Germany is actively exploring modular and serial construction methods as a potential solution to address housing shortages and escalating building costs. Federal Minister for Digitalization and Building, Verena Hubertz, highlighted the significant potential of these approaches to accelerate construction timelines and reduce expenses. She emphasized that modern modular building techniques are capable of delivering aesthetically pleasing and diverse designs, comparable to traditional construction, while offering increased efficiency.
The growing market share of prefabricated construction is also being noted. Industry representatives, such as Mathias Schäfer, President of the German Federal Association for Prefabricated Buildings (BDF), believe serial construction represents a pathway out of the current building crisis. Schäfer points to applications beyond residential housing, including the crucial need for educational facilities, healthcare institutions and defense infrastructure, arguing these could be delivered across Germany with consistent quality and predictable costs through serial methods.
However, industry stakeholders are calling for regulatory reform to fully unlock the potential of these building techniques. The BDF is advocating for a reduction in bureaucratic hurdles, specifically citing the differing building codes across German federal states as a significant impediment to large-scale implementation. Modifications to public procurement laws are also being requested to encourage greater adoption of serial construction in publicly funded projects, with a proposal for concept-based awards where a single general contractor handles both planning and execution.
Further incentives are being suggested to stimulate both demand and supply, including reductions in property transfer tax for owner-occupied homes, improved depreciation options for private builders and potential subsidies to drive productivity gains and lower construction costs through automation and digitalization within the building industry.