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Co-Winner
CTBUH Innovation Award

BSB Prefabricated
Construction Method
Used in T30 Hotel, Changsha
“You can see the mechanical
engineering that permeates
through this comprehensive
innovation; as a group they
have great potential for further
development and innovation.”
David Scott, Juror, Laing O’Rourke

Tall building construction has always been a time-

consuming enterprise, and it amplifies the widely
acknowledged contribution of the building industry to
landfill-bound waste. It is also a significant challenge
to limit the energy consumption of massive buildings
once constructed.

In observation of this challenge, BROAD Group

devised the Broad Sustainable Building (BSB)
technology, a prefabricated construction method that
adopts modular design technology to vastly reduce
Innovation Design Team: the waste associated with construction. The aim of
BROAD Group
this process is to lower energy consumption, reduce
environmental pollution, and save energy resources.
Opposite: Workers assemble the prefabricated components on-site
The ultimate benefit will be the industrialization
Above: Overall view of T30, Changsha, where the BSB Prefabricated Construction Method
was utilized of the construction industry. BSB makes use of
fabricated, diagonally braced joint steel frame
structures, which offer resistance to earthquakes
of a magnitude of 9 on the Richter scale, are 90
percent factory assembled, and produce buildings that
contribute only one percent of the construction waste

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 of a comparable conventionally built structure. From
a structural perspective, the BSB system distributes
stresses evenly and supports a high bearing capacity.
The diagonally braced reinforced joint steel frame
structure system consists of a main board, columns,
and diagonal bracing.
Construction members are factory made. The floor
slab is made up of a concrete-filled, profiled steel
sheet, which is affixed to steel beams – this creates
“This project defines why the
Innovation Award was created.
The project advances the
thinking about what is possible
in the areas of pre-fabrication
and speed of assembly.”
Richard Cook, Juror, COOKFOX Architects
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a “board” module. Columns support the board;
diagonal bracing is set between beams and columns.
Heavy construction members are joined by high-
strength bolts on-site. This approach helps to achieve
the purpose of easy installation, easy disassembly, and
easy maintenance, while still ensuring strength.
The BSB project has changed the construction
mode from an extensive construction process
into a lean, sustainable production line. Only ten
percent of construction time is on-site; the rest is
inside the controlled conditions of a factory. Unlike
conventional construction sites, in the factory there is
virtually no risk of fire, no water or dust infiltration,
no noxious odors, and no construction waste. Not
only is environmental pollution reduced; the quality
of construction, increase in productivity, and lowered
cost of construction has significant implications for
the future of building tall. On-site, workers lift boards,
tighten bolts, and conduct painting. No sawing or
welding is required, reducing the time spent, and noise
Opposite Left: To-scale seismic test model of the modular structural system at BROAD
Group’s testing facilities in Changsha, China
Jury Statement
Opposite Right: Recently completed modular components are stored in a warehouse
before delivery on-site
Tall building designers have used prefabrication techniques
on discrete elements for years, but never before has an entire
Right: Interior view of one of the modular structural components
prefabricated building system been developed to this degree.
It is both a structural and mechanical engineering response to
the demands of a rapidly urbanizing world. Integrating a bolted
assembly technique with triple glazing, automatic blinds and air
filtration systems, the BSB Method is a clear and innovative way
of fundamentally rethinking tall building construction, and holds
great promise for the future.

and traffic disruption to neighboring communities.

Beyond the improvements granted to basic structural
erection, the BSB system employs more than 30
energy-saving technologies in interior and exterior
assemblies. While three centimeters of thermal
insulation is standard in China, BSB uses 20
centimeter panels and four-paned windows.

The mechanical systems are also pre-assembled at

BROAD Group’s facilities. The heat-recovery fresh
air system exchanges heat between outdoor fresh air
and indoor exhaust air, recovering between 70 and 90
percent of the expended energy, providing extremely
high indoor air quality.

The air filtration system is also prebuilt in the factory

and optimized for areas with poor air quality, such
as China’s urban regions. The initial stage of the
system uses typical coarse filters that collect the
largest particles. The second stage uses the Broad-
specific electrostatic cleaner. Remaining particulates
are removed in stage three by a HEPA filter. The final
filtration efficiency can be as high as 99 percent. In attention through the distribution of a YouTube video
a residential application, each room is equipped with depicting its construction in just 15 days.
a monitor that can check particulates, formaldehyde,
and CO2 levels at any time, while comparing with BROAD Group has even higher ambitions for the
outdoor conditions. technology: it has proposed to build the world’s next
tallest building (at 838 meters) using the BSB Method
The process has been successfully implemented in just nine months.
through the construction of the T30 Hotel, a 30-story,
prefabricated hotel building in Xiangyin, Hunan
Province. This construction project caught the world’s

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