Are prefabricated apartments the ace in the hole, so to speak, in solving British Columbia’s housing affordability crisis?
Boston, whose group advocates for prefabricated, mass timber construction, echoed the report calling for swifter government policy planning to spur off-site construction of prefabricated homes. Boston said about 40,000 construction workers will be lost to retirement in the coming decade and it’s unlikely they will all be replaced.So, one solution, said Boston, may be to create construction efficiencies: building multiple complexes elsewhere and moving them on to a site for quick assembly, not unlike modular homes.
“The use of building components prefabricated off-site in factories/warehouses creates significant efficiencies and eliminates costly delays, as they can be manufactured in advance, and rapidly assembled on site, minimizing disruption in established neighbourhoods,” stated the report.“Standardized guidelines and zoning regulations, including pre-approved reference plans could be made available open source, and wouldn't need to go through additional design review,” stated the report.