Abstract:
Speed of construction and improved environmental performance are two critical concerns which
modern construction industry pays a significant amount of attention on. Employing innovative
prefabricated modular structures is one key strategy used to achieve these goals. However, there
is an absence of detailed scientific research or case studies dealing with the potential
environmental benefits of prefabrication, particularly in the areas of embodied energy savings
resulting from waste reduction and improved efficiency of material usage. This paper gives a
brief overview of prefabricated modular structures and aims to quantify the embodied energy of
modular prefabricated steel and timber multi-residential buildings in order to determine whether
this form of construction provides improved environmental performance over conventional
concrete construction methods.
A case study was carried out on an eight-storey, 3943 m2 multi-residential building. It was
found that a steel-structured prefabricated system resulted in a significantly reduced material
consumption of up to 78% by mass compared to conventional concrete construction. However,
the prefabricated steel building resulted in an increase (~50%) in embodied energy compared to
the concrete building. This form of construction has the potential to contribute significantly
towards improved environmental sustainability in the construction industry.
