As modular construction evolves, panelized facades can significantly advance offsite building practices, particularly in retrofit applications aimed at improving energy efficiency and reducing timelines. While Europe leads in adopting complete wall systems with pre-installed elements such as windows and cladding, North America is gradually catching up by exploring mass-timber framing and other innovations.

This post—the second in a four-part series—delves into the latest advancements, benefits, and challenges of panelized construction, starting with insights from Batimat 2024 and highlighting the approaches taken by companies pioneering this field.

At Batimat—the European counterpart to IBS—several French manufacturers demonstrated the machinery that makes offsite components possible. Wood remains a secondary material in Europe, with concrete still holding the lion’s share of the construction market. However, more builders have turned to wood to meet the ratcheting energy and carbon-reduction requirements of the European Union.

Europe vs. U.S.

In the United States, panelized construction—where large wall or floor sections are built in a factory and transported for on-site assembly—is limited primarily to factory-framed walls and floor cassettes with studs, joists, and sheathing. Unlike Europe, where the industry has advanced to include more complex methods, it’s rare in North America to find manufacturers delivering exterior walls with windows and siding pre-installed. One exception is ACQBuilt, an Alberta-based company, though this approach remains uncommon in North America, while it’s standard practice in much of Europe.

The UK is shifting rapidly toward off-site construction, with nearly 15 percent of new buildings originating in factories. In London, cast-in-place facades have given way to prefabricated structural systems, where columns, beams, and slabs are combined with pre-made facades and even bathrooms craned into place later.