Interior of a hotel room / Source: POSCO
The rate of factory manufacturing was increased dramatically with the adoption of a wire-tension system for assembling units, eliminating on-site work for bolting units. The exterior wall of the modular unit was manufactured in the factory as well. Unlike North American manufacturers, the UBR POD system (including whole bathroom system from framing to plumbing/wiring) was prefabricated in a separate factory and installed in the main factory. Vertical pipes in the space for pipe and duct which was usually worked on-site was prefabricated in the factory as well. Additionally, the electrical wiring system in the ceiling was prefabricated to save time and cost.
Modular floorplan / Source: POSCO
According to the International Forum World Design Guide: “Most buildings created for the Winter Olympic Games have ultimately become “white elephants”. To avoid this problem, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics media residence was designed using relocatable building (RB) units as the media residence during the Games. Afterwards, the buildings were dismantled, and the site was restored to its original condition. Best of all, the RB units will be relocated and reused. To achieve this, the building design followed a fourfold concept: relocatable; reusable; recyclable (steel-based design); and reduced (100% factory made).
This article was adapted from an Awards of Distinction entry. Browse more projects.