Australia has a rich history of prefabrication. During the mid-nineteenth century gold rush, massive prospecting migrations framed a fertile environment for the delivery of moveable houses to set up temporary barracks and communities. Corrugated iron houses dispatched from Great Britain are the most notorious and the rolled iron sheet metal became a form of industrial vernacular in Australian modern architecture. Notwithstanding some of these emblematic traditions, prefab is still marginally applied in Australia with only about 3% of new construction deploying industrialized construction systems. With contemporary needs and challenges driven by ecological constraints along with increasing urban populations, Australia like other industrialized countries is directing policy and industry stimulating a renewed interest in offsite construction: achieving more, wasting less in a quality controlled environment. Further, inflation and a dearth of traditional trades have increased construction costs and made housing affordability a major obstacle.
Pushed by lobby groups, the centralized hub of all things prefab in Australia, prefabAUS https://www.prefabaus.org.auis educating consumers, and government housing provision stakeholders towards greater knowledge sharing regarding potential systems and the advantages of prefabrication to reach a 10% market share; a 7% uptake that will require an concerted effort form all concerned parties. Modular volumetric, in particular, is being touted as a way forward for the Australian offsite construction sector. From completed flats, to utility rooms and bathroom pods, factory produced boxes intelligently assembled make quick work of any building type as they can be completed up to 70% offsite. Smart BaseTM and Fast HookTM strategies marketed by pod manufacturer Pacific Australia are showcasing how modern methods of construction can transform production from intensive site based management to efficient manufacturing methodologies. Austruss, Buildom, Dynamic Pods, Hutchinson Builders, Interpod, Platinum Pacific Australia, Podium Pods, Puda, Schiavello and Sync (Hickory Group) are companies supplying this type of functional unit in glass reinforced plastics, steel or reinforced concrete. Consolidating market forces is one of PrefabAUS’s greatest potential strengths and cross-pollinating industrial partners leads to a mature market place ensuring that a 7 % market growth doesn’t lead to another era of connoted prefabs but a robust alternative to onsite archaic practices.
From Iron Houses to Modern Methods of Construction
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