Industrialization of housing construction in Brazil: current situation and trends

Abstract

Brazilian housing needs are high. Even with important technological advancements taking place in recent decades, the degree of industrialization of housing construction remains relatively low in Brazil. The perception of the sector is that housing needs can only be equated by a significant increase in the industrialization of construction, and that the technologies available can support such increase. Currently, the existence of barriers and difficulties for industrialization are out of the production area, concentrated in the production chain, and in the macroeconomic, and political-institutional environments. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview on the subject. For that, the following items were developed: technological base of housing construction, the main industrialization technologies available, and the barriers and difficulties to be faced in order to support the increase in industrialization. Finally, scenarios of the future trends of evolution in the sector are discussed. This research is exploratory, based on literature review, and the results may support actions in the sector aimed at overcoming the barriers and difficulties for industrialization. It may also contribute to increasing knowledge, and furthering studies on the subject.