Specially Invited Guests for This Issue
Shanghai Xingbang Construction Technology Co., Ltd.
Liu Qiang
General Manager of Shanghai Xingbang Construction Technology Co., Ltd., Liu Qiang graduated from the Institute of Engineering Mechanics at Dalian University of Technology in June 1988 with a Master’s degree in Engineering. He also earned an EMBA from the School of Business Administration at Fudan University in January 2005.
Professional Experience:
– Worked at Dalian Planning and Design Institute from June 1988 to April 1992.
– Employed at a Japanese company from April 1992 to December 1998, specializing in precast concrete (PC) architectural design.
– Founded Shanghai Xingbang Construction Technology Co., Ltd. in January 1999, focusing on industrial building design. With over 20 years of experience in PC building design, the company has extensive expertise in various precast concrete structure designs. Mr. Liu currently serves as an expert on the Shanghai Construction Industrialization Expert Committee.
Key Achievements:
– Contributed to the PCF section of the “Design Specification for Prefabricated Concrete Residential System” within Shanghai’s engineering standards.
– Participated in the development of the PCF section of the “Standard Atlas of Assembled Integral Concrete Structures.”
– Compiled national architectural standard design drawings for “Prefabricated Reinforced Concrete Balcony, Air Conditioning, and Child Wall” and “Prefabricated Concrete Shear Wall Exterior Wall Panels.”
– Completed nearly one hundred overseas PC architectural design projects and over forty domestic PC architectural projects.
About Shanghai Xingbang
Established in 1999, Shanghai Xingbang Construction Technology Co., Ltd. specializes in design and technical consulting for industrial construction, building construction, and prefabricated components for municipal engineering. Prior to 2006, the company primarily served Japanese clients, gaining rich experience and insights into modern building technology through ongoing international collaboration.
Since 2007, the company has partnered with prominent developers such as Vanke, Poly, Greenland, Ronglv, Jindi, Xuhui, Shangshi, Shimao, Rui’an, Beijing Affordable Housing Center, Sansheng, Sunshine City, and Shangkun. It has also worked with design general contractors including Zhongsen, Tianhua, Yuangu, Lianchuang, Nanjing Changjiang City, China Academy of Architectural Design and Research, and China Construction Shanghai Institute.
Xingbang has designed more than 70 domestic industrialized residential projects across cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Xiamen, and Shenyang. Notable projects include Shanghai New Mileage, Nanjing Shangfang Single Apartment, Chongqing Hualongqiao Residential, and Beijing Guogongzhuang Affordable Housing. Combining international design experience with domestic expertise, Xingbang has established a mature technical system in the field.
Q1. Could you introduce your company’s most representative industrial construction projects?
Mr. Liu:
Vanke New Mileage
This was Xingbang Construction’s first domestic PC design project and also the first prefabricated assembled concrete shear wall structure residential project in China using the PCF construction method.
Vanke Maritime Legend
The first prefabricated concrete shear wall structure residential project in Shanghai, designed by Xingbang Construction, utilizing PC components for the load-bearing structure.
Beijing Guogongzhuang Affordable Housing
This project features a prefabricated and assembled concrete shear wall residential structure and is the first PC project in China to apply vacuum insulation materials for sandwich insulation shear walls. It is also pioneering in extensive use of PC decorative beams and columns on the exterior facade.
Vanke Nanjing Shangfang Single Apartment
This residential project employs prefabricated and assembled concrete frame structures designed by Xingbang Construction. It is Vanke’s highest prefabrication rate project to date, with PC components used for the main structure and ALC lightweight concrete wall panels for the enclosure.
Vanke Jade Riverside
This prefabricated and assembled concrete shear wall structure project is the first large-scale PC residential project in Shanghai to utilize stone reverse engineering technology.
Greenland Yangpu 96 Neighborhood
This public building project features a prefabricated and assembled concrete frame shear wall structure and is the tallest high-rise of its kind in Shanghai, designed by Xingbang Construction.
Building 4, Haicang Biomedical, Xiamen
This project is the first in Xiamen to use a prefabricated and assembled concrete frame structure for its main structure and PC external wall panels for the exterior enclosure, completed by Xingbang Construction.
Shanghai Jinshan Tinglin School
The first public building project in Shanghai to use brick reverse technology for PC sandwich insulation external wall panels, designed by Xingbang Construction.
Caojing Thermal Power Office Building
The first specialized EPC project for plain concrete sandwich insulation PC external wall panels, completed by Xingbang Construction.
Shanghai Metro Line 17 Station
The first subway station project in China to utilize plain concrete PC external wall panels and PC decorative components for the exterior enclosure structure, designed by Xingbang Architecture.
Q2. Could you share the Japanese industrial building projects your company has contributed to?
Mr. Liu: I have worked on numerous industrial construction projects in Japan. Here are some representative examples.
Shin Tokyo Sangkei Building
Located in Otemachi 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, this 31-story building with 3 underground floors was completed in October 2000. Our company participated in designing prefabricated floor slabs.
Shared Residences in Sagamihara Hashimoto Area
Completed in January 2004, located in Nishibashimoto 5-chome, Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture. Our company designed prefabricated panels for balconies, corridors, and handrails.
Umeda Hanshin 2nd Building
Located in 2-chome, Kita-ku, Osaka City, Japan, this 28-floor high-rise was completed in August 2004. Our company contributed to the design of PC external wall panels.
High-Speed Offset Sakai Factory
Located at Plot 3-132, Yamato Dori, Matsuya, Osaka Prefecture, completed in March 2004. Our company participated in designing prefabricated external wall panels.
WPC Residence in Qiyu County
A five-story fully PC residential building with almost all components—wall panels, floor slabs, balconies, stairs, and decorative columns—prefabricated. Connections are cast in place locally, achieving a prefabrication rate over 90%. Our company completed the PC design for this project.
Aichi University Lane Campus
Located at 2-10-31, Tongjing, East District, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. This teaching and research building for the Faculty of Law and Accounting has a podium with 3 floors and a tower rising to 13 floors. Our company contributed to the design of PC external wall panels.
Others:
– Nishikata 1-chome New Construction Project: a 25-story high-rise residential building in Toyoshima-ku, Tokyo. The frame structure includes prefabricated beams, columns, floors, and balconies. Our company participated in the PC design.
– BEL.AIR MAX Guangchuan New Construction Project: Xingbang completed the ALC exterior wall design.
– Leo Beverage Co., Ltd. Factory Construction.
Q3. Could you introduce the progress on the “Shanghai Prefabricated and Assembled Integrated Concrete Building Deepening Design Guidelines” led by your company?
Mr. Liu:
First, on behalf of Xingbang Construction, I would like to sincerely thank the Shanghai Building Materials Market Management Station for their trust and support, as well as our industry peers for their cooperation.
On May 5, 2016, the Shanghai Construction and Building Materials Industry Market Management Station organized an expert review of the “Shanghai Prefabricated Integrated Concrete Building Deepening Design Guidelines (Shear Wall Structures),” undertaken by Shanghai Xingbang Construction Technology Co., Ltd. Experts provided fair and positive feedback, noting the guidelines’ significance in improving the quality of deepening design work for prefabricated integrated buildings. The proposed outline and table of contents were deemed reasonable, and approval to proceed was granted.
To enhance the guidelines, the expert group recommended coordination with national standards and local regulations. The content should be further refined to better connect construction drawing design, component production, and on-site construction processes.
Based on these recommendations and Xingbang’s PC deepening design experience, the company has advanced the preparation of the guidelines. A mid-term evaluation is scheduled for September 20th by the Shanghai Construction and Building Materials Industry Market Management Station, with expert participation.
Q4. What are the most mature PC construction methods your company employs?
Mr. Liu: Our expertise includes WPC, WRPC, RPC, and PC curtain walls from Japan; domestic prefabricated assembled integral concrete shear walls (PCF, embedded PC, sandwich insulation); prefabricated assembled integral concrete frame structures; prefabricated assembled integral concrete frame shear wall structures; and prefabricated concrete external wall panels.
Q5. What experience can your company share regarding the design of prefabricated structures for municipal engineering?
Mr. Liu: The rapid growth of China’s economy supports ongoing improvements in public infrastructure. While ensuring safety and cost-effectiveness, environmental protection and efficient resource use are increasingly important.
Prefabricated concrete components offer advantages in functionality, safety, economy, and creating comfortable environments that save resources.
Since 1999, Xingbang Construction has designed municipal precast concrete components and contributed to numerous projects in Japanese municipal, water conservancy, and revetment engineering, providing technical support for Japanese clients. Leveraging extensive business networks, our engineering work covers nearly all regions of Japan, completing approximately 1,600 design projects annually. In 2015 alone, we completed 1,802 municipal precast concrete engineering designs in Japan.
PC components include underground drainage facilities, road drainage systems, municipal pipe galleries, retaining walls (gravity and independent load-bearing types), drainage ditches (agricultural water conservancy), and revetments for coasts, riverbanks, and highways.
Xingbang regularly sends technical staff to partner companies in Japan for training and collaborative participation throughout the project lifecycle—from initial R&D to construction acceptance. This has cultivated a team of nearly 20 professional municipal PC designers with deep expertise. We hope to contribute substantially to the application of prefabricated components in domestic municipal, water conservancy, and shoreline protection projects.
Q6. What challenges remain in the current field of PC architectural design?
Mr. Liu:
1. Improvement of Technical Regulations
Especially for prefabricated shear wall structures, there is no comprehensive technology worldwide that fully meets China’s seismic standards. Existing regulations emphasize structural safety equivalent to cast-in-place concrete but restrict industrial production and on-site construction efficiency.
Industrialization aims to improve quality, reduce labor, conserve resources, protect the environment, and shorten construction time. Therefore, further research and experimentation on prefabricated shear wall structures are necessary. Developing prefabricated structural systems optimized for production and construction—rather than simply replicating cast-in-place structures—is the future direction.
2. Talent Development
The shortage of qualified PC designers severely impacts the quality and timeline of prefabricated concrete building projects, hindering industry growth. There is a lack of accessible, high-quality educational resources and professional training in prefabricated concrete technologies.
This talent gap results in high workloads for existing designers and frequent turnover due to intense competition. Addressing the shortage of skilled personnel and improving technical training are urgent priorities for the industry.
3. Technical Tools
3D simulation software is vital for R&D, design, product quality improvement, shortened development cycles, and ongoing maintenance in industrial construction. However, BIM technology has yet to be fully adopted across China’s construction industry due to software limitations, user proficiency, and computer hardware constraints.
Finding ways to efficiently and effectively apply BIM technology to prefabricated concrete building design under current conditions is a critical challenge.
4. Product Technical Standards
When designing for Japanese clients, Xingbang can complete detailed designs for a five-story WPC residential building within two weeks, with onsite construction taking less than three days per floor.
This efficiency and quality are possible because Japanese clients maintain strict enterprise product technical standards, and all components are supplied by professional manufacturers. This system enables the production of high-quality, affordable residential buildings with short construction times.
Q7. What benefits did your company gain from participating in last year’s BIC exhibition?
Mr. Liu:
Participation in the BIC Shanghai International Building Industrialization Exhibition allowed Xingbang Construction to gain deep insights into the current industrialized construction market and demands. It expanded our industry influence, facilitated cooperation with related resources, and significantly accelerated our company’s growth.
Q8. What are your company’s future plans in the field of prefabricated construction?
Mr. Liu:
The prefabricated construction sector is growing rapidly with broad potential. Quickly and steadily adapting to market demands while maintaining industry leadership is both a challenge and an opportunity for us.
Over the past year, Xingbang Construction has strengthened its business capabilities by integrating resources along the industry chain. We have evolved from providing basic technical services to specialized construction of prefabricated concrete buildings. Through resource integration, we aim to offer the market high-quality, comprehensive products and services.
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