Serial construction – when will the breakthrough come?
Serial construction promises speed, cost benefits and CO₂ savings, key answers to the housing shortage. Although the technology has long since matured, the process is still making slow progress in Germany. What are the causes? An analysis of progress, system hurdles and cultural change.
Constructing buildings from prefabricated components is not a new invention. What was once propagated at the Bauhaus and realised millions of times after the Second World War as prefabricated construction is now experiencing a technological renaissance. Digital planning, sustainable materials and industrial precision enable serial residential buildings with a high level of design.
Efficiency potential in step with production
Serialised construction reduces construction time, lowers costs and improves structural quality thanks to weather-independent production in halls. Projects such as the Hamburg “Woodie” or the Franklin Village in Mannheim demonstrate the strengths of the process, short realisation times, functional standards and architectural diversity. Modern modular and element construction methods enable both individualisation and scalability.
Sustainability meets productivity
Serial processes optimise the use of materials, reduce transport emissions and facilitate dismantling concepts. Hybrid systems, such as those consisting of timber modules and concrete elements, combine ecological construction with industrial efficiency. Systems such as those from Nokera show that standardised construction does not have to be uniform, but can provide targeted answers to urban challenges.
Why the breakthrough is faltering
Despite technical maturity, the market share of standardised methods is less than 12%. The reasons for this are lengthy procurement procedures, a lack of municipal strategies, limited availability of land and a deeply rooted negative image that hinder widespread implementation. In addition, the traditional planning culture is often incompatible with process-optimised approaches.
New structures instead of old routines
Sustainable market anchoring requires system changes and planning and public procurement laws must allow room for serial processes. Local authorities need strategic land policies and coordinated concepts. At the same time, design prejudices need to be dismantled and the design diversity of modular systems made visible, for example through differentiated façades, flexible floor plans and mixed-use typologies.
Serial refurbishment is gaining in importance
It is not only new buildings that benefit from the industrial approach. The modernisation of existing buildings can also be carried out in series – faster, cheaper and more energy-efficient. Projects such as those by ecoworks show how prefabricated façade and roof elements can transform entire apartment blocks in a short space of time. The proportion of such refurbishments is growing from 2 % to 23 % within two years.
Funding policy as a lever
Targeted incentive systems could accelerate serial processes, for example through bonus funding for modular construction or proof of sustainability. So far, there has been a lack of clear guidance. Funding programmes are often open to technology and promote social housing construction, but do not link the funds to production-related processes.