Prefabrication in the UAE Housing Sector: Review of Potentialities and Challenges

The construction sector accounts for the largest percentage of the total final energy use and carbon emissions worldwide. In the particular case of the UAE, the energy share consumed in buildings stands at a massive 70% with the residential sector carrying a heavy energy usage for cooling to mitigate the local extreme hot climate. This residential market sector is mainly in the form of extensive government-sponsored housing programs and large privately-funded rental developments. The dominant construction method for both government and private housing projects is in the form of a concrete post and beam structural system with insulated concrete blockwork infill. However, field investigations of this construction system, through thermography auditing, identified major thermal bridging due to different types of construction defects, not encountered in the precast construction system. In the pursuit of sustainable development and building energy efficiency, the UAE government has lately endorsed precast concrete construction in recent local housing programs. Several research studies confirmed the benefits of prefabrication construction method as well as its higher thermal and environmental performance. Still, this approach is met with economic and social resistance, thus hindering the growth potential of prefabrication in the UAE. Therefore, this paper discusses, through a rapid review and case studies, the challenges faced by construction industry in adopting prefabrication and the cause of these challenges. Further, the study explores the benefits of precast concrete construction that would potentially raise awareness on the feasibility and economic potential of precast concrete construction specifically within the UAE context.