ZEMCH 2015 - International Conference Proceedings | Page 26

Figure 2: Low building quality in Iran.
An important issue is the nature of the Iranian construction industry with many small builders
which makes it difficult to benefit from mass production and economies of scale. Statistics suggest that in 2008, 40% of all newly constructed residential buildings in Iran had three or more
stories and 30% have three or more units. This figure increased to 53% in 2012/13 (SCI 2013a). Mass
building appears to be much more prevalent in some parts of the country and especially around
big cities (Figure 3: Use of MMC is more viable in larger construction projects.). For instance, in
2012/13, 93.5% of the building permissions for residential buildings in Tehran were issued for buildings with five or more stories with around 52% which had five or more residential units (SCI 2013a).
Yet, compared to the UK, a very few projects may be considered as mass building to benefit from
the economies of the scale even in large cities such as Tehran. Therefore, transferred MMC to Iran
should be capable of supporting small developers/projects.

Figure 3: Use of MMC is more viable in larger construction projects.

24

ZEMCH 2015 | International Conference | Bari - Lecce, Italy