SK D&D Unveils Energy-Efficient, Cost-Effective ‘SKYHOME’

Emerges as a trendsetting real estate total-solution provider

SK D&D has released the latest modular house brand “SKYHOME,” a prefabricated house that is 50 percent more energy efficient, more cost-effective to build and environmentally-friendlier than conventional detached houses.
SK D&D, a subsidiary of SK Group, is a real estate total-solution provider, which acts as a trendsetter in the development of real estate with scientific and state-of-the-art systems. The company is now offering the highest value to customers through full-line, integrated marketing services in four business categories ― development, marketing, design and environmental-friendliness.
Unlike the conventional prefabricated steel house, the SKYHOME is adopting a system in which about 80 percent of the construction process is prefabricated on factory lines, the modular skeletons are transported for onsite assembly and final touches are made on internal and external finished materials, said Jeon Kwang-hyun, executive director of SK D&D.















It means that it normally takes seven to nine weeks ― the shortest time of five weeks ―to complete the SKYHOME ― prefabricating the modular skeletons in about three weeks and conducting external and internal construction with finished materials onsite in about two weeks. The SKYHOME can almost cut the construction period by half compared to steel house construction. The SKYHOME is less vulnerable to natural disasters compared to pre-stressed concrete (PC) and wooden structures and its longevity is as much as 100 years, he claim.
To this end, SK D&D has already inaugurated a plant with six house-prefabricating lines in Suwon, south of Seoul, mass-producing modules for the SKYHOME like the ordinary production of automobiles and home appliances. Specifically, main skeletons, electric wiring, ondol (floor heating) systems, front gates and doors and bathrooms are produced in the factory, then they are delivered and installed at construction sites before finished and internal and external materials are added in the final touches. SK D&D is offering after-sales services for a period of one to 10 years according to each section of the SKYHOME, virtually ushering in an era of full-fledged housing factory mass production. The after-sale guarantee period is one year for external and internal finished materials, three years for roofing and waterproofing and 10 years for skeletons.
The sizes of the SKYHOME vary according to the number of modules. A single standard model is 18 sq. meters. A house with a floor space of 82 sq. meters is being built with 14 modules ― seven space modules and seven roof modules and nine modules. In some cases, two modules can make up a living room, while one module may be the right size to contain a corridor and a small room. SK D&D can build 16 different models of the SKYHOME using a mix of modules ranging rom 69.59 sq. meters to 200.45 sq. meters in size.
An SK D&D official said the unit construction cost of the SKYHOME is approximately 3.3 million won per 3.3 sq. meters (one pyeong), lower than the 3.5 million won to 4 million won cost for other styles of detached houses, since the company can lower construction costs due to the purchase of large amounts of equipment and raw materials. Additional options in the construction of conventional detached houses could inflate construction costs, but the SKYHOME can wipe out the construction cost bubble, he noted.
Model SKYHOMEs with sizes ranging from 82.3 sq. meters (25 pyeong) to 198.3 sq. meters (60 pyeong) are open to the general public at the Suwon SKYHOME plant.
As to the prospects of the detached-house market, a yearly average of 43,000 detached houses are built, accounting for a roughly 15 percent share of the domestic housing market, the official estimated. Given the longevity of detached houses, the market has approximately 2.4 million units that need to be newly built or renovated.






Conventional detached houses are fraught with many woes, including lower durability and low-quality insulation materials blamed for higher heating costs during the winter season. The launch of the SKYHOME is designed to ultimately improve occupants’ living quality by fixing the existing woes and upgrading the housing environment, he said.
The SKYHOME could be more energy efficient by embracing such active technologies as photovoltaic, geothermal and wind power as well as such passive technology factors as the use of new insulation materials and high-insulation windows and doors. SKYHOME models with active technology are to be available later. It can be more environmentally-friendly by improving indoor air quality, reducing carbon dioxide, reducing construction wastes, causing less environmental damages and enhancing the reuse and recycling of resources.
The plant construction process starts with the production of a floor panel, made with insulation materials and reinforced concrete, to become a foundation of a module, steel stud columns are erected, wall, ceiling and roof are done with such materials as environmentally-friendly high-efficiency insulation material, dubbed SKY VIVA, and then the work on the floor goes on with an ondol system. Modules prefabricated at the plant are transported to the construction site in which they are installed on a PC individual footing method by a crane.
The skeletons of the SKYHOME are framed with zinc-coated structural steel, stronger than commonly used steel, and the model has adopted a light gauge steel framing house method, which turned out to be most endurable when a powerful earthquake hit Kobe, Japan, in 1995 and a hurricane pounded Florida, the United Sates. The fireproof, light gauge steel-framed house is found to have less risk of fire in the Unites States. Such houses in Texas and Japan are given a 40 percent to 50 percent discount on insurance premiums.
The SKYHOME uses environmentally-friendly construction materials to keep formaldehyde and VOC-toluene concentration levels below 100 and 260 ug/m3, respectively, as recommended by the World Health Organization in order to prevent such new house syndromes as atopy. nw

“SKYHOME” is the latest modular house brand from SK D&D. It is energy-efficient, cost-effective to build, and environmentally-friendly.

SK D&D is a real estate total-solution provider specializing in modular framing houses. (right) Jeon Kwang-hyun, executive director of SK D&D

(clockwise) The construction process starts with prefabricating modules at the factory before transporting and installing them, and making final touches on external and internal construction with finished materials at the site of construction.