The Development of Prefabricated Buildings

The wooden frame assembled houses used during the 17th century immigration to the Americas are a type of prefabricated building. The Crystal Palace, built in London in 1851 with an iron frame and embedded glass, was the world's first large-scale prefabricated building. After World War II, European countries and countries such as Japan faced severe housing shortages and urgently demanded solutions to the housing problem, which promoted the development of prefabricated buildings. In the 1960s, prefabricated buildings were widely promoted. Prefabricated buildings are generally divided into five types based on their structural form and construction methods.
In 2021, the newly started prefabricated construction area in China reached 740 million square meters, an increase of 18% compared to 2020, accounting for 24.5% of the newly built construction area.
In December 2022, the General Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development issued the "List of replicable and promotable experiences in the development of prefabricated buildings (first batch)", summarizing the experiences and practices of various regions in policy guidance, technical support, industrial development, capacity enhancement, supervision and management, and innovative development of prefabricated buildings.