Construction technology transfer : an assessment of the relevance of modern methods of construction to housing shortages in Iran

摘要

The inability of the Iranian construction industry to satisfy the country's massive housing demand has transformed housing demand and supply into one of the major challenges facing the government. 1.15 million residential units need to be built each year for the next ten years. The Iranian construction industry is suffering from various deficiencies such as low productivity, small and unprofessional developers, huge waste, skilled labour shortages, defective management, unstable economy, severe fluctuations in demand and supply etc. Considering the potential advantages of Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), the general belief is that the application of MMC will resolve may of the above issues. Meanwhile, Iran needs to learn from the experience of other countries such as the UK to avoid repeating their mistakes. MMC is a more complex subject in which various issues including standardisation, coordination, management, design, costs, sustainability, risks, etc, should be considered. Some of the above have become more important than others for Iranian stakeholders but prioritisation and partial consideration of these issues will not be effective. This study intends to investigate the viability and applicability of the UK's advanced construction systems in Iran. For this reason, several criteria including the building regulations and standards, practicality, economy, costs, culture, sustainability, and design have been addressed, and both countries compared with regards to these issues. The results show that, although MMC can theoretically enhance the current situation of the construction industry, issues such as education and research, industry, economy etc., need to be addressed in order to have successful application of MMC in Iran.