The housing crisis continues to worsen as cities are increasingly falling behind in building housing solutions. As Cities become denser, bringing the modules in by crane and dropping them atop the podium may be sometimes the only solution. With the right use of Modular technology the gap between aesthetics and affordability can be closed.

1. Loay Ghazaleh, MBA, BSc. Civil Eng.
Assessing Modular
Construction As A
Solution For
Egypt’s Rapid Cost-
effective
Development Of
Housing
Requirements
Oct.,2016

2.  CITIES OF THE FUTURE; ASSESSING MODULAR
CONSTRUCTION AS A SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
FOR SMART CITIES
 Modular construction solution, the way cities will be
built
 The Value of Using Modular Construction, Greater,
Faster and Smarter!
 The time frames and costs between the modular
construction with traditional build

3. Container Studios at Trinity Buoy Wharf
Earlier Modular Attempts!

4. MODULAR
CONSTRUCTION
SOLUTION
The housing crisis
continues to worsen
as cities are
increasingly falling
behind in building
housing solutions.
As Cities become
denser, bringing the
modules in by crane
and dropping them
atop the podium may
be sometimes the
only solution.
With the right use of
technology the gap
between aesthetics
and affordability can
be closed.

5. “Modular” Refers To A
“Method Of Construction”
Not A Type Of Home.
In modular construction
building UNITS are
constructed under
controlled plant conditions
with stringent QA/QC
programs, using the same
materials and designing to
the same codes and
standards as conventionally
built facilities.
Structurally, modular
buildings are generally
stronger than conventional
construction as modules are
engineered to withstand the
rigors of transportation and
craning onto foundations.

6. Typical Uses
Security / Border
Education
Health Care
Hospital & RetailCommercial
Office Buildings

7. OFF-SITE BUILT MODULAR BUILDINGS
 Modular buildings are modernizing how the architectural and construction
industries conceptualize, visualize, and build the large scale commercial and
residential buildings of tomorrow.
 Architecturally inspired modular buildings deliver high quality, comfort, and
beauty within a fraction of the time the same building would be constructed
using conventional on-site construction methods.
 Modular construction may not be the right fit for every site but are already
common in roadside hotels and other quick-rising commercial architecture.
 Modular building manufacturers are recognizing the similarities and beginning
to assimilate production of both residential and commercial modular buildings
using the same manufacturing lines.
 It is critical that collaborative planning occurs between architects, general
contractors, and modular companies during the initial developmental phase of
a project to ensure that the owner ultimately receives the most beneficial and
suitable building.

8. Examples of
Modular
Buildings

9. LUXURIOUS MC -
CALIFORNIA
The 444-unit five-story
multifamily luxury
apartments are the
largest in USA to be
constructed of pre-
manufactured modular
units placed on a post-
tensioned parking
podium.
The development,
which opened in
November 2013, was
named best-in-show in
the Modular Building
Institute’s 2015
Awards of Distinction
competition

10. MODULAR’S TRUE
POTENTIAL LIE IN
BUILDING TALL
Zhang Yue, a
developer who is
using a prefab
system to build the
world’s tallest
tower, Sky City, in
Changsha, China,
has constructed a
test slice of 165
stories

11. THE SKY CITY
TOWER, IN
CHANGSHA, CHINA
The Sky City project
is meant to rise 202
stories, beating out
the Burj Khalifa in
Dubai by 30 feet.
The prefab system
expected to slice
building costs on the
tower in half, to an
estimated $1.5
billion.
if built, would
contain 4,450
apartments for
30,000 residents

12. APARTMENT TOWER BY
SHOP ARCHITECTS IN
BROOKLYN, N.Y.
Three apartment
towers ranging in
height from 25 to 49
stories. The tallest
modular buildings ever
completed.
The towers will contain
a total of 1,500 units.
half of the units are
earmarked for low-
and middle-income
residents. The other
half will be market-
rate rentals. They will
be the

13. MICHAEL MALTZAN’S
STAR APARTMENTS IN
LOS ANGELES
104 units Stacked in a zig-
zag pattern, the project is a
hybrid, combining the
adaptive reuse of a small
existing retail building with
a podium above for
community programs.
it demonstrates that
modular buildings can have
real, and even unorthodox,
formal appeal.
The uneven stacking of the
apartment units, and how
they seem to hover in the
air like tilting cabs on a
Ferris wheel, seems likely to
guarantee that the building,
when finished, will carry
with it none of the stale air
of the factory.

14. TYPICAL MODULAR
PLANT
Picture for A 230,000-sm
factory in China’s Hunan
province.
The plant spent several
months producing modules
for the 57-story J57 Mini Sky
City tower, in Changsha, with
800 apartments and office
space for 4,000 workers
The plant uses advanced
prefabrication techniques.
China-based contractor Broad
Sustainable Building erected
the tower in less than three
weeks.

15. The Value of Using
Modular Construction

16. The Value of Using Modular Construction
 Architectural and engineering firms in Europe and Asia are leading the
charge for multi-family modular buildings; while US firms are starting
to see the inherent value of modular methods.
 Off-site modular construction is extremely safe and greatly accelerates
the time to occupancy without any sacrifice of upscale quality and
aesthetics and comes with significant cost savings.
 Modular construction is inherently a natural fit for improved
environmental impact as controlled environment reduces waste
through avoidance upstream rather than diversion downstream.
 Aggressive innovation and cutting-edge sustainable building design are
the fuels in the use of modular construction around the globe.
 Modula's are now seen in educational classroom buildings, patient
rooms in hospitals, hotel rooms, commercial office buildings, and
government buildings such as barracks.

17. MODULAR’S – GREATER!
The factory-controlled process generates less waste, creates fewer site
disturbances and allows for tighter construction.
 Less Site Disturbance
On-site traffic is greatly minimized from workers, equipment and suppliers.
 Greater Flexibility and Reuse
Modular buildings can be disassembled and the modules relocated or
refurbished for new use, reducing the demand for raw materials and minimizing
the amount of energy expended to create a building to meet the new need.
 Less Material Waste
When building in a factory, waste is eliminated by recycling materials, controlling
inventory and protecting building materials.
 Improved Air Quality
Because the modular structure is substantially completed in a factory-controlled
setting using dry materials, the potential for high levels of moisture being
trapped in the new construction is eliminated.

18. MODULAR’S – FASTER!
Construction of modular buildings occurs simultaneously with site work,
allowing projects to be completed in half the time of traditional construction.
 Reduced Construction Schedule
Because construction of modular buildings can occur simultaneously with the
site and foundation work, projects can be completed 30% to 50% sooner than
traditional construction.
 Elimination of Weather Delays
60 - 90% of the construction is completed inside a factory, which mitigates the
risk of weather delays. Buildings are occupied sooner, creating a faster return on
investment.
 Built to Code with Quality Materials
Modular buildings are built to meet or exceed the same building codes and
standards as site-built structures, and the same architect-specified materials
used in conventionally constructed buildings are used in modular construction
projects – wood, concrete and steel.

19. MODULAR’S – SMARTER!
Modular buildings are built with the same materials and to the same building
codes and architectural specifications as traditional construction. Once
assembled, they are virtually indistinguishable from their site-built counterparts.
 Safer Construction
The indoor construction environment reduces the risks of accidents and related
liabilities for workers.
 Better Engineered Building & BIM
MC relies on advanced BIM for visualization to assess the energy performance
and identify the most cost-effective efficiency measures. MC is ideal for the use
of this technology where the construction process is already a collaboration of
systems, materials and people.
 Limitless Design Opportunities
Modular units may be designed to fit in with external aesthetics of any existing
building and modular units, once assembled, are virtually indistinguishable from
their site-built counterparts.

20. Typical Modular Savings
 Project schedules are decreased by 35%
 Project budgets are decreased by 30% - 40%
 Construction site waste is decreased by 50%

21. MODULAR VERSUS PREFABRICATED
 In modular entire sections fully outfitted with appliances, cabinetry, lighting,
and floor finishes are built in a factory and then stacked on site. In prefab, it is
panels or other parts that are delivered to a construction site, where they
have to be assembled. The difference can be crucial to the pace of
construction and its efficiency considering sometimes there is little room for
a staging area for construction as the cities grows denser and less suburban.
 The most efficient kind of modular tower is around 20 stories as lateral frames
can be integrated into the modular and with that comes huge savings.
 In Modular, the work done at the factory ranges from 60% - 80% compared to
that on site, thus;
 With shorter timeline comes significant financial savings as the carrying costs for
construction loans are reduced.
 With the climate being predictable at the factory and work is done at ground
level, a safer job for trade workers is attained.
 A modular process also takes a lot of the mess and noise produced by
construction out of the city and out of people’s neighborhoods.

22. PRECAST BUILDINGS
SYSYEM
Cast into specific shapes
at another location.
Developed in the late
1960s
First use: stair treads,
coping, lintels, window
sills & Slabs (solid flat
slab, hollow core slab,
double tee slab, and
single tee slab)
Slabs supported on frame
of columns and girders

23. Prefabricated Panels
Installation
Certain types of concrete
elements cannot be
precast, and can only be
cast in-situ.
Preferable when bays of
the building are square,
long spans with heavy
workloads.

24. IN-SITU CAST CONCRETE
Concrete that is cast into
forms on the building site.
Easy transportation of wet
concrete
Flexible when it comes to
geometric shapes
Relatively easy to do late
changes to structure.
Disadvantages include;
Produced in an
unprotected environment;
Additional time required
for drying out process and
Requires more temporary
work.

25. TAKEAWYS

26. TAKEAWYS
 Modular Buildings are far more predictable and cost
accurate than traditional construction.
 There is substantially less time required to built
modular homes, so you can save your time as well as
money.
 Modular Buildings allow flexible design possibilities
that best suits projects needs.
 Modular buildings are always energy-efficient and
environment friendly

27. Loay Ghazaleh, MBA, BSc. Civil Eng.
Advisor, Undersecretary Office
Ministry of Works, Bahrain
loay.ghz@gmail.com , +973-36711547