Article
Framework for Long-Term Public Housing Supply Plan
Focusing on Small-Scale Offsite Construction in Seoul
Hosang Hyun, Young-Min Lee, Hyung-Geun Kim and Jin-Sung Kim *
Citation: Hyun, H.; Lee, Y.-M.; Kim,
H.-G.; Kim, J.-S. Framework for
Long-Term Public Housing Supply
Plan Focusing on Small-Scale Offsite
Construction in Seoul. Sustainability
2021, 13, 5361. https://doi.org/
10.3390/su13105361
Academic Editor:
Jurgita Antucheviˇcien
˙
e
Received: 6 April 2021
Accepted: 7 May 2021
Published: 11 May 2021
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4.0/).
SH Urban Research Center, Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation, Seoul 06336, Korea;
hhs518@i-sh.co.kr (H.H.); e0min@i-sh.co.kr (Y.-M.L.); hgkim@i-sh.co.kr (H.-G.K.)
* Correspondence: jskim77@i-sh.co.kr
Abstract:
The public housing demand in Seoul has been continuously increasing, but the available
land for housing is insufficient. To meet the demand, the Seoul government is planning to develop
small-scale housing in urban areas through various methods. Construction activities for increasing
housing capacity cause negative environmental impacts, and this inevitably leads to an increase in the
number of civil complaints. The complaints can be mitigated by using offsite construction (OSC) for
fabricating components. However, OSC remains underdeveloped in Korea owing to concerns over
high project costs. To promote OSC, the government must develop a long-term plan to secure demand
for OSC. For such a plan, the number and feasibility of applicable sites in Seoul must be estimated.
This study suggests a two-stage research framework: (1) estimate the number of applicable sites in
Seoul using GIS and (2) conduct feasibility analyses of these sites through architectural planning. The
estimated number of sites was equal to the expected supply of small-scale housing units in Seoul
for 8 years, and the selected case sites were identified to be feasible. Therefore, the use of OSC for
developing small-scale housing units in Seoul is reasonable. This research differs from previous
studies in that the previous use of qualitative studies to promote modular construction was replaced
with a quantitative analysis that included the entire Seoul area. Using the research framework, the
Seoul government can develop a specific long-term plan based on the quantitative research analysis.
Furthermore, manufacturers can develop plans based on the government plan and deliver returns on
the higher initial costs. The contractors can reduce the higher project cost and doing so is expected to
mitigate the negative perception and to promote modular construction in Korea.
Keywords:
small-scale housing supply; offsite construction (OSC), modular construction; feasibility
analysis; long-term supply plan; geographical information system (GIS)
1. Introduction
Urban construction projects impact the environment negatively, such as through
demolition waste, construction waste, noise, dust, and vibration, which result in civil
complaints and, in turn, schedule and cost overruns [
1
–
4
]. To mitigate these problems
while improving the project performance, the construction industry has adopted offsite
construction (OSC) methods [
2
,
3
]. In OSC projects, construction work is performed in
a factory environment instead of onsite [
5
]. OSC is, therefore, considered promising
compared with conventional construction methods [6,7].
Modular construction is a promising OSC method [
8
]. In this method, a significant
proportion of construction work is conducted in a factory rather than onsite, resulting in
reduced civil complaints, construction duration, waste, and cost while providing higher
quality. Therefore, this method is considered an effective and sustainable solution for
dealing with the growing housing demand in urban areas [
2
,
9
,
10
]. In particular, modular
construction is being used in cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Melbourne to
rapidly and efficiently construct buildings in both the private and the public sectors [
10
,
11
].
Seoul is a densely populated urban area and has seen increasing public housing
demand, especially in the central urban area. The public housing supplier of Seoul (PHSS)
Sustainability 2021, 13, 5361. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105361 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
