Long-standing themes and new developments in offsite construction: the case of UK housing

This paper reviews the evolution of offsite construction methods in UK housing over the past 15 years and puts this in an international context. Long-standing themes include targets for construction productivity, challenges of labour shortages and skills, desire to learn across sectors and a need to develop new business models. Newer developments include research and development funding through the UK government’s ‘transforming construction’ initiative, higher pre-manufactured value and increased digitisation. The paper concludes with recommendations for practice, policy and research.