Canada Wood Korea Workshop provided a Path Toward Prefabrication
Cheongdam-dong community house, a Canada Wood Korea demonstration project showcasing the use of prefab wood infill wall system was the venue for a workshop that brought together some of the South Korea’s most prominent experts in prefabricated construction.
Purpose of our workshop was to raise awareness of wood prefabrication construction amongst Korean builders, architects and developers. Keynote speakers included Mr. Lee Young-joo, CEO of Smart House, a prefab home builder, Mr. Tae-woong Kang, CEO of Case Architects and Tae Hwang and Jae Choi, Canada Wood Korea technical experts. This workshop was sponsored by Smusoop Architects, designerof the Cheongdam community house.
Like in many other countries, construction is a big component of South Korea’s economy but has a history of poor productivity. South Korea’s limited land supply and mounting challenges of affordable housing are putting great pressures on cost and resource efficiency and compelling industry and governments to question the business-as-usual approach . Prefabrication in wood offers great opportunities for both environmental and economic performance. Offsite construction still remains in its infancy and widespread interest has yet to present itself in the market. Examples of prefab construction in general have been limited to single family homes, dormitory and military buildings.
Completed in March 2022, the Cheong-dong Community House was built to support the creative arts and cultural activities for the local art scene. The building features wooden infill walls incorporated into a concrete superstructure . This building typology can be commonly found in South Korea’s dense urban setting.
