GH Signs Agreement with UK Modular Specialist... Expectation for Expansion of High-Rise Modular Housing

Kim Se-yong, President of Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation (left), is shaking hands with David Jones, CEO of Elements Europe, a UK-based steel modular specialist, after signing an agreement on the 12th (local time).

Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation (GH) has partnered with a UK modular specialist company to expand high-rise modular housing.

Modular housing is a type of housing where major structural components are manufactured in a factory and then assembled on-site, resulting in less noise, dust, and waste. Although it is an eco-friendly process, there are legal regulations such as fire resistance standards for building high-rises over 13 floors, and the construction costs are relatively higher compared to steel-reinforced concrete.

GH announced on the 14th that it signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on the 12th and 13th (local time) in London, UK, with Elements Europe, a UK steel modular specialist company, and architectural firm HTA Design LLP to exchange technology for high-rise modular housing.

Elements Europe is a high-rise steel modular specialist company with manufacturing and construction technology for high-rise modular buildings. It is a rapidly growing company as the UK government has adopted the OSC (Off-Site Construction) manufacturing method, which involves producing modular construction components in external factories and assembling them on-site, as a housing supply strategy.

Notably, they constructed the 17-story Hackney Hotel & Office and the 23-story Creekside Wharf.

HTA, a UK architectural firm established in 1969, has a track record of designing some of the world's tallest modular buildings, including the 44-story Ten Degrees and the 50-story Enclave modular buildings.

According to the agreement, GH plans to build a cooperative relationship to strengthen competitiveness needed for the ‘high-rise modular housing’ project, including OSC and modular construction high-rise technology and specialized design.

Kim Se-yong, CEO of GH, emphasized, "Through technology exchange with the UK modular industry, we will continuously expand the modular construction method, one of our future new businesses, and become an innovative public enterprise in the ultra-high-rise modular field."

GH ordered modular housing for Yongin Yeongdeok Gyeonggi Happy Housing (106 units) this year, following the 14-unit Seongnam Hadaewon Gyeonggi Happy Housing in 2019. In particular, Yongin Yeongdeok Gyeonggi Happy Housing, the tallest modular housing in Korea (13 floors) applying 33 proprietary modular technologies, received the Presidential Award at the ‘2023 Korea Land Grand Prize’.