Modular buildings can offer an aesthetic edge to match their practicality, sustainability, and cost-efficiency.

The modular building trend has gained significant traction in recent years, its rising popularity due to the fact that they can be cost-effective and, to some, offer a solution to pressures currently felt in the property sector. Modular doesn't need to be boring.

The approach offers customers shorter lead times and lower construction cost risk, minimising the chances of site and supply disruptions, which have proven common and typically expensive, in more recent times. Current applications range from standalone cabins, sleep-outs, offices, and baches through to existing building add-ons and, of course, larger multi-module residences. A number of cladding options can be provided, like locally produced Redwood or Macrocarpa timber, or an exotic import such as Cedar or Larch, fixed with specialty screws or copper nails – and more. For ease of trucking, buildings are most often created in 6m x 3m modules, interlinked, as many as required.

Because modular systems can deliver both form and function, they are increasingly popular with architects, developers, and homeowners. This Redwood-battened example shown, at 30m2, is a standalone timber-lined studio with bathroom, sent on a truck to Taranaki.