Chinese Firm Builds 26-Story Tower From Steel Modules in Just 5 Days

A 26-storey apartment tower in Changsha, China, was assembled in just five days using prefabricated stainless steel modules, a construction method its developer believes could eliminate much of the time, waste, and risk associated with conventional high-rise building.

Workers began arranging the modules on site on January 7, 2024. Each module measured 12 metres long, 3 metres high, and 2.4 metres wide, built to resemble a shipping container. A crane stacked the units one on top of another while workers bolted them into place. No concrete was poured and no on-site welding was required.

The project, known as the Jindu Holon Tower, was developed by BROAD Group, a Chinese construction company. Every module arrived with plumbing, windows, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, lighting, and kitchen cupboards already installed, all assembled inside a factory over a 21-day production cycle before being shipped to site.

By comparison, a medium-height apartment building in cities such as New York or London can take up to three years to construct using conventional poured concrete methods, with ongoing road disruption, daily material deliveries, and extended exposure of workers to weather-related and on-site accident risks throughout the build.

BROAD Sustainable Building, the modular construction arm behind the project, traces its origins to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which killed tens of thousands of people and collapsed numerous reinforced concrete towers in cities including Chengdu. The disaster prompted the company's founder to pursue modular construction methods designed to flex rather than fracture during seismic events.

The structural core of the system relies on a patented stainless steel composite called B-CORE, engineered for high tensile strength and ductility. Andrew Zimman, marketing director at BROAD Group USA, said the company shifted to stainless steel roughly five years ago after recognising its mechanical properties extended beyond corrosion resistance to genuine structural ductility, a property the company claims it was first to apply at this scale for load-bearing elements.

Zimman said the manufacturing process has continued to evolve. In the company's first Holon building two years earlier, structural beams still had to be installed on site. In the current generation, beams are integrated directly into the floor system of each module before it arrives, removing the need for any on-site welding beyond bolted connections.

Zhang Yanwei, a manager at BROAD Group Holon Jianan Co, the entity managing the building, told China Daily that units are handed over fully furnished, aside from portable items such as washing machines, refrigerators, and beds.

The modular system also allows for full reversal. When a building reaches the end of its use, the modules can be unbolted, unstacked, reloaded onto trucks, and removed entirely, without demolition, dust, or landfill waste, an approach with particular relevance for municipalities managing zoning changes or disaster-risk reassessments.

BROAD Group has projects underway in Ohio, Texas, and California, alongside developments in the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates. Zimman said the stainless steel system shows no clear structural ceiling on building height, provided design and demand support continued vertical expansion.