Beyond efficiency: rethinking off-site construction for post-disaster housing reconstruction

Abstract

The rising frequency and severity of natural hazard-induced disasters has heightened the need for reconstruction strategies that are rapid, yet resilient and responsive to long-term community needs. Off-site construction (OSC) has emerged as an effective approach to post-disaster reconstruction (PDR), offering accelerated delivery, enhanced quality control, and reduced on-site disruption. However, existing research is found to distort OSC’s potential by primarily emphasising technical efficiencies while overlooking major barriers such as standardisation issues, cultural insensitivity, and inadequate policy integration. This paper addresses this distortion by conducting a systematic scoping review, supplemented by scientometric analysis. The scientometric review analyses 113 peer-reviewed publications across the years 2004–2025, retrieved from the Scopus database, identifying dominant research themes including modular construction, sustainability, and resilience. Concurrently, the systematic review highlights OSC’s key advantages—most notably, time and cost efficiencies—as well as persistent challenges such as high initial investment, logistical constraints, limited policy integration, and insufficient community involvement. Critically, the review suggests that OSC’s effectiveness cannot be measured solely by technical efficiency, as the delivery of standardised, culturally disconnected housing may undermine broader recovery goals. For OSC to contribute meaningfully to sustainable reconstruction, it must be integrated within a holistic framework that values local context, supports community agency, and fosters a transition from shelter to home. This study underscores the need for more adaptive, inclusive, and policy-aligned models of OSC in post-disaster settings.