Modular Homes in Dubai City of Skyscrapers

Dubai is a city known for its superlative architecture. Home to record-breakers like the world's tallest building and the world's largest shopping mall, construction is also a big part of Dubai's economy. According to the Dubai Land Department, construction and real estate accounted for 13.6% of the emirate's GDP in 2019. Now, a new kind of building is happening in the city. Dubai-based LINQ makes modular houses, created as a series of parts that can be shipped and assembled anywhere in the world. This system can build homes 40% faster than regular construction, according to the company, and the ultimate goal is to be able provide homes to countries that have increasing demand for housing. LINQ launched in 2020 and hopes to ship its first homes to the United Kingdom by early 2022. It plans to eventually deliver houses to other locations, including the United Arab Emirates. Taylor says this doesn't mean it's replacing conventional construction, but rather, complementing it. "Construction by nature has a lot of flair in its design and architecture," says LINQ general manager Gwyn Taylor. "It's one of the oldest and biggest industries in the world and modular is going to help it, not render it obsolete."