Towards Sustainable Construction in China: A Systematic Review of Barriers to Offsite Methods

Offsite construction (OSC) has been increasingly promoted as a solution for a more sustainable construction industry. This method enhances the performance and efficiency of the construction industry by improving time and cost planning, health and safety, enhanced construction quality, and fostering a more environmentally sustainable built environment. China’s Fourteenth Five-Year Plan (2021–2025) mandates that at least 30% of new homes be constructed using OSC techniques by 2025, with the target of achieving 100% by 2035. With such a scalable challenge, this systematic research aims to identify and classify OSC adoption barriers, whether modular, volumetric, or panelised construction, by synthesising existing research studies. Through the analysis of 48 research articles published from 2013 to 2023, the review identifies key barriers hindering OSC adoption in China. The five most frequent barriers are as follows: lack of skills and expertise in OSC within organisations, absence of design codes and national standards for prefabrication, poor cooperation and integration among stakeholders in the supply chain, immature regulatory systems, and complexity in OSC project management. Trends in barrier prevalence by publication year are also discussed to highlight changes in research focus and to inform recommendations for future work that could support greater uptake of OSC in China.