During times of emergency, the need for safe, affordable materials is crucially important. Companies response to demands shaped by pandemics or disasters needed ways to build smarter and faster - it's USG Boral’s commitment to serve the community and keep them safe.

Modular integrated construction has played an instrumental role in the construction and deployment of emergency facilities during the COVID-19 crisis. The Modular Integration Construction (MIC) for a Quarantine Project in Hong Kong is one such example — and it shows the effective ways modular construction can help us meet the needs of a public health crisis.

Modular Construction Enables You to Build Quickly

As COVID-19 spreads rapidly, it becomes a global emergency, time is of essence. In Hong Kong, there was a call for isolation as a precaution measure. Local public health officials urgently needed a place to quarantine individuals who came in contact with the infection or inbound travellers from overseas.

In less than a month, USG Boral worked alongside CEMAC (Hong Kong) Limited, our authorised distributor in Hong Kong to construct and complete 100 temporary single-room homes using modular construction techniques. The modular units built for the project were prefabricated in an offsite factory with lightweight materials.

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Modular Structures Are Lightweight & Easy to Transport

Building these single-room homes was just the first step of this process. On top of that, there was a need to quickly transport these units to the desired location, which in this case was an unused land which could easily accommodate many rows of single-room homes.

Modular construction utilises lightweight materials, which means construction crews were able to easily place these homes on flatbed trucks and transport them to the site in a short period of time.

With the Right Materials, These Buildings Are Fire-Resistant and Safe in Case of Fire Development

Our priority was the safety and well-being of individuals living at the quarantine units. The walls and ceilings were built with Fire-resistant plasterboard.

Fire boards are high-density gypsum boards with additives added in their core to enhance their integrity and resistance when exposed to heat. With the intrinsic high combined water content of gypsum, they procure resistance to fire performances. Fire-resistant boards are non-combustible and when used as part of engineered systems, they offer efficient passive protection with fire resistance time up to 4 hours according to Fire Building Codes.

Specific fire-resistance ratings must be met in any construction project — temporary modular construction projects are no different. USG Boral fire-resistant systems designed with SHEETROCK® Glass-mat Mold Tough® liner panels and FireStop™ boards meet the international fire-rated level (FRL) requirements of BS 476 part 22, BS EN 1364-1, ASTM E119 and UL 263.

For specialised construction projects like prefabricated units, USG Boral collaborates with modular manufacturers during design and testing stages to help deliver systems that meet BS 476 part 21 where required.

The Buildings Are Mould-Resistant

In addition to fire, mould is another concern that must be dealt with during construction. USG Boral SHEETROCK® Glass-Mat Liner Panel Mold Tough® was used to address this problem. This high-quality product earned a score of 10 out of 10 on the ASTM D3273 Mould Resistant Test, which is the standard test for measuring mould-resistance. The score indicates that it provides high levels of protection against mould growth where the product is applied.

The Structures Can Be Easily Relocated & Reinstalled

As economies begin to reopen in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, public health officials will continue to pay close attention to evolving situation.

It is predominantly helpful that modular construction materials are lightweight and easy to disassemble. In the event that these temporary single-room homes are needed to serve people in another region, they can be easily relocated and reinstalled.

The need for temporary housing facilities will not disappear anytime soon. As the case of this project demonstrates, modular construction using USG Boral drywall system is a quick and dependable solution to keep our community safe.

For technical, architectural support or any other queries, please reach out to us technical@usgboral.com or visit us at www.usgboral.com

The trademarks FIRESTOP, USG BORAL and INNOVATION INSPIRED BY YOU are trademarks of USG Boral Building Products or one or more of its affiliates. SHEETROCK, SECUROCK, FIBEROCK, DUROCK are trademarks owned by United States Gypsum Company and used under license.