Chapter 243: Chapter 239: Prefabricated Modules
The construction of Fjord Town can be described as bustling; the pioneering settlers have thrown themselves into building their new home with immense enthusiasm, leaving Perfikot, who came to inspect, sincerely surprised.
She had never seen such a spirit in ordinary people of this era, as if they were filled with hope.
"They are full of hope, believing they can start anew here, so everyone’s enthusiasm is high." Oliver stood beside Perfikot, introducing the situation to her, a joyful smile on his face.
However, Perfikot merely sighed, as she knew the hopeful new life these people expected did not exist.
The new homeland they are now striving to build is nothing but an illusion beneath the snow, and with the wind and snow arriving next year, all will eventually be frozen under the snow.
Thinking of this, Perfikot became increasingly resolute in her decision and turned to Oliver to ask: "Is the space I asked you to reserve in the town center designed as per my requirements?"
"Rest assured, based on the dimensions from your blueprints, I’ve already cleared the land in the town center. I told them it is reserved for a public square, and no one is suspicious." Oliver patted his chest, indicating there would be no problem with this matter.
The so-called reserved space refers to the area on the ground reserved for the installation of the central heating tower and spiral streets in the underground city designed by Perfikot.
According to Perfikot’s plan, a deep well will be drilled here, tunnels will be excavated, and finally, a central heating tower will be installed in the well while the city will spread along the tunnels outward.
Although relevant construction has yet to start, and even the tunnel boring machine for excavating spiral tunnels is still in its nascent stage, with no prototype created yet, the construction site designated must still be reserved.
Otherwise, excavating later would not only increase unnecessary factory work but also complicate planning.
"Although the houses on the ground are only temporary dwellings, their quality must be ensured, especially with regard to cold resistance and heat preservation; the Northern Territory winters are unlike Langton’s, where it can literally freeze water drop by drop." Perfikot reminded Oliver, fearing he might not realize the harshness of Northern Territory winters having missed it last year.
Although Oliver didn’t witness last year’s cold winter in the Northern Territory, he had been to Hyponia and understood how terrifying such a winter could be.
So he assured Perfikot: "I’ve instructed them, and to make sure they understand the importance, all the houses are uniformly designed with designated overseers and acceptors. If the houses are substandard, I’ll have them redone."
Hearing Oliver say this, Perfikot nodded with satisfaction.
The two roamed the town, watching the new settlers laboriously digging into the soil that had not yet fully thawed, laying foundations before placing wooden pillars into them. Perfikot remarked: "Pure manual labor is too inefficient; with construction machinery and prefabricated modules produced in factories, such houses could be built in a day."
"Count, your vision is too idealistic; even if such convenient houses existed, they would not be affordable to these impoverished migrants coming to the Northern Territory to forge a life." Oliver estimated the cost and quickly figured that her idea was merely wishful thinking.
Indeed, as Perfikot mentioned, using construction machinery and prefabricated house modules could greatly expedite building speed; factory prefabrication could save costs, and the finished houses would surely be visually appealing, warm, and comfortable.
But it must be considered that everything has cost implications, whereas building houses manually involves only basic tools, cutting down suitable timber from forests, and sheer hard work.
Even if labor costs and time were accounted for, machinery would indeed have a lower overall cost, but for these new settlers, labor costs and time are not monetary concerns.
They are impoverished, having little save endless time and physical strength.
At such times, discussing cost-saving techniques with them would result in a simple remark: self-building doesn’t incur costs.
Does Perfikot not understand this? Absolutely, she knows that these people building houses themselves is nearly costless, but there are valid reasons for prefabricated houses thriving in her previous world before her journey.
On one hand, it’s the development of times, the iteration of building materials, leading to modular prefabrication later on; everything is standardized templates, only needing assembly according to requirements, with final construction being completed swiftly under professional tool assistance.
In cold environments, building houses requires this technology even more. Permanent research stations set up by countries at the Antarctic employ prefabricated module assembly because it’s the only way to build houses in extremely cold environments like the Antarctic.
Although Perfikot’s plan is to build cities in the Northern Territory underground to resist extreme cold effectively during the apocalypse winter, that doesn’t mean nothing is left above ground.
Suffice to say, until artificial lighting technology is developed, greenhouses must be placed on the surface.
Otherwise, crops can’t grow underground without light, leading to a mushroom diet.
While Perfikot doesn’t mind eating mushrooms, considering potential issues from a single food type, planting greenhouses are essential for cultivating various crops.
Moreover, prefabricated building modules are actually useful for underground construction.
With this technology in hand, just dig out suitable underground space, place prefabricated modules inside, fill gaps, and a house is complete.
Having formal walls is certainly better than mere earthen walls.
Additionally, formal walls effectively resist subterranean water penetration, pest issues, and rodent problems.
Thinking this over, Perfikot instructed Oliver: "Prefabricated building module technology is a must; otherwise, by winter, when the ground is frozen solid, even their strength won’t cut through the iron-hard permafrost."
Hearing this, Oliver promptly asked Perfikot: "So what are you suggesting?"
"Fjord Town will continue using current methods for house construction, but I will initiate research into prefabricated building module technology." Perfikot stated.