Considered a last resort in U.S. disaster recovery scenarios, direct-housing solutions are deployed only after other housing assistance options are exhausted. Their viability and effectiveness depend on a range of interrelated constraints, including physical, logistical and social factors.

This presentation will describe ongoing research relating to alternative architectural solutions and production/delivery paradigms for flexible and adaptable post-disaster housing, ranging from volumetric modular construction to panelization to rapidly-assembled kit-of-parts systems. Each scenario involves varying degrees of prefabrication using timber components.