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It’s the first time specialist Panasonic Prefab Homes has ventured out of Asia and it also partnered with a local residential builder.
Earlier this week in New Zealand, Panasonic (Prefab) Homes announced it had completed its first prefabricated three-bedroom prototype in the Waikato’s Te Kauwhata, the first of many it will produce with one of New Zealand’s largest house-builders, Mike Greer Commercial.
The prefabricated property was assembled using prefabricated external walls, floors and roof panels imported from Japan. This approach utilises the whole structure to support loads applied to it.
The cladding is local.
It’s a method the prefabrication company uses to build both earthquake-resistant detached houses and apartments in Japan and other parts of Asia, where it has operated since 1963.
Housing fixtures, including sashes and ventilation ports, were also incorporated into the panels and external walls at the Panasonic Homes factory.
Anna Filippova, Panasonic (Prefab) Homes’ New Zealand representative, said the business could build a house in around three months whereas most New Zealand homes took around seven months.
“The company was drawn here in 2018 when the Government established KiwiBuild and invited overseas prefabricated housing manufacturers in,” she said. When KiwiBuild became part of Kāinga Ora, Panasonic joined Mike Greer to develop its first home.
“We are committed to helping to grow New Zealand’s housing stock for families who are in need of affordable homes,” Filippova said.
The home is on Rimu St in the Te Kauwhata Lakeside development, on land owned by Mike Greer but no price is available: “The price is yet to be properly calculated. The selling price will be determined in consideration of the performance quality with respect to the market price,” a spokesman said.
The business plans to build around 10 new terrace-style homes in Auckland’s Mt Roskill.
“The prefabrication technology and construction materials would help boost the sector and contribute to the already busy and thriving construction industry,” Filippova added.
See: https://homes.panasonic.com/english/
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