In the construction and electromechanical engineering industries, prefabricated component assembly technology from Western countries such as the UK and Germany has been widely adopted. In recent years, China has also strongly promoted the use of prefabricated component assembly in building and residential construction projects. According to China’s latest Outline of the Modernization Development Plan for the Construction Industry, by 2020, prefabricated buildings will account for 20% of all new constructions, with this figure expected to exceed 50% by 2025.
However, unlike the growing adoption of prefabricated assembly technology in construction and electromechanical engineering, the landscape industry has mainly used prefabrication to speed up the construction of special structures such as landscape features. The concept of fully integrated prefabricated assembly design and construction in landscape engineering has not yet gained widespread industry support or undergone significant secondary development. As a result, a systematic approach to prefabricated assembly in landscape engineering has yet to be established.
Traditionally, construction projects involve collaboration among the client, design team, construction team, and supervision unit. However, in this conventional model, the design and construction teams do not have a direct contractual relationship; they fulfill their respective duties under the client’s direction, often lacking effective communication. The design team’s responsibilities are limited to creating design copies, construction drawings, and coordinating with the client, without direct involvement in the construction process.
Prefabricated technology fundamentally changes this outdated multi-party cooperation model. It demands stricter management of construction project drawings and BIM models. Consequently, most prefabricated projects adopt the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) model, which integrates design and construction under a single contract. In this setup, the construction unit leads, tasked not only with executing construction plans, schedules, and budgets assigned by the client but also coordinating with the design team from the early design stage. This includes planning the segmentation and interface connections of BIM model components and preparing corresponding construction technical plans during the build phase.
In landscape engineering, prefabricated construction primarily leverages BIM modeling to parameterize complex landscape components. This enables factories to prefabricate uniquely shaped landscape elements based on project data provided by BIM or 5D platforms. These components are then transported to the site for assembly.
BIM technology holds parameterized data for prefabricated landscape components. Through BIM application platforms, professionals can analyze components, create BIM models, produce detailed processing-level design drawings, manage collaboration across disciplines, and simulate virtual construction assembly. This allows all parties involved in landscape construction to monitor and manage the entire process.
The integration of various technologies — including 3D scanning, BIM modeling, factory prefabrication, and on-site assembly — significantly shortens installation times, improves product quality, conserves materials and labor, and enhances progress management. Optimizing landscape assembly plans helps prevent resource waste, reduce material consumption, cut labor costs, and realize mechanized construction.
Prefabricated construction in landscape architecture can be based on a BIM component library, offering several key advantages:
(1) Establishing a BIM component library enriches the variety, types, and material specifications of landscape components by integrating BIM models or collecting components from other projects. This creates a specialized prefabricated component library tailored for landscape engineering;
(2) BIM technology assists in component segmentation and design optimization, preventing design flaws that lead to technical and economic inefficiencies. It helps reduce the number and variety of prefabricated components. Processing drawings generated from BIM models not only clarify two-dimensional relationships but also accurately represent complex contours, improving communication with factories;
(3) BIM models accurately represent complex component shapes. By utilizing BIM’s virtual construction features, construction teams can simulate assembly, detect collisions, and rehearse building complex nodes. This enables construction personnel to fully understand the design intent and access prefabrication details, avoiding errors from traditional 2D drawings and creating an integrated production and transportation workflow, thus boosting accuracy and efficiency.
Huang Zhichao
South China University of Technology
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