Authors: Joachim Zwicky, Sandra Filipe, Fernanda Rodrigues
Abstract: The purpose of the current study is to examine a State-of-the-Art Research (SoTA) in Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) with the analysing focus on a holistic design process in Terms of (A) Design (B) BIM and Digitalization and (C) Sustainability. The identified findings and research gaps will be presented in a structured way and an approach will be outlined to describe a holistic Modular integrated Construction Model by considering all research fields. This paper provides also a framework for practitioners withing the construction industry but especially for start-up companies out of the construction technology segment. The current State of the Art Review was guided by a Systematic Literature Review. The search engines Web of Science was used to find the required literature using a set of key words. In the research and literature review, the relevance and actuality of papers was considered as selection criteria. A total of 54 articles were examined and analysed. The paper examines aspects concerning Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) and sustainable construction practices. It emphasizes the necessity of employing a comprehensive design approach in MiC to enhance sustainability performance through progressive technologies and tactics. The paper underscores the value of utilizing automated generative design systems and advanced simulation methods to choose optimal building layouts, components, and materials in MiC projects. Furthermore, the document highlights the importance of incorporating Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DfMA) principles in MiC to simplify construction processes and streamline work packages. Lastly, it discusses the development of Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled smart Building Information Modeling (BIM) platforms for on-site assembly services in MiC projects. The topic of Modular Integrated Construction Technology with components prefabricated in a factory has already been investigated in many scientific papers. As a rule, the criteria were examined separately or in combination with two criteria such as Design for Manufacturing and Design for Assembly or BIM and Sustainability. With this State-of-the-Art Research, a holistic approach is to be pursued in which the findings and research gaps are structured and provide an evidence-based knowledge in order to conceive an innovative and holistic Modular Integrated Construction Model combing the criteria of Design, BIM and Digitalization and Sustainability. Modular Construction Technology is being discussed at the scientific, political and economic level and often presented as the “game changer” to make housing affordable particularly in urban areas and larger cities around the globe. The new German government e.g., announced by end of 2021 the demand of yearly 400.000 new apartments, mainly in terms of Social Residential Housing; in California, the target is to build 3,5 million new apartments until 2025 and in Hong Kong, around 200,000 people live in shacks of less than two square meters and pay as much as for a room in a shared apartment in Germany. The housing shortage mentioned above is becoming the driver of a necessary transformation in the construction industry. Important cornerstones of this transformation are to make construction faster and less cost-intensive, to make the value creation processes more sustainable and to inter-connect the separate process steps from planning to recycling of building materials or entire construction modules at the end of a house cycle.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16027668
