http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...refab-20140315

Developers fear being boxed in by prefab

Productivity will rise but there will be less of the personal touch, they say

Published on Mar 15, 2014

By Cheryl Ong


USING prefabrication technology in building can deliver productivity gains but developers fear it could compromise the uniqueness of luxury projects.

They say prefabrication's one-size-fits-all approach can mean the personal touches and extra attention to detail that many buyers demand will be lost.

The issue has become a hot one on building sites following new rules announced on Monday that will kick in from the second half of the year. These require developers which buy Government Land Sales (GLS) sites to meet a certain level of prefabrication for their projects, including using prefabricated bathrooms throughout a condo.

These ready-made bathrooms are built in a prefabrication plant and later transported to the site for installation.

Developers of non-GLS sites will also get more incentives to encourage them to adopt prefabrication methods, said the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), which announced the new rules.

Prefabrication has been widely adopted to build common components of condos, such as staircases or rubbish chutes, but developers pointed out that bathrooms are "personal" and that those in upscale projects require more attention to detail in their designs.

"For luxury developments, layouts and design are critical to give the requisite degree of uniqueness," said Mr Chng Kiong Huat, executive director of property services at Far East Organization.

"The use of prefabricated bathroom units means that other than the finishes, home buyers will be receiving a standard product design based on a few pre-set layout templates available from the market."

Luxury homes can cost much more than mass-market units and buyers would expect more, he added.

More than 20 private residential projects have incorporated such bathrooms since 2005.

Bathrooms, although one of the smallest rooms in a home, are one of the most labour-intensive components to be built as they involve multiple trades like plumbing and electrical works.

Mr Allen Ang, head of green building at City Developments (CDL), said using prefabricated bathrooms can yield productivity gains of 40 per cent to 80 per cent compared with conventional building methods, although costs are higher because of transportation and logistics issues.

"There is a misconception that prefabricated bathrooms are meant only for mass-market projects," he said.

Such bathrooms can still be enhanced by providing better finishes such as sanitary fittings of a higher quality, apart from its layout, noted Mr Francis Koh, group chief executive of Koh Brothers Group.

The St Regis Residences Singapore in Cuscaden Road and The Sail @ Marina Bay are two luxury projects that have installed prefabricated bathrooms.

Previously, developers that used prefabricated bathrooms for at least 65 per cent of a condo, in addition to using drywalls and achieving a certain buildability score, could apply for up to 10 per cent of bonus gross floor area for balconies.

But this scheme is now under review following Monday's announcement, said the BCA and Urban Redevelopment Authority yesterday. They added that any revisions to the scheme could take effect in the second half of the year.

Senior Minister of State for National Development Lee Yi Shyan also said this week that the BCA will roll out more land tenders for prefabrication plants to meet the anticipated increased demand for bathrooms. There will be 10 such factories by 2020, he noted.

CDL said using such construction methods means higher costs, but it expects a wider adoption of prefabricated bathrooms to translate to economies of scale in the long run. "With economies of scale, the cost of prefabricated bathroom units should go down and could even be cheaper than conventional bathroom construction methods," said Mr Ang.

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