A Chinese manufacturer has once again demonstrated the use of its modular construction method by erecting a 10-storey apartment block in a little over a day.
Broad Group accomplished the feat in its home town of Changsha using bolt-together modular units, which it calls its "Living Building" system.
• See the building go up here: https://youtu.be/you-BV35B9Y
The company, which makes a range of air-conditioning, heating and prefabricated structural units, completed the job in 28 hours and 45 minutes, with the help of three cranes and a large on-site workforce.
The Living Building system was designed to be easy to transport and install. Components can fit into a standard shipping container, and be bolted together on site. Wiring and ductwork are factory-fitted.
The system used Broad’s B-Core steel slabs as structural elements. The company says these are 10-times lighter and 100-times stronger than conventional alternatives, and can resist earthquakes and typhoons. It also claims that the cost is "lower than that of a carbon steel building" and has very low energy consumption.
The company also claims that the strength and lightness of B-Core means that buildings of up to 200 storeys – supertall towers – could be made from the modules.
In 2012 the company ceremonially broke ground in Changsha on a project to build the tallest tower in the world, at 838m – 10m taller that the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. Broad claimed it could top out the residential tower dubbed Sky City in just eight months, but it failed to get necessary approvals and was never built.Â
Broad went on to erect several other towers at lightning speed using its proprietary prefabrication technique, such as a 57-storey building in just 19 days.Â
Image: A still from Broad Group’s publicity video, showing progress after 22 hours
Further reading:
- The point of Sky City Â
- Sky City developer Zhang Yue erects world’s tallest prefab tower in 19 days Â
- Goldman Sachs sinks £75m into UK modular housing firmÂ
- Singapore to spend $139m promoting modular and digital constructionÂ
- World’s tallest modular scheme approved in London
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