Source: Zhongzhuang Xinwang
With prefabricated construction technology, a 30-story high-rise can be completed in as little as 180 days using only 12 workers. Achieving such a timeline using traditional methods is simply impossible. This highlights the remarkable efficiency of prefabricated buildings.
As environmental pressures rise, traditional concrete buildings are gradually being replaced by prefabricated structures. This shift introduces new industry trends but also sparks reshuffling and restructuring.
Recently, Zhao Luxing, a researcher at the Policy Research Center of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, spoke at the 8th China (Yongkang) International Door Expo Forum on Prefabricated Buildings and Supporting Doors and Windows. He emphasized that the development of prefabricated buildings marks a significant transformation in construction methods and plays a crucial role in promoting supply-side structural reforms and new urbanization efforts.
To support this development, the State Council issued the “Guiding Opinions on Vigorously Developing Prefabricated Buildings” in September last year. The goal is to increase the proportion of prefabricated buildings in new construction from under 5% to 30% within roughly ten years.
Earlier, the State Council released the “Opinions on Promoting the Sustainable and Healthy Development of the Construction Industry,” which also set a target of reaching a 30% share of prefabricated buildings in new construction within about a decade. Experts estimate that China’s prefabricated building market will grow to 2.5 trillion yuan over the next ten years. From an economic perspective, this growth is highly significant.
Driving Industry Transformation
Over the past 30 years, although the construction industry has expanded rapidly, it has encountered challenges such as high energy consumption, pollution, waste, and inconsistent quality. These issues have become bottlenecks for the industry’s progress. Prefabricated buildings have emerged as a solution to these problems.
Prefabricated construction involves manufacturing building components—such as walls and composite panels—in factories according to standards, then assembling them on-site. This approach includes prefabricated concrete, steel, and modern wood structures, utilizing standardized design, factory production, prefabrication, information management, and smart applications.
Simply put, it’s like assembling a house from building blocks, similar to car manufacturing. Much of the on-site work shifts to factory assembly lines, turning construction sites into “assembly workshops.”
Ge Xin, a researcher at Lange Steel Research Center, explains that prefabricated buildings are assembled on-site from factory-produced components like beams, columns, slabs, wall panels, doors, windows, stairs, connection nodes, and plumbing or electrical equipment. These components are connected using reliable assembly methods.
Compared to traditional construction, prefabricated buildings offer faster build times, fewer weather constraints, labor savings, and improved quality. Ge Xin summarizes this as “building houses with building blocks, producing houses on assembly lines.”
Developing prefabricated buildings conserves resources, reduces pollution, boosts labor productivity, and enhances quality and safety. It also promotes the integration of construction with information technology, helps alleviate overcapacity, and fosters new industries. With ongoing national policies encouraging prefabrication, the construction sector is poised for significant change—the era of building blocks is arriving,” said Yang Chao, Operations Manager at the New Energy Design and Research Center, China Northwest Architectural Design and Research Institute, in an interview with China National Economic News.
Sun Xiaoyan, director of the Steel Structure Research Institute at Tsinghua Tongheng Planning and Design Institute, Beijing, added that now is the best time for prefabricated building development. Continuous advancements in research, engineering practice, technology, and standards—such as the release of “Technical Standards for Prefabricated Concrete Buildings” and “Technical Standards for Prefabricated Steel Structure Buildings”—provide a solid foundation for design and construction in China.
With the gradual formation of a complete industry chain encompassing development, design, production, construction, and equipment, the prefabricated building sector is set to bloom, Sun Xiaoyan emphasized.
Local Governments Actively Support Development
Thanks to the clear advantages of prefabricated buildings and robust national support, regional governments are increasingly embracing this construction method, stepping up their efforts to promote it.
According to incomplete statistics, by 2015, over 30 provinces and cities in China had issued guidelines and supporting measures for prefabricated building development and building industrialization. Many regions have set explicit targets for industrialized construction, with several releasing detailed development plans.
Beijing’s “2017 Work Plan for the Development of Prefabricated Buildings” identified 2017 as a pivotal year. The plan aimed for prefabricated buildings to account for over 10% of new construction area by the end of that year. It also outlined the establishment of a preliminary policy framework, technical support system, and industry capacity tailored to prefabricated buildings. New industrial buildings were explicitly required to adopt prefabricated methods.
Recently, Hebei Province’s Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued its “13th Five-Year Plan for Prefabricated Building Development,” setting goals, paths, and tasks for joint development with Beijing and Tianjin between 2016 and 2020. The plan mandates that steel structures make up at least 10% of prefabricated buildings and proposes building a demonstration park in Baoding, near Xiong’an New Area, leveraging local enterprises to serve Beijing, Xiong’an, and surrounding regions.
Other cities such as Xi’an and Yantai have also released policies specifying prefabricated building proportions in new construction. Yang Chao noted that regional enthusiasm for prefabricated buildings reflects a broader shift in construction methods driven by macroeconomic demands and national promotion, with traditional on-site pouring methods expected to decline significantly.
Furthermore, experts point out that the expanding prefabricated building market will stimulate demand for green building materials.
Ge Xin highlighted that China’s national green building action plan promotes the use of environmentally friendly and energy-saving steel, which will increasingly benefit prefabricated construction.
Industry forecasts estimate that from 2015 to 2020, the prefabricated building market will grow at a compound annual rate exceeding 37%, adding nearly 2 trillion yuan in market value over five years. Given that steel structures represent about 15% of prefabricated buildings, the steel structure segment alone could grow by nearly 300 billion yuan during this period. This growth will drive steel demand, expand the steel structure market, and usher in a boom for green building steel.
The Future for Construction Workers
As prefabricated building development accelerates, one notable feature is the significant reduction in labor costs.
Before construction begins, components are mostly machine-produced in factories, a stark contrast to traditional manual pouring. Advanced manufacturing enables on-site assembly by machines following design plans, substantially reducing manual labor.
The construction industry traditionally employs many roles—bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers, welders, scaffolders, curtain wall installers, and concrete workers—all relying heavily on manual labor with a highly specialized division of work akin to “human wave tactics.” However, with the shift to assembly-based construction, the focus moves to assembly, reducing the need for many traditional roles and presenting challenges for construction workers.
“Seeing the steel structures arriving by truck, I’m amazed by the mechanization efficiency. If this trend continues, it will be very difficult for unskilled workers like me to find jobs on construction sites in the future,” a construction worker shared with China National Economic News reporters.
Industry experts stress that prefabricated construction reduces, but does not eliminate, labor use. Human involvement remains essential throughout all project stages. Even in advanced countries, fully labor-free building construction is nearly impossible. However, workers must now possess stronger technical knowledge, operational skills, and scientific understanding.
Prefabricated construction is the future, and the decline of traditional construction roles is a reality. This shift poses new challenges for workers, who must transition from manual labor to more skilled, technical roles. “Construction workers should seize the opportunity presented by ongoing prefabricated building projects to gain exposure, deepen their knowledge, and master prefabricated construction techniques,” advised Xiao Jihui, Executive Director of Xi’an Letu Human Resources Co., Ltd., in an interview with China National Economic News.
Nonetheless, traditional workers need not worry excessively. While many conventional roles decrease, new job types will arise, including machinery operation, scheduling, welding, and component installation.
“With new technological models emerging, new job demands will follow. Prefabricated buildings require operators for various machinery and workers for manual tasks during production, creating foreseeable employment opportunities,” an industry insider told China National Economic News.
Additionally, ensuring precise assembly and standardization of building components demands skilled professionals, increasing the need for specialized talent with higher qualifications.
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