"From vacating the old house to receiving keys for the new apartment takes less than six months; I can rebuild on my original residential lot after 40 years," said 74-year-old resident Liu Guilan, delighted with her bright new apartment. This breakthrough relies on prefabricated construction technology: factory prefabrication plus on-site assembly eliminates the limitations of traditional construction, balancing speed, quality, eco-friendliness and practicality.
Steel-framed residential buildings account for over 12% of China’s total processed construction steel volume in 2026, emerging as the core growth engine of the industry. For urban renewal projects, steel structures stand out for light self-weight, minimal impact on original foundation, and ultra-fast construction speed, making them the top solution for old community reconstruction and on-site residential redevelopment. Multiple livelihood projects in Shenzhen, including Bao’an Branch of Shenzhen People’s Hospital, Nigang Campus of Shenzhen Middle School and Metro Line 16, adopted prefabricated steel technology to boost construction efficiency and quality, selected as model cases by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
The popularization of steel residential buildings drives coordinated development of upstream and downstream industrial chains, with continuous technical upgrades for enclosure systems, floor decks, fire-resistant coatings and anti-corrosion treatments. For developers and manufacturers of steel structure houses and residential steel buildings, resolving three core pain points – sound insulation, fire resistance and overall construction cost – is essential for large-scale market promotion. With advancing technology and falling production costs, the penetration rate of steel residential buildings is expected to double by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
