Sustainable construction aspects of using prefabrication in dense urban environment: a Hong Kong case study

TLDR

Hong Kong’s construction sector traditionally relies on labor‑intensive, polluting cast‑in‑situ methods, whereas global trends increasingly favor prefabrication to reduce environmental impacts. The study examines the sustainable construction aspects of adopting prefabrication in high‑rise buildings, assessing economic, environmental, and social dimensions. The authors surveyed industry professionals and analyzed seven recent Hong Kong residential and non‑residential high‑rise projects. The study found that prefabrication delivers significant environmental, economic, and social benefits over conventional methods, suggesting broader adoption could enhance sustainable construction in dense urban settings.

Abstract

The construction industry in Hong Kong heavily relies on conventional cast in‐situ construction involving extensive use of timber formworks and wet trades. In 2001, the Construction Industry Review Committee (CIRC) report described the construction activities in Hong Kong as ‘labour intensive, dangerous and polluting’, in which ‘built products are rarely defect‐free’. Globally, however, the recent trend is prefabrication, which is being increasingly used in the building industry, alleviating some of the environmental burdens associated with conventional construction. The sustainable construction aspects of adopting prefabrication in high‐rise buildings are examined, and the economic, environmental and social aspects of using prefabrication are assessed. A questionnaire survey was administered to experienced professionals and case studies of seven recent residential and non‐residential buildings in Hong Kong were conducted. The findings revealed that environmental, economic and social benefits of using prefabrication were significant when compared to conventional construction methods. This implies that a wider use of prefabrication techniques could contribute to sustainable construction in a dense urban environment like Hong Kong.