PREFABRICATED BUILDING TECHNOLOGIES AND HISTORY OF PREFABRICATED BUILDINGS

What is Prefabricated?

It is aimed to create an optimum building system that can adequately meet the required standards in terms of durability, architectural design, compliance with living standards, comfort, construction time and minimum maintenance requirement, according to the purpose of use in the buildings. For this reason, a need for prefabricated construction methods has arisen.

Prefabricated building is a type of building that is constructed by assembling the building elements that have been pre-produced in the factory and only have the assembly stage left, by bringing the parts together as planned in the field. Prefabricated buildings can be single-storey or multi-storey.

The general purpose of the prefabricated structure is to maintain a certain level and standardization in working conditions, while controlling the quality of materials in the factory, leaving the least amount of work to the assembly area.

The systems that make up the prefabricated structure can be in the form of bar elements such as beams, columns, frames and arches, and shell elements consisting of planar elements and shell parts called panels or boards used to make floors and walls.

What is Prefabrication?

Prefabrication is the system that consists of producing building elements in a factory environment with the sensitivity of modern industrial methods, serially and through relevant quality control processes, and then transporting these building elements to the construction site and assembling them together using different methods.

With the development of prefabrication technology, a project can be easily analyzed and dimensioned, taking into account the function of the elements, their supply and ease of assembly.

Compared to traditional construction techniques, prefabrication provides faster and better quality production than planned with the intensive use of machines. Since construction can be done regardless of season in terms of prefabrication technology, workers can work, thus providing economic advantages for both the public and the state. The production of prefabricated building elements carried out in an indoor environment is not affected by seasonal conditions, the carrier elements can be produced in the factory while the necessary infrastructure works for the project are continuing on the construction site, and the work schedule is determined more precisely and the prediction of possible delays is shortened considerably since the production is fixed. Specialization is achieved through continuity in production. Starting and continuing production in the factory, even if the construction site is not ready, does not cause any harm.

In prefabrication, quality controls and inspections are applied more effectively than traditional methods. Controls at every stage of production and in stock enable high quality production. In terms of quality, prefabrication can provide high quality opportunities due to its structure that is prone to planning, programming and control, and is ultimately economical. In prefabrication, construction quality is ensured by machines, and in traditional construction, by quality of workmanship.

Prefabricated elements produced under effective control under factory conditions are of higher quality than traditional methods in terms of both strength and durability.

It is possible to increase the quality level of prefabricated elements through production, taking into account weather and environmental conditions that are difficult to control in traditional working methods. With quality controls, it is possible to manufacture at the desired standards. By achieving the desired quality in factory production, the structural elements produced are longer-lasting and stronger.

History of Prefabricated Buildings

England, which started to use steam power in factories during the industrial revolution, wanted to be ahead in the field of industrialization by establishing many factories. He thought he could achieve this with prefabrication construction methods. Because the speed in prefabricated buildings was much higher than traditional construction methods. For this reason, England has made large investments in the prefabricated sector and has become a leader in the sector.

The first patent was received in England by Frederick Ranson in 1844 on the subject of "Prefabricated Concrete Building Elements". The first scientific article about prefabricated structures was published by George Godwin in England in 1936. Godwin's article was the first technical publication encouraging the use of prefabrication methods.

The first prefabricated structure is known as a paneled wooden house, which was manufactured in England in 1624 and sent to a fishing fleet in Massachusetts, USA, to provide shelter. One of the most concrete and pioneering examples of prefabrication technique is the Eiffel Tower, completed in 1889. This building, which is the most popular symbol of Paris, owes its height of 324 meters and its completion in a short time of approximately 2 years to this construction technique.

In the early 1900s, we were greeted by an apartment building in Liverpool, the world's first prefabricated building with precast concrete panels. Undoubtedly, the industrial revolution was very effective in terms of showing the power of iron on the last two structures we listed and meeting the housing demand that increased with population growth.

In addition, it is known that between 1908 and 1940, the American Sears company sold approximately 75 thousand prefabricated houses of 400 different types.

Despite everything, prefabricated buildings had not yet become widespread in terms of housing construction. At the end of World War II, which started in 1939 and lasted for six years, an urgent need for shelter arose and it was decided to solve this need quickly. During this period, the ideal environment for prefabrication applications was created and the prefabricated building sector gradually developed.