Prefabrication

This is an area of growing interest to architects, and the building industry generally, and the technology is definitely advancing.

The current state of play in New Zealand is that prefabrication offers the benefits of manufacture in clean, dry factory conditions, with increased accuracy, and reduced time required on site.

This comes at the expense of increased lead time requirements, increased upfront technical design resolution time and cost, and reduced design flexibility, particularly once the project is under way. There are also constraints on the size of elements that can be transported to site. Any wall or ceiling elements longer than a truck can carry, for example, will typically need joints designed into them, which may not be visually acceptable for many situations.

High volume but low-end housing, and repetitively designed large commercial premises and budget accommodation buildings seem to be the most amenable candidates for prefabrication, and right now you would not expect significant cost savings for a single bespoke family home.

As the technology advances and economies of scale kick in however, this is likely to change. 3D printing and other technologies will also increasingly automate and speed up the construction process, driving costs down.

ISTOCK There’s a big difference between maintaining a few plants and borders, and professionally designed landscaping.