecon’s Buildings Director, Middle East and North Africa Buildings, said that having built the Burj Khalifa, an 830m skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for seven years, there was a need to develop a holistic construction system for constructing a similar building in half the time, adding that one of the significant successes has been recorded in the construction of the T30 Hotel in China.

Aurecon, a civil engineering and construction firm,  has been involved in projects in over 80 countries across Africa, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas, and employs around 7 500 people throughout 12 industry groups. With an office network extending across 26 countries, it provides engineering, management and specialist technical services for public and private sector clients globally.

The prefabricated 30-floor tower was erected by 200 Chinese workers in just 15 days, breaking the Broad Group construction company’s own past record of building a 15 storey building in just one week.

This feat, Davids explained, was possible because modular, prefabricated solutions were used.

“We are starting to extrapolate these principles to expedite the construction of even taller buildings. The goal isn’t to break records, but to deliver a high performing tall building within a shorter period of time,” he said.

While Skyscrapers are believed to be  exclusively up market residential buildings or luxury hotels which most people might not afford, Davids pointed out  that most current tall buildings, however, address a very real and important issue that many countries and cities face – “the fact that we are running out of space to house people”.

In China, for instance, a single square kilometre typically houses 50,000 people. These people are typically living in three to four storey buildings (blocks of flats) covering approximately 50 percent of the land area, while infrastructure consumes another 20 percent, leaving only 30 percent for the area for recreation, growing food, energy production etc.

This challenge, the building expert argues, can be efficiently tackled with tall buildings which not only address sustainability issues but could also mean life or death to large segments of the population.

“Instead of looking at marginalisation and equality, tall buildings become part of a life and death argument,” he adds.

According to him, with tall buildings the same 50,000 people can be housed in 10 percent of the same land space, then 90 percent of the area can be utilised for recreation, food production, energy generation and infrastructure which is an incredible improvement from the current situation.

“Housing the population of a growing city in these tall buildings is a big winner for all involved – developers, government as well as citizens – and it’s a driving force behind tall buildings,” he added.

ODINAKA MBONU