An incredible timelapse shows the entire skeleton of a new seven-storey apartment block in Brisbane being erected in just 11 days.
The superstructure, which is essentially the backbone of a building, of The Fells project in Spring Hill would’ve otherwise taken about four months.
Experts say innovations like this are key to solving Australia’s crippling housing crisis, sparked by a critical shortage of new supply.
PT Blink blends digital and physical technologies, allowing developers and builders to shift big parts of a project’s construction to off-site facilities.
In the case of The Fells, a unique post-tensioned steel structure was manufactured in a workshop and then transported to the site in a flat pack form.
Assembly was rapid and precision-guided, slashing months off the project timeline.
Wayne Larsen, chief executive of PT Blink, said that enormous timesaving activity combined with other efficiencies delivered by the technology saw The Fells completed in eight months.
“We effectively halved the total construction time on that project,” Mr Larsen said.
It’s not just the skeleton that can be pre-made, but also walls, windows, kitchens, bathrooms and even elevator components.
Working within a controlled indoor environment means big efficiencies are delivered, given weather delays and materials wastage are eliminated.
The projects PT Blink has worked on so far have been delivered between 40 per cent and 60 per cent faster.
“And from a financial perspective, the holding cost on a multistorey project is somewhere between one and two per cent per month, so developers are getting that back,” Mr Laresen said.
Paper-thin margins in the residential sector have been blamed for both a surge in company collapses and a plunge in construction commencements over the past few years.
At a time when countless Australians are struggling to keep a roof over their heads, Mr Larsen believes a different approach is essential.
“The way we’ve built for the past 100 years is fundamentally unsustainable given today’s economic realities,” he said.
“Supply cannot keep up with booming housing demand, made worse by [limited] construction capacity, workforce constraints and [high] costs. This tech-driven approach provides the productivity leap the industry desperately needs.”
The Property Council of Australia said modular and prefabricated housing, also known as industrialised construction, could be the “magic ingredient” of housing supply.
“Amid rising taxes and construction, land, planning and capital costs, we are starting to see some of the stronger [state] planning ministers improve their planning systems and argue for a government bias towards greater project investment and greater use of modular and prefabricated housing,” the group’s chief executive Mike Zorbas said.
“Although challenging and requiring large-scale production, green shoots of industrialised construction can be seen around the country.
“We need to invest in innovation and establish secure demand pipelines to scale up industrialised construction.”
Monday marked the beginning of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s race to build 1.2 million new homes within the next five years.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows a little more than 963,000 dwellings were constructed in the past five years, during which time there was a build boom sparked by Covid stimulus.
“Australia is land rich but government taxes on housing, slow planning systems, high borrowing and materials costs and dire skill shortages make us wooden spooners on housing supply,” he said.
At present, about 170,000 homes a year are completed, but that figure needs to surge to an average of 240,000 if there’s any chance of the PM’s goal coming to fruition.
Simon Croft, chief executive of industry and policy at the Housing Industry Association, said innovations like prefabricated building components are key to addressing supply challenges.
“The use of prefab and modular construction can help to improve the capacity issues the industry is currently facing,” Mr Croft said.
However, challenges exist in realistic the full potential of such measures, from red tape to financing, he said.
“A better understanding of terminology is also needed. There are many options for construction from modular floor and wall panels through to fully completed homes.
“Often people see prefab and modular as being an inferior housing option, but there are a range of builders doing some beautiful work, producing amazing homes.
“In addition, the use of modular components has the potential to improve energy efficiency and apply innovative manufacturing techniques.”
PT Blink has five projects currently on the go and is working to scale-up its offering, Mr Larsen said.
“We’re not trying to compete with traditional construction. We’re trying to supplement traditional construction to fill the gap of that missing supply for housing.