Use of timber prefab system for ensuring sustainable residential housing supply in New Zealand

New Zealand housing shortage requires effective approaches to address the increasing demand over the next twenty years. Given the current situation of the New Zealand’s housing crisis, it is almost impossible to meet that demand by using the traditional methods of construction. Offsite manufacturing system can help improve housing supply capability in New Zealand. With timber being a very sustainable resource and abundant in New Zealand, timber prefab system offers the most economically and environmentally feasible solution to the housing supply challenges in New Zealand. This research aims to investigate a method that New Zealand construction industry can adopt in the offsite manufacturing system at a national scale to improve the residential housing crisis. Ten interviews and ten questionnaires were conducted with clients, designers, prefabricators, and suppliers to identify the risks and required actions in order to achieve successful application of the system. The impacts of several factors on the system such as barriers, enablers and sustainability aspects of using the timber prefab system were studied as part the research objectives. The results reveal the most sustainable method of residential housing supply in the New Zealand within the acceptable risks, productivity and having a secure government investment support