There are those who think that a solution to housing problem is to build more (although the Polytechnic of Catalunya don’t think the same), but that inevitably takes time. Faced with this need, there are those who have resorted to the prefabricated housingwhose acquisition and assembly is more agile compared to traditional constructions. In fact, in Madrid They have already opted for them to build public flats quickly. But China is simply on another level.
A skyscraper against the clock. Because if the work to remove the gotelé, change the floor and assemble the kitchen has cost me a long month in my new apartment, in the Asian country they are revolutionizing architecture with express constructions quite far from the modest prefabricated modules to which we are accustomed. However, in Changsha they have built a 10-story residential building in less than 29 hours. But don’t let the final result fool you: it is still a prefabricated construction.
An XXL LEGO. This building of broad It is not new, in fact it dates back to 2021, but five years later it still leaves people speechless due to the synchronization and speed of execution. Furthermore, this project did turn out well, unlike the Sky City that he wanted to build in 90 days. Obviously having more personnel and the three cranes helps, but what is truly different is that we are dealing with a modular off-site construction. Come on, a large part of the work comes from the factory (the manufacturing there It was 15 days) and then it’s time to assemble the pieces.
Moving a project of this magnitude to a factory has its advantages in that we are in a controlled environment and not out in the open. The Chinese company has been working on prefabricated steel structures for years. ISO size of a standard shipping container (12.19 meters x 2.44 meters x 3 meters), so they can be transported to the facility without problem by truck. In addition, they can be assembled in height and width as appropriate. The entire building could be dismantled for transportation if necessary.
Their secret: B-core steel. These containers are manufactured in B-Core steelwhich consists of two outer stainless steel plates that wrap a core of steel tubes like a sandwich. The structure is joined by fusion by brazing with a copper sheet. In this video From Broad Group you can see the step by step of its manufacture. More important than the technical details is what is gained with this material.
To begin with, the carbon footprint drops considerably by minimizing the use of cement (one of the biggest polluters on the planet), so we are facing a more sustainable construction. But it also offers high resistance to corrosion and since it has high ductility, it better supports seismic movements. According to the corporation, it is an earthquake- and typhoon-proof material. Finally, it is ten times lighter than concrete and assembly is faster, so costs, time and labor are reduced.
Almost everything comes from the factory. The modules arrive by truck to the building construction site in standard trucks, the finishing and plumbing and electrical assembly already completed. There, the cranes are responsible for lifting them to place them exactly where previously planned, the walls and slabs are deployed in situ and finally, they are fixed with high-strength bolts. All that remains is to connect the supplies.
The video is in timelapse. You don’t need it. The Broad group has documented the project in a video which looks like an authentic dance of synchronized choreography where the industrialization of the process on the one hand and the careful planning on the other show in fast motion a process that in real time was equally dizzying: three hours per floor.
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Cover | Broad Group
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