Modular Housing Using Fibre-Reinforced Plastic Polymers (FRPs)

In the era of the climate emergency and different pandemics, systems that can provide an immediate response to housing needs are required. This paper aims to evaluate the use of fibre-reinforced plastic polymers (FRPs) to satisfy this need. In particular, a modular emergency housing system that util...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inBuildings (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 6; p. 1854
Main Authors Cairoli, Maria, Iannace, Gino
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.06.2024
Subjects
Adaptability
Analysis
building process
Buildings
Case studies
Construction
Construction costs
construction management
Cost control
Electrical installations
Emergency housing
Emergency response
Energy consumption
Epidemics
Fiber reinforced plastics
Fiber reinforced polymers
Green buildings
Houses
Housing
Housing needs
Information processing
Innovations
Laboratory tests
Modular structures
Modular systems
Modular units
Polymer industry
Polymers
Prefabricated buildings
recycled materials
Supply chains
sustainability
temporary buildings
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
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Summary:In the era of the climate emergency and different pandemics, systems that can provide an immediate response to housing needs are required. This paper aims to evaluate the use of fibre-reinforced plastic polymers (FRPs) to satisfy this need. In particular, a modular emergency housing system that utilises FRPs for structures and cladding is proposed, which proves adaptable to both different uses and different kinds of temporary or permanent buildings. By adapting modular emergency housing to different contexts, developing an integrated design process (IDP) and building information modelling (BIM) methodology, this research aims to provide innovations for the the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector, including FRPs, through a digitised approach, applied also to an experimental case study. A pilot unit of the modular emergency housing system, a nearly zero-energy building (nZEB), is described in detail, while laboratory tests are reported. Construction considerations confirm the sustainability and highlight the adaptability of the modular system to different housing needs conditions, justifying the possible future development of supply chain industrialisation supported by the presented methodology.
ISSN:2075-5309
2075-5309
DOI:10.3390/buildings14061854