Project
Modern Methods of Construction: Market Analysis and Delivery Enablement Research - Thames Freeport
Unit(s) of assessment: Architecture, Built Environment and Planning
Research theme(s): Safety and Sustainability
School: School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
The challenge
Delivering affordable housing at scale is not simply a question of construction capacity. Housing programmes operate through complex systems involving planning authorities, developers, infrastructure providers, housing associations, contractors, manufacturers, investors, lenders and insurers.
Delays and uncertainty can arise from the interaction of several factors, including infrastructure sequencing, fragmented procurement, changing demand, risk allocation, planning and approval processes, and limited supply-chain confidence.
Modern Methods of Construction may help improve productivity, quality and predictability. However, their viability depends on more than technical capability. Manufacturers and investors also require a stable pipeline, repeatable demand, appropriate procurement arrangements and confidence in assurance, warranty and finance systems.
This project therefore asks where MMC would add value and what conditions would be required for successful implementation.
Research aims
The project aims to:
- identify the main market and coordination failures affecting housing delivery;
- assess the viability of volumetric, panelised and hybrid MMC systems;
- identify the demand, procurement, assurance and finance conditions required for MMC adoption;
- learn from relevant UK and international housing-delivery examples.
Research approach
The project adopts a Design Science Research approach. The programme includes:
- analysis of planning, development, infrastructure and delivery documentation;
- stakeholder interviews involving public, private and community organisations;
- mapping of the housing-delivery system and its principal decision-making interfaces;
- assessment of MMC technologies, procurement routes and market conditions;
- structured workshops to validate evidence and co-design interventions.
Barking Riverside provides the main case study. Its scale, infrastructure dependencies and multi-organisation delivery arrangements offer an important opportunity to understand the conditions affecting major housing programmes across the Thames Freeport geography.
Project outputs
The project will produce:
- a diagnostic of the principal barriers affecting housing delivery;
- a delivery-system map showing key organisations, responsibilities and coordination interfaces;
- an assessment of MMC opportunities and viability;
- analysis of demand aggregation, procurement, assurance and finance conditions;
- transferable lessons from UK and international cases;
- two or three implementable intervention proposals.
The final recommendations will be designed to support decisions about future policy and delivery priorities.
Expected impact
The research will help Thames Freeport and its partners understand where intervention could have the greatest effect on housing delivery.
Rather than treating individual barriers in isolation, the project examines the housing-delivery system as a whole. This will help identify interventions that address underlying causes, clarify organisational responsibilities and create more favourable conditions for investment and innovation.
The research will also contribute to wider debate about affordable housing, industrialised construction and place-based economic development. Its findings will be shared with academic, industry and policy audiences through the CIB European Affordable Housing Symposium 2026.
Project information
Project duration: May 2026–January 2027
Commissioning organisation: Thames Freeport
Principal Investigator: Professor Patricia Tzortzopoulos
Academic team: An interdisciplinary team from NTU’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, including Simona Consentino, Chinedu Onweh