[2023 Asia Construction Awards] GH Unveils Korea's Tallest Modular Housing in Yongin Yeongdeok

Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation (GH) received the Asia Economic Representative Award in the New Technology and New Construction Method category at this year's Asia Construction Comprehensive Awards.

GH is leading the way in quickly supplying high-quality housing by introducing modular housing with 13 floors, the tallest in Korea. Modular housing is a representative form of industrialized housing, where materials and components such as windows, walls, electrical wiring, plumbing, bathrooms, and kitchen fixtures are pre-assembled into box-shaped modules at a factory, transported to the site, and then assembled and installed. Compared to traditional construction methods, this approach generates less noise, dust, and waste, and can reduce construction time by approximately 30 to 50%.

Overseas, modular construction has already expanded into the high-rise residential market. For example, the Atlantic Yards building in the United States is a 32-story (98m) mixed-use residential building with 363 units, applying 930 modular units, completed in 2016. The Croydon Residential Building in the UK, the world's tallest steel modular building with 546 units, consists of two towers of 44 and 38 floors, applying 1,524 units, and was completed in 2020. In Singapore, the world's tallest precast concrete (PC) modular building, consisting of two 56-story towers built without steel, is scheduled for completion.

Yongin Yeongdeok Gyeonggi Happy Housing Perspective. (Provided by GH)

In Korea, there are few cases of completed high-rise modular buildings. According to the Building Act, buildings with 13 floors or more must meet a fire resistance standard of 3 hours (the time the building can withstand fire). For modular housing, meeting this standard is difficult due to area reduction, increased costs, and lack of large cranes. GH's Yongin Yeongdeok modular housing is recognized for overcoming these challenges and laying the foundation for high-rise modular housing in Korea.

The Yongin Yeongdeok Gyeonggi Happy Housing recently won the Presidential Award at the ‘2023 Korea Land Awards.’ Commissioned by GH, this housing complex is 13 floors high with 106 units and is the tallest modular housing in Korea, applying 33 major proprietary modular technologies. It is the sixth modular housing building in the world to exceed 13 floors and is especially significant for overcoming the technical limitations of fire resistance standards (3 hours or more for buildings over 13 floors as per the Building Act). The strict fire resistance regulations and other demanding standards for buildings over 13 floors were overcome through research team development and technological expertise.