Offsite Magazine - Issue 38

FAST-TRACK SOLUTIONS FOR MEP AND BATHROOM SERVICES

A NEW APPROACH TO HIGH-PERFORMANCE PODS

MIKE DE’ATH

The challenge of disrupting traditional construction methods and business models

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OFFSITE AWARDS 2023

The shortlist has been unveiled for this year’s exceptional projects, people and pioneers

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VOLUMETRIC MAGAZINE

A special section focusing on technology-driven and factorymanufactured building design

If you’re a pragmatist, you’ll look for a way of overcoming them.

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CHAMPION PERFORMERS

Welcome to the latest edition of Offsite Magazine. In many ways this issue has been turned over to two of the biggest events in the offsite calendar happening later this year – Offsite Expo and the sectordefining Offsite Awards.

Inside you will find the Awards shortlist that is hot of the judge’s desks, and across all the many categories it is clear to see that the size, scale and sheer levels of innovation that the offsite industry is delivering is truly inspirational. Remember that the Awards ceremony takes place on the 19 September on the first evening of Offsite Expo at the Coventry Building Society Arena – and is free to attend. So come and join the sponsors, judges and finalists to celebrate the best in the business – make sure you register your details via the relevant event links. People always think I know who the winners are, but I honestly have no idea!

Offsite Expo goes from strength to strength. You can also find more details on what is happening across the floor this year inside this issue. Amazingly the event is only two months away, so make sure that you keep a couple of days clear to visit the exhibitors and listen to the wide-ranging and

detailed seminar sessions – it is the most in-depth programme of its kind here in the UK – and the opportunities available to do business are second to none.

You will also find the back section of this edition focusing on the world of volumetric modular. We showcase a range of organisations operating in this dynamic part of the offsite industry with a range of projects and case studies – not least some commentary from ZED PODS on why brownfield developments can provide fertile new ground for volumetric providers.

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention the collapse of ilke Homes. This issue is filled with many success stories, but with the exit of L&G Modular Homes only a short while ago, the drop into administration of what was arguably the most highprofile operator in the volumetric housebuilding space, reveals the expensive and delicate margins on which the construction industry operates.

Thanks to all our contributors, advertisers and supporters for their help and guidance this issue.

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COVER STORIES

Exploiting the innovative technology behind VOLUMETRIC TM, the company’s multi-award-winning MODULHAUS TM range of interim homes have made MEP, bathroom and ensuite pods commercially available for direct installation on-site for the first time and manufactured to meet various design configurations.

As Mike De’Ath, Partner at HTA Design points out, despite more than a decade of progress, housebuilding manufacturers are now seeing just how challenging it is to disrupt the traditional construction methods and business models for housing delivery in the UK.

CONTENTS

30 | Timber Typologies

A wider and more detailed grasp of structural timber has seen Timber Development UK launch a new guide to understanding options for those adopting timber construction.

32 | New Solution for Future Homes

Saint-Gobain Off-Site Solutions has unveiled Thermistud™️, a closed panel timber solution, to help housing providers construct energy efficient, high performing homes.

34 | Offsite Expo 2023

Now in its fourth year, Offsite Expo is the premier UK show reflecting the diverse world of factory-based manufacture and building methods. What can you expect to see and do?

38 | Positive Moving for Greencore Homes

When Greencore moved into its new offsite facility, it needed reliable and low carbon equipment to move its timber frame panels and turned to material handling specialist Combilift for help.

48 | Precast Viaducts Helping HS2 Shape Up

A potentially landmark piece of offsite technology will soon bring a UK-first to the ongoing development of the HS2 infrastructure project.

The time has arrived. The judging is completed and the finalists for the Offsite Awards 2023 have been announced. With an incredible mix of projects and cuttingedge technology on offer – here is a sneak preview of what is in the running for a prestigious Award this year.

08 | Industry News

News and developments from across the UK offsite industry and wider construction arena including: ilke Homes enters administration, Etex Group launches Remagin, its new offsite construction brand, British Offsite opens its ‘Horizon’ factory, designed in collaboration with robotic engineering firm Randek AB and the sale of a Banksy artwork helps deliver a key new NHS wellbeing facility.

A special section dedicated to recent developments in the volumetric modular sector, with a range of projects changing the construction landscape including: Algeco, MTX, Rollalong, Beattie Passive, Wernick and ZED PODS plus news on how TopHat is helping France boost its homebuilding plans.

FEATURES

24 | M-ARvellous Modular

M-AR recently celebrated its 15th anniversary as a business with big plans to scale up its modular operations. We caught up with Operations Director, Mark Fox, to find out more about its sustained and successful growth and where it is heading next.

52 | 100% Recyclable Infinitely Reusable

Mike Fairey, Chair of the LSFA explains how the light gauge steel sector is helping drive sustainable change by reducing the largescale use of raw materials.

54 | Product Certification: more than just a certificate

Certification and independent validation of performance has never been more important, as Andrew Way, Associate Director at the Steel Construction Institute (SCI), explains.

58 | Certainty & Design Speed

What can digital tools deliver and what is their role in the design and delivery of MMC? Chris Spiceley, Client Accounts Director at Modulous, outlines the role they have to play.

THE FAST-TRACK SOLUTION FOR MEP AND BATHROOM SERVICES

The bathroom and ensuite pods are simply ‘plugged’ into the MEP infrastructure or optionally, can be connected to the VOLUMETRIC™ MEP pods. Environmentally friendly and energy-efficient, bathroom pods use controlled flow showers and dual-flush cisterns to mitigate water waste. VOLUMETRIC™ offers a range of baths, showers, toilets, sinks, taps, valves, vanity units, mirrors and lighting options for a truly bespoke internal finish.

The VOLUMETRIC™ team has already achieved its first successful installation of bathroom and ensuite pods. In March 2023, they delivered the first of multiple loads to a residential development called Kew Bridge Rise in Brentford, where over 400 new homes are being developed.

Exploiting the innovative technology behind the company’s multi-awardwinning MODULHAUSTM range of interim homes – for the first time, the MEP, bathroom and ensuite pods are commercially available for direct installation on-site. Manufactured to meet various design requirements and configurations, the pods offer numerous benefits for large residential and hotel developments. Efficient, sustainable and quick to install, they are ideal for projects where build speeds and seamless onsite coordination are paramount.

“Providing a unitised fast-track solution, says Trevor Richards Operations Director for VOLUMETRIC™. “Our services include design, specification, procurement and manufacturing to drastically reduce build programmes.

Delivering maximum efficiency and achieving a risk-free product, we produce all pods in our advanced offsite facility.”

Ergonomically Designed

VOLUMETRIC™ bathroom and ensuite pods offer outstanding premanufactured value (PMV) and can reduce standard installation times by up to 90%. Ergonomically designed for maximum spatial efficiency, the pods are customisable to meet project requirements. All plumbing runs are rigorously tested before despatch, minimising the chance of leaks or remedial works following on-site commissioning and reducing the expense and time spent on snagging activity.

The bathroom pods provided an ideal solution for the client, as offsite technology and modern methods of construction were integral to the project brief. VOLUMETRIC™ has recently released a new case study about the Kew Bridge Rise project, available to download from their website. The study looks at the design, development and delivery as well as the benefits of offsite manufacturing.

Reducing the Complexity of MEP Service Co-ordination

MEP pods are an evolution in prefabricated utility cupboards. Removing traditional MEP activity from the development path means less labour onsite and a more efficient installation. All electrical circuits and plumbing runs are thoroughly tested and certified before despatch to provide total quality assurance. Resolving any issues in the factory as part of the testing protocols, eliminates potential risks onsite.

As trailblazers in modular technology, VOLUMETRIC™ has used in-house skills and an innovative R&D approach to create a range of high-performance bathroom, ensuite and MEP pods.

The MEP pods have an outstanding PMV of up to 94% and can be installed quickly with only a two-man team. Responding instantly to water, heating and digital communication requirements, MEP pods incorporate pre-wired junction boxes, wiring looms and draw cables for electrical connections. A complete integrated solution, the pods use a slimline steel frame for a lightweight, yet robust structure built from highly recyclable materials.

Maximising Supply Chain Efficiency

Adopting design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) principles throughout, VOLUMETRIC™ uses advanced digital technology, 3D printing, and augmented and virtual reality prototyping to ensure accuracy and high-performance outputs. Using DfMA protocols, design and supply chain teams identified ways to optimise material use, reducing waste while providing outstanding performance and a robust structure. A one team approach also allows for the traceability of materials, giving total assurance at a component level.

ON SHOW AT OFFSITE EXPO

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Trevor Richards explains: “We adopt a partnership approach, working collaboratively with our trusted suppliers. This allows us to identify and eliminate obstacles before offsite manufacture and assembly. It has been great to work with the suppliers to see how we can make the pods even more efficient and sustainable. This includes the provision of light steel frame structural kits from our supplier’s dedicated production area.”

Following the launch, VOLUMETRIC™ are working on further expanding their offering. A slim base version of the bathroom pod is currently in development, alongside a more compact version of the MEP range. A combined MEP and bathroom pod is also available.

“There has been a lot of research and development put into this initiative, adds Trevor - maximising synergies with our volumetric modules, and we look forward to getting the new pods off the production line in the next few months."

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For more information or to download technical information visit: www.volumetric.co.uk

Images:

01. All Pods are precision engineered in a 65,000ft2 state-of-the-art manufacturing facility

02-03. A range of bathroom and ensuite pods with a choice of finishes and fittings

04. The MEP Pods provide a unitised solution for heating, ventilation, water management, communications and electrical services

The MEP and bathroom pods will be on display at Offsite Expo later this year on STAND D1 and will also take centre stage as finalists in the Offsite Awards, taking place on the evening of the first day of the event. Experts from VOLUMETRICTM will also be unveiling their latest innovation on STAND H3. Developed to meet the demand for high-quality sustainable homes, the team will launch their latest volumetric modular solution for mid-rise apartments and low-rise homes. Taking place at the Coventry Building Society Arena on 19 – 20 September, the team will be on hand to demonstrate the pods and answer technical questions about their latest volumetric homes. Register your FOC place at www.offsite-expo.co.uk

New Offsite Brand Remagin Unveiled

Global building materials company Etex Group is launching a new offsite construction brand named Remagin. The trend towards greater offsite production has prompted Etex Group to leverage its existing offsite construction companies to create a comprehensive, full-service business, from design to installation, to meet customer demand and drive performance.

The new brand brings together the collective capabilities of three existing businesses, Leeds-based Sigmat, County Durham-based EOS and Horizon, operating from Ireland. These businesses have been established in the sector for a considerable time and have developed leading positions in their respective markets. By combining the best of their design and engineering expertise, along with manufacturing and installation know-how, the new brand will offer industry leading, lightweight factory-assembled panels and associated services, all based on sustainable, light gauge steel frame (LGSF).

Backed by the €3.7billion turnover Etex Group with its significant investments in innovation, system testing capacity through five global R&D centres and its building materials expertise – Remagin is well placed to accelerate the scale and impact of offsite construction. This move offers assurances to existing and potential customers through a powerful combination of financial security, comprehensive services and market leading products, delivered

by those at the forefront of design, engineering, manufacturing and installation of complete and compliant light gauge steel systems.

The new commercial branding is part of a broader growth strategy which targets the turnover of the combined companies across the UK and Ireland to more than double between now and 2030 – which will create significant employment opportunities in various roles across both countries.

Patrick Balemans, Head of the New Ways division of Etex Group of which Remagin is a brand, says: “As part of our sustained efforts to contribute to a better future, we continuously look to evolve what we do and how we do things. I’m proud to announce the launch of our new commercial brand, Remagin, which offers highly efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable integrated building systems that surpass those of traditional construction methods.”

Remagin’s product range spans from kit-form supplied steel frame systems (SFS) for closing off the external envelope on traditionally built structures, through to full loadbearing LGSF superstructures, which it can design, manufacture and install for buildings up to fifteen storeys high. Remagin is well suited to serve sectors as diverse as housing and apartments, retirement living, care homes, hotels, student accommodation, education and healthcare.

Consolidating several products within the Remagin solution provides greater assurance on performance and can also accelerate construction considerably, as several components can be installed at the same time in the same panel. For example, external panel products integrating boards, insulation, membranes and factory-fitted windows have recently been introduced and installed on a number of customer sites with great success. As well as construction speed, site efficiency is also improved, as the number of operatives on site and the need to co-ordinate them (and deliveries) is reduced.

Scott Bibby, Country Manager for the UK and Ireland, said: “This is an exciting time in the development of not just our own business but the wider offsite construction sector. Due to the flexibility and proven benefits of panelised building systems, things are really taking off and by combining our joint strengths we are confident we can accelerate and maximise sector growth. Remagin is building on the solid foundations established by Sigmat, EOS and Horizon and is backed by Etex Group with its significant R&D and testing capacity and materials expertise. We are in a strong position to add significant lifecycle value and sustainability benefits to our customers.”

Source: www.remagin.world

Just landed! Our NEW pre-painted OSB is a blank canvas, perfect for applying for marketing messages and graphics. With all the inherent properties of our popular OSB3, SterlingOSB Zero PrimedPlus has a primed textured finish, and is designed for hoardings, screening, exhibition stands and walkways etc, inside or out.

Tekla Focuses on Design Workflow at Offsite Expo

and valued history of working together in partnership, with the first iteration of tools offering Howick connections and Howick machine exports developed for Tekla Structures in 2009. Since then, there have been several further updates, with the introduction of components such as the Frame Checker and the Floor Tools for deep sections. These tools are being continually developed and integrated within Tekla Structures based on both Howick’s and Tekla users’ feedback. The tools are available for download from Tekla Warehouse and can be fully integrated into the latest version of framing tools for Tekla Structures.

Craig Johnson, Business Development Manager for Detailing & Manufacturing at Trimble, said: “We’re very excited to be returning to Offsite Expo for another year. It’s a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase to visitors the value our Tekla constructible modelling software can bring to the offsite sector, as well as network with and learn from our fellow industry colleagues.

Trimble is delighted to be bringing its range of Tekla constructible modelling solutions to Offsite Expo 2023, where the technology provider will be demonstrating the tools available for a connected and streamlined ‘design to fabrication’ workflow. Visitors to the Trimble stand will have the opportunity to learn more about the value Tekla software can bring to the offsite sector, with tools and features available for the whole design to fabrication workflow.

Trimble will be showcasing its Volumetric Modular Tool, available within Tekla Structures and designed specifically for the offsite market. The tool enables users to construct 3D models of modular units far quicker and easier, with automation at the tool’s core. As well as saving valuable time, with a basic unit

JJI-Joist Product Range Extended

able to be created in just a couple of clicks, the tool also offers a clear assembly hierarchy, automatically creating and organising assemblies, sub-assemblies and parts ready for production.

Visitors to the show will also be able to learn about Tekla Structure’s crane layout tools available for planning on-site assembly logistics and the power of custom components, as well as how Trimble’s openBIM approach supports automated manufacturing processes.

In addition, Trimble is excited to be welcoming Howick, the light steel roll-forming machinery innovators, onto its stand at set times across the two-day show. Tekla software and Howick have a long

“Ultimately, our goal is to demonstrate the ways in which our software can help teams collaborate effectively, improve productivity levels, reduce waste, increase speed and accuracy, and build greener –all key factors for the offsite industry of today. For example, we recently launched a 3D modelling tool for the volumetric and modular sector, built specifically for offsite. The tool complements our already existing solutions for detailing and manufacturing of light metal framing and precast concrete, which again enforces our connected construction and multi-material approach to the offsite industry.”

Tekla software offers the ability to drive more detail into structural BIM workflows for a deeper understanding of your designs at every phase, with its constructible models uniting the team from the design office, factory and site. Tekla is one solution that supports Trimble’s ambition to digitally transform construction with solutions that span the entire AEC industry.

Source: www.tekla.com/uk/resources/ modular

The Timber Systems Division of forestry and sawmilling business, James Jones & Sons Ltd, has announced the addition of a new product – the JJI Wall Stud. James Jones & Sons operates the largest, fastest and most efficient I-Joist line in Europe. Made in the UK at its engineered timber manufacturing plant in Forres, the JJI Wall Stud offers a low carbon solution to the UK and European construction market.

Angus Macfarlane, General Manager of Timber Systems Division, said: “The JJI Wall Stud has been developed to complement changes in Part L legislation that requires more efficient insulation in timber frame and modular homes. More than ever there is a need for highly insulated, healthy homes and the JJI Wall Stud, in combination with different types of insulation, helps achieve this.

We will manufacture the JJI Wall Stud in easy to handle and easy to cut lengths to offer flexibility to the offsite manufacturing process. The JJI Wall Stud is available via our existing distribution network throughout the UK and Europe.

“We are committed to supporting a programme of continued investment and other recent innovations have included development of our JJI Design and Joist Master Software, in addition to the expansion of a new stock yard in 2022 to enable us to ensure security of supply within industry best delivery timescales.”

Source: www.jamesjones.co.uk

THROUGH OUR MODERN METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION NEW HOMES (NH3) FRAMEWORK

Building your community matters to us...

Our frameworks are procured in accordance with The Public Contracts Regulations 2015 and are free to use. They provide public sector organisations with easy access to procure works, products and services for the construction, refurbishment and maintenance of social housing, schools and public buildings.

LHC Procurement Group strives for excellence in the services provided to their clients and aims to deliver the best solution to suit every project’s individual needs.

Our dedicated Client Support and Project Support teams are on-hand to assist throughout the life of the project.

For more information on how our frameworks can work for you, get in touch.

www.lhcprocure.org.uk

HELPING YOU TO BE MMC READY

Banksy Artwork Helps Integra Secure NHS Southampton Facility

Modular building specialist Integra has created new wellbeing facilities for NHS staff in Southampton, in a project made possible with proceeds from the auction of Banksy’s artwork ‘Game Changer’. The Banksy artwork was gifted to Southampton Hospitals Charity in May 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following its £16.7million sale at auction – a record for a Banksy artwork – Integra was awarded a contract to deliver a wellbeing hub for NHS staff working at University Hospital Southampton (UHS), one of several projects funded by ‘Game Changer’.

The bespoke building features an open plan gymnasium, relaxation lounge, kitchen, changing and shower facilities as well as multi-purpose rooms where groups can come together to rest or take part in team building activities, which are all free for staff to use. Staff can also utilise a cycle parking area, promoting a key initiative in the Trust’s sustainability work and commitment to reduce its carbon footprint.

Gary Parker, CEO at Integra, said: “The pandemic shone a very bright light on the invaluable work NHS staff across the country do every single day, saving lives and keeping us healthy. To be awarded this

contract was a huge privilege, and we’ve enjoyed working with UHS to provide staff with a relaxing environment to enjoy breaks from their hectic and challenging work.

“We have a strong track record of delivering highquality modular buildings for the health sector and have also recently supplied an 80-plus bay hospital building for Newham University Hospital. Our NHS staff dedicate their lives to caring for patients in their time of need, so to be able to give something small back to them feels very fitting.”

Banksy’s ‘Game Changer’ shows a child choosing to play with a caped toy nurse instead of more traditional superhero figures. Proceeds from its £16.7million sale were distributed to more than 40 healthcare organisations and charities across the UK, funding projects which an emphasis on mental health and wellbeing. One of those projects was the new wellbeing facility at University Hospital Southampton.

Ellis Banfield, Southampton Hospital’s Charity Director, said: “We’re enormously grateful for the donation received to build a space that will enable our NHS staff to have an area to rest, recharge and reflect. The building itself has been designed with our people in mind and will provide a lasting legacy that all of us at UHS are enormously proud of.” The new wellbeing facility was officially opened on Wednesday 5 July, as part of national celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.

Source: www.integrabuildings.co.uk

Trimawall® Fast Fit Now Available

Building Systems UK, an enterprise of Tata Steel UK, has announced the launch of its latest product to its building envelope portfolio – the Trimawall® Fast Fit internal walling system. Trimawall® Fast Fit is a universal mounting system and prefinished panel. It has been designed and developed exclusively for Building Systems UK in conjunction with Reform Systems Ltd and its patented tool-free panel mounting technology, after initial trials in 2022 on the Seismic demonstrator building at BRE.

The unique Trimawall® system will facilitate the move to high quality offsite build solutions that can radically change the speed, safety and environmental impact of (on-site) construction. Notably, this product launch will further fuel Building Systems’ broader mission to shape the future of sustainable buildings.

Edwin Richards, Business Development Manager at Building Systems UK said: “Our Trimawall® panels can be individually mounted, demounted, and remounted multiple times without compromising performance or aesthetics. Not only does this allow for easy access to the M&E services within the accessible cavity for maintenance or upgrading, but it also allows the panel to be relocated, reused and replaced to help reconfigure and enhance buildings quickly and efficiently over time.”

Created to help tackle the skills and supply chain shortages within construction, Trimawall® Fast Fit is a recognised DfMA solution that can help unlock additional capacity both offsite and on-site, facilitating on-time, on-budget delivery of projects. It can be used throughout a building, both as a façade as well as an internal fit out panel. This offers a hybrid solution which can be mounted over a wide range of structural wall types. The initial focus for the product will be to provide an internal wall fit out system for newbuild and refurbishment projects, delivering a strong and versatile alternative to traditional building materials. With interior panels supplied with a wide

choice of Colorcoat® pre-painted finishes, Trimawall® requires no wet trades to complete and avoids on-site plastering dust and fumes.

Jo Evans, Managing Director of Building Systems UK said: “Sitting alongside Building Systems UK’s trusted brands such as Trisobuild®, Trisomet®, Trimapanel®, ComFlor® and RoofDek our new Trimawall® Fast Fit system helps us to further expand our role in construction transformation and achieve our vision of shaping the future of sustainable buildings.”

Source: www.tatasteeleurope.com

UK INDUSTRY NEWS

Horizon Factory Ready for Operations

British Offsite, the build offsite company of Weston Group plc, has launched ‘Horizon’, a new £45million, 137,000sq ft facility in Braintree, designed in collaboration with Swedish robotic engineering firm Randek AB.

Once fully operational, the new factory in the Horizon Business Park will be able to assist with the delivery of up to 4,000 new homes per year, with building components provided to both Weston Homes, the Group’s volume housebuilding division, and also sold on the open market to builders and contractors, including local and regional housebuilders.

The Horizon factory will produce British Offsite’s panellised UniSystem range that includes light gauge panels, walls, roofs and floors, with the panels having windows, doors, insulation, vents, fire stopping and external cladding in place, manufactured exactly to a developer’s needs. The UniSystem is a specially developed hybrid MMC that is highly flexible and allows rapid integration into traditional building design.

The initial design concepts and commissioning of technology for the factory started three years ago, with the actual construction of the building taking 12 months. The completed factory has a glass and Trimco-panels façade with solar panels on the roof to help ensure sustainability and maximum power generation, with special energy monitoring systems to review factory production capacity.

Donaldson Timber Systems Launch New House Range

Leading UK offsite timber frame manufacturer, Donaldson Timber Systems (DTS), has launched the Donaldson Timber Systems House Range. The range of 18 core house types includes cottage flats with a mix of one and two bedrooms, semi-detached and detached two-bed bungalows and a selection of detached, semi-detached, and terraced homes of two, three and four bedrooms.

Utilising DTS’ Sigma II closed panel timber frame system, the house range provides long-term energy efficiency; meets and exceeds Homes England’s minimum requirement for a pre-manufactured Value (PMV) of 55% using only the timber frame build system and allows the frames to be windproof and watertight on site in one day. The homes are also land-efficient, with the width of each floorplan reduced to ensure roads, footpaths and services are minimised, and a consistent depth of floorplan allows different house types to be simply built as terraced blocks.

Underlining the ambitions of the factory, each of the robots is named after UK cities: Edinburgh (robot 1), Cardiff (2), Belfast (3), London (4), Manchester (5), Liverpool (6), York (7) and Cambridge (8). The production line delivery is not limited to housebuilding and has the capacity for doing modular school buildings, healthcare facilities and student accommodation. Alongside the triple-height main factory floorspace containing the production line, there are a 1,860sq m office, R&D suite, marketing and staff welfare facilities including a canteen and health-screening clinic.

Bob Weston, Chairman of British Offsite & Weston Group said: “Working with Randek AB, the launch of the ‘Horizon’ factory has created one of the most automated light gauge steel panel assembly lines in Europe and the largest single production line

in the UK. Offsite construction is the future of the housebuilding industry and homes manufactured at ‘Horizon’ can be tailored to a development’s unique design vision.”

Shaun Weston, Managing Director of British Offsite added: “British Offsite is proud to be part of the new wave of high-tech British manufacturing, bringing very significant new capabilities to the UK construction industry. The new robotic production line at ‘Horizon’ allows for the consolidation of the work of up to five trades into one panel. Our MMC products are designed to be easily integrated into existing projects, helping to streamline traditional residential construction.”

Source: www.britishoffsite.com

John Smith, Technical Director at DTS, said: “We are working closely with the wider housing sector to drive continued quality and performance standards, and our new house range provides both to the market. We conducted extensive research in the sector across the UK to understand the needs of residents, developers, planners, and all relevant regulations, and these house types provide homes that are designed to offer maximum flexibility while meeting all space standards in the most efficient way possible.

“Sustainability and efficiency are also key to the sector, both for speed of build and longer-term performance for residents. Our timber frame system’s fabric-first approach comes with embodied carbon calculations and PMV assessment for each house type, to ensure sustainable, resilient, and affordable

homes that efficiently meet the current build regulations and can be easily and simply updated to achieve the requirements of the Future Homes Standard.”

The house range is supported by a suite of architectural design information with Level 1 BIM models. DTS is also developing further supporting information, including SAP calcs, specifications, schedules and build costs for the full house range. Having this information in place will not only allow customers to reap the benefits of the efficiency of the house types, but vastly reduce the lead-times and up-front costs associated with developing a range of house types from scratch.

Source: www.donaldsontimbersystems.com

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT LIGHT GAUGE STEEL FRAMING SYSTEM FOR YOUR BUSINESS.

Are you considering manufacturing light gauge steel framing? Are you interested in taking the next step and learning how to make that happen? Or maybe you already own a Howick machine and you are looking to extend your capabilities?

From the workhorses FRAMATM 3200 and 5600 – great for all standard framing needs to specialised machines like the X-TENDATM 3600 (extendable frames for infill spaces) and the FRAMATM 6800 (floor joist system) that are highly optimised to produce specific components, you will find we have a system available that meets most framing component manufacturing needs.

If you are thinking of something out of the ordinary, we also provide a range of customised options for our standard machines; we have even designed and manufactured new innovations to help solve specific challenges.

Talk to us about your framing needs.

X-TENDATM 3600

The X-TENDATM 3600 saves 50% or more of the time it normally takes to frame interior spaces with traditional framing methods. It produces telescopic cold formed steel framing for retrofit or infill interior walls and ceilings. The components produced are pre-assembled, compressed for easy manoeuvre, then quickly expanded and adjusted on site for a precise fit every time.

To find out more about setting up construction manufacturing with light gauge steel framing automation, simply scan the QR code to download our Machine Buyer Guide. Alternatively, you can contact us via our website at www.howickltd.com, or get in touch with our Head of Global Sales, Deon Anderson, on deon@howickltd.com

UKCA Deadline Moved But Testing Still Essential

products, as there are only a handful of UKASaccredited testing facilities in the UK.

Accredited testing to enable UKCA marking can only be issued by an approved body listed on the UK government’s database. Under the UK Construction Products Regulation, from 30 June 2025, manufacturers of structural timber fasteners and fixings within the scope of the UK Designated Standard BS EN 14592 must successfully complete the testing process by a UK based laboratory for any product to be placed on the UK market. This also applies to any products undergoing a chance in specification.

Ben Sharples, (pictured) Commercial Lead at BM TRADA and sister company to Warringtonfire, said: “UKCA marking is very important for the construction industry, as it symbolises that the product being used conforms to the relevant standard and is a mark of integrity. It is very important that fasteners and fixings manufacturers do not get lulled into a false sense of security with this extended deadline on UKCA marking.

For instance, fasteners and fixings that have a change in design or coatings, will also need to be re-tested to gain the UKCA marking and confirm their stated performance.”

To help accommodate the rush for testing, Warringtonfire has launched its state-of-theart Fastener Testing Laboratory, located in High Wycombe. The laboratory can undertake assessments of performance for structural timber fastener and fixing products, so that manufacturers can UKCA mark them to BS EN 14592. The facility includes a universal testing machine for compression and tensile testing, a series of bespoke testing rigs, and conditioning rooms for structural timber samples.

Although the deadline for the UKCA certification process has been pushed forward to 30 June 2025, manufacturers of structural timber fasteners and fixings are being told to start now with getting products tested amidst a shortage of approved testing facilities in the UK. The advice, from Warringtonfire, a leading testing, inspection and certification company, warns that manufacturers who opt to wait run the risk of finding themselves with nowhere to test their

Intrastack Climb

Intrastack has introduced its panellised light gauge steel frame system as a solution for The Heights, with the project completed in only 12 weeks. In busy urban environments, construction projects often face numerous challenges, from tight spaces and limited access to increased environmental impact and the need for sustainable solutions. The Heights, Greenwich, a development of 48 new homes for private sale, was no exception.

With the site located on a former car park, adjacent to a quarry, a train line and existing residential dwellings, the project required a flexible approach to overcome these obstacles. The Intrastack system benefited the site's logistics by providing planned deliveries of exact quantities, with minimal vehicle movements required. While the tight site layout posed challenges, Intrastack's easy-to-stack and store components made on-site storage and assembly efficient and straightforward.

In terms of waste reduction, the Intrastack system ensured exact quantities were made and delivered, with the efficient cut-to-length and panellisation process resulting in minimal waste both on and offsite.

“There are only a few UKAS-accredited bodies in the UK that are able to test fasteners and fixings, of which Warringtonfire is one of them, that will then allow you to go on and achieve UKCA certification. Manufacturers need to be aware that any products on the UK market after the June 2025 will need to have this testing completed. This goes for products undergoing a change in their specification too.

The organisation will offer a range of geometric and mechanical testing procedures for dowel type fasteners from a particular group of structural timber fixings, comprising of nails, screws, staples, dowels and bolts. The laboratory can also test steel fixings used to create joints between timber components or to attach other materials to timber. UKCA certification became mandatory for all new construction products placed on the market in Great Britain as of 1 January 2021, as the UK transitions away from the EUrecognised CE Marking. The original cut-off date for UKCA marking for all applicable construction products placed on the GB market was 1 January 2023, before being pushed to the new date in 2025.

Source: www.warringtonfire.com

Intrastack Business Director, Andy Higson, said: “The Heights showcases the true potential of modern methods of construction (MMC) in addressing urban construction challenges. The project has proven that we can provide clients with high-quality construction solutions. The scheme was originally designed as a traditional RC frame, however, following an appraisal of offsite options we identified the Intrastack panellised light gauge steel frame system as a solution.

"The Intrastack system minimised disruption to the local neighbourhood through reduced site traffic. The efficient delivery, assembly and waste management processes truly set Intrastack apart as a viable solution for the way we build new homes in the future.

The system was delivered in fewer loads and easily stacked and stored on the site which is tight for space. Concrete deliveries were halved, and because of the way the frame is manufactured and delivered the amount of waste from site has also been significantly reduced.”

The steel-based system allowed for a 50% reduction in concrete deliveries. The Intrastack solution also helped to elevate the development's specifications, with a steel frame system that has the potential to deliver an impressive U-Value of 0.14W/m2K when specified in conjunction with other energy-efficient building materials.

Source: www.intrastack.co.uk

‘The Heights’

Reds10 Full Year Results Outperform Market

Vertically integrated offsite construction specialist Reds10 announces its annual results for the year ended 31 March 2023, delivering another strong financial performance, recording a third consecutive year of turnover and profit growth and significantly strengthening its balance sheet. The strong performance has been delivered by harnessing a platform approach and through considerable investment in customer relationships and customerfocused product development.

Highlights reported included: revenue up by 32% year on year to £83.8million (£63.4million in 21/22: £37million in 20/21, seeing a 126% total increase over three-year period, a robust pipeline in place that exceeds future projections – secured revenue (orders and intents) at year end of £272million – with 100% coming from long-term programmes of work, operating profit remained strong and well above industry benchmarks at 6.2%. Further expansion of its manufacturing facility in East Yorkshire, where it secured a fourth factory increased production capacity by 25%.

Matt Bennion, CEO of Reds10, said: “This year has been another period of high performance and achievement as Reds10 continues its consecutive

year-on-year growth trajectory, bucking the market trend despite wider challenges. Our strong secured pipeline of work is testament to Reds10’s focus on innovating products that are tailored to meeting customers’ needs, our unique platform approach, vertically integrated delivery, an ongoing commitment to product innovation and in-house design capabilities.

“We have continued to enhance our reputation in the industry as a Tier 1 contractor that consistently delivers innovative building solutions. Our mission is to change the way spaces are designed, built, financed and operated, proving that MMC can deliver better,

faster and more sustainably compared to traditional methods.”

The company commenced £60million of construction work during the period on separate projects for the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Education and the Ministry of Defence. In addition, Reds10 secured positions on a further three value-creating frameworks, for the Crown Commercial Service Offsite Solutions, MMC New Homes and HNS SBS. During the year, Reds10 invested significantly in R&D to develop and deploy new technologies that help to improve end user experience and building quality.

Source: www.reds10.com

Setanta Hand Over Passive House

The keys of Setanta Construction’s SoLow Passive House have been handed over to a family from Mid Ulster who’ve been chosen as the lucky occupants to live for free in the property for twelve months.

Courtney Gallagher, her husband Michael and their two children were chosen by Setanta Construction following a thorough interview and selection process. Canadian born Courtney and her husband Michael, originally from Castledawson, moved back to Mid Ulster from London last year to be closer to family and friends. In return, the family will participate in a live research monitoring study in collaboration with Ulster University. The research process aims to gather live feedback and data about what it’s like to live in Ireland’s first volumetric modular house constructed to complete Passive House standards.

The unique research will help provide key metrics and insights on the future performance of low energy dwellings, with factors such as internal heat gains, energy usage along with occupant behavior and the subsequent impacts on the overall performance of the SoLow house fully explored.

Crucially, it will also help determine the overall cost savings of living in a SoLow passive designed home, widely regarded by many within the affordable

housing industry as a much-needed solution to help minimise the impact of the ongoing cost of living and energy fuel crisis.

Setanta Construction is calling for an integrated approach to help combat energy fuel poverty.

According to Mark Gribbin, Joint Director: “Over the past number of months, we’ve been consulting with housing associations, architects, developers and governmental bodies and they’ve definitely taken notice. Passive House design is still considered by many as an energy standard that only high-end projects could afford. We’re set to alter that thinking by applying complete Passive House standards to affordable housing.

“We’ve been long-term supporters of passive house standards and have been training our staff in Passive House techniques since 2011. This has allowed us to work alongside industry experts and consultants to carefully develop, design and construct a superior housing solution that will result in significant energy fuel savings whilst also delivering additional cost, time, health and environmental benefits for all.”

According to Niall Gribbin, Director at Setanta Construction: “We’re grateful to the Gallagher family for taking part in this unique research study – the first

of its kind in Ireland. At the end of the twelve months, information gathered will help feed into future decision making about Passive House construction and the delivery of exceptional affordable housing.”

“The overall success of our SoLow Passive House will be measured in the long-term, through the production of completed houses, their operational efficiency and by the residents who live in them. We’re hopeful that the design decisions we've made combined with the high energy standards and all-round expertise that we’ve applied will result in good quality, life-long homes that will help decrease energy consumption and associated costs for residents making it a smart long-term investment for the housing sector.”

Setanta’s offsite method of construction means that it takes just two weeks to construct a SoLow Passive House in factory and assemble on-site in just a few hours. With plans for a new 30,000sq ft factory underway, Setanta Construction hope to increase productivity to one fully completed house every day.

Pictured L-R Niall Gribbin, the Gallagher family, Mark Gribbin

Source: www.setantaconstruction.com

NHBC Accepts Welcomes LoCal Homes and Fusion Steel Framing

NHBC, the UK’s leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes has welcomed two new panelised building systems to NHBC Accepts: LoCal Homes’ ECO200 timber frame and Fusion Steel Framing’s FusionX™ light gauge steel frame.

NHBC Accepts – endorsed by the Government’s Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) Champion Mark Farmer and recognised by Homes England and UK Finance – enables accelerated assessment of innovative systems used in homes covered by NHBC’s Buildmark warranty, reducing the risk of project delays to the builder. Systems with the NHBC Accepts logo have been rigorously assessed and demonstrate, subject to appropriate design and installation, that they meet NHBC’s robust standards, giving confidence to developers, investors, lenders and homeowners.

NHBC Technical Innovation Manager, Chris Hall said: “We know from feedback that once a system is given the NHBC Accepts green light this creates confidence in quality, long-term durability and traceability. We actively assess construction quality both on-site and offsite to verify each system is suitable and acceptable to meet the standards set to obtain our ten-year NHBC Buildmark warranty.

“With demands on the industry to increase the volume of new homes and the simultaneous challenges around materials and skills, we are

Ilke Homes Faces Offsite Exit

The offsite industry has been shaken once again with the collapse of another major player in the housebuilding sector. After the demise of L&G Modular Homes in May, leading modular housebuilder ilke Homes entered administration in July with over 1,000 employees set to be made redundant.

The Flaxby-based company had been looking to further fundraise or seek new buyers with ilke Homes reportedly offering potential buyers the company for £1, to enable it to complete its 4,200-home pipeline and retain its workforce. This did not materialise.

Clare Kennedy, Joint Administrator and a Partner and Managing Director at AlixPartners, said: “This is an incredibly difficult time for all associated with ilke Homes, and in particular its employees, who have worked tirelessly alongside management over recent months to find a resolution.

“With significant incremental investment the business returned to growth following the Covid pandemic, but then faced the challenges of unprecedented inflation and a lack of land supply linked to planning

at a critical stage in the development of MMC. We are proud to be using our scale, expertise and knowledge of traditional house building to work with manufacturers to provide the confidence that innovative systems can meet and sometimes exceed the same high standards of quality and durability as traditionally built homes.”

Even once accepted, NHBC’s Innovation team continue to review quality through factory and site inspections and seek feedback from those working with the system on-site. This knowledge is shared with the owners to help continually improve their system.

Lee Cox, Technical Manager at LoCal Homes said: “We are proud to have our ECO200 system acknowledged and approved by NHBC under their NHBC Accepts Certification. We strive to develop our systems in innovative ways to meet the modern

requirements and challenges of today’s construction industry. We aim to give our clients reassurance of quality products and that the system design and manufacture meet current regulations and standards.”

Mike Fairey, Managing Director at Fusion Steel Framing added: “We are delighted to receive endorsement from NHBC Accepts for our FusionX™ light gauge steel frame, as it provides the housebuilding industry with the confidence to utilise our high quality, rigorously tested offsite system within the construction of new homes. Also, importantly, homebuyers will have the assurance of purchasing a new home constructed to meet the exacting standards required to achieve a ten-year NHBC Buildmark warranty.”

Source: www.nhbc.co.uk/accepts

processes. As a result, despite a strong product and pipeline, the business has not been able to secure the further investment needed to take it forward.

“Regrettably, this means the immediate closure of the manufacturing facility at Flaxby in North Yorkshire and all site activities will cease. As a result of this difficult decision the significant majority of the companies’ 1,150 staff will be made redundant with a small number being retained to assist the administrators in winding up the companies’ affairs.

“Unfortunately, the market and economic headwinds have proven too strong to overcome… our focus now is on helping all stakeholders, employees,

suppliers and customers alike, to find the best possible outcome in this undoubtedly difficult time.”

It was only in December 2022 that ilke Homes announced it had raised a record-breaking £100million from new and existing shareholders following successive years of ‘triple-digit’ growth, with the round being led by funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group LLC a leading global investment manager with approximately $46billion of assets under management. As regular readers will know ilke Homes and its projects have been covered at length since its inception in many issues of Offsite Magazine. The future of the 250,000sq ft factory, its state-of-the art equipment and assets remains to be seen.

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UK INDUSTRY NEWS

McAvoy Appointed for Orsett Heath Academy

McAvoy has been awarded a £37.5million project by the Department for Education (DfE) to deliver the new Orsett Heath Academy, part of the South West Essex Community Education Trust (SWECET) in Thurrock, Essex.

Commissioned by the Secretary of State for Education, McAvoy has embarked on the construction of a new 8,610sq m secondary school. With construction underway, the school will have the capacity for up to 1,200 pupils aged 11-16 in its three-storey accommodation. The new secondary school will showcase innovative internal design features including a double-height dining area, spaces for students to collaborate and share ideas, and a performing arts hub.

Externally, the brief includes extensive hard and soft landscaping, parking areas for cars and bicycles, outside lockers, playing fields and the installation of a Multi-Use Games Area (MUGA). The project has been described as a ‘very exciting’ development for children and families in Thurrock and will replace the temporary accommodation where students are currently learning with a brand new, state-of-the-art secondary school.

McAvoy CEO, Ron Clarke said the awarding of the Orsett Heath Academy project reflected the confidence in offsite manufacturing as a preferred solution within the education sector.

“Our team has significant experience of delivering high-quality accommodation within the education sector to demanding programmes and we are delighted to be appointed for this major project by the Department for Education. We have invested heavily in our manufacturing and delivery infrastructure in recent years with a view to securing projects of this nature where sustainability, quality and delivery within budget and programme are essential.”

The new building will provide a much-needed permanent building and cater for the growing demand for secondary school places at Orsett Heath Academy. The school has a specialism in sports, the arts and a strong international approach to languages, and will remain in joint use with the interim site for educational and sports provision, creating a lasting legacy, enhancing education, sport and recreation as a ‘Thurrock Institute of Sport.’

Positioned in close proximity to the Thurrock Rugby Club and Thurrock Harriers Athletics Track, the academy is poised to strengthen its existing partnerships and will support the development of a thriving sports hub in Thurrock. The prime location will foster development pathways for pupils and the wider community at all levels.

Steve Munday, CEO of SWECET, added: “Our community, students and families have eagerly awaited this state-of-the-art facility that will allow us to continue to provide an exciting and ambitious ethos of high expectations and achievement to more students in our local area. We’re so pleased that building work is underway and would like to thank all those who have supported us in our community during this time.” Works started on-site in May 2023 with the school due to be completed in Summer 2024.

Source: www.mcavoygroup.com

to deliver 3,360 additional prison places by 2023 at Fosse Way and the recently opened HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough. The £286million project will initially house 1,715 prisoners across a 16-acre site, with an additional cell block and ancillary building extension approved by Blaby District Council and Oadby and Wigston Borough Council last December, extending capacity further.

Leading independent property, construction, and infrastructure consultancy Pick Everard was appointed as lead designer for the project, providing architecture, interior design, civil engineering, building engineering, sustainability and energy, structural engineering, landscape architecture and interior design services. Its team has closely collaborated with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and prison operator Serco.

Tim Irons, Operations Director at Pick Everard, said:

“This is a multi-purpose, free-flow prison, that has been closely modelled on our baseline design of HMP Five Wells and will continue to be the blueprint for a further four newbuild prisons under the MoJ estate. The interior design has been closely considered, applying biophilic and salutogenic principles to support wellbeing and strengthen the identity of each space. It is a modern, sustainable custodial estate, working to BREEAM excellent standards, which, following its planned extension, will become one of the biggest prisons operating in the UK. We’re incredibly proud to deliver this exciting vision, which continues our long-standing relationship with the MoJ and the wider justice sector."

A brand-new category C resettlement prison has completed in Leicester, delivering more than 600 permanent jobs in the local area, with a core focus on prisoner rehabilitation through skills-based training and employment opportunities.

Using offsite manufacture, HMP Fosse Way, which was named following extensive consultation with the local community, forms part of a UK government plan

In total, seven houseblocks and six ancillary buildings come together under a vision from the MoJ to transform prisoner rehabilitation in the UK. Prisoners have access to a central services hub, which includes a gym, library, educational classrooms, faith halls, as well as workshops and external horticultural areas, with the potential for Serco to work closely with local employers to deliver on-the-job training opportunities.

HMP Fosse Way has been built on the old HMP Glen Parva site, a former young offenders’ institution that closed in 2017. Its design has included several sustainable considerations, with offsite construction maintaining product quality, whilst helping reduce capital and operational costs. In addition, air sourced heating powers elements within the northern compound, while solar panels have been installed on ancillary buildings.

Source: www.pickeverard.co.uk

Housing Forum Futures Network Unveils 8-stage Route Map

The Housing Forum Futures Network, comprising of individuals working across all parts of the housing and construction sector, have created and published the Route Map for New Home Delivery to map out how different organisations and activities can come together to deliver new homes.

The intended audience is everyone working across the housing sector – most of whom are familiar with only some of the stages of building new homes. For instance, architects can learn more about the manufacturing process, or planners can learn more about the process of managing housing after it is built. The aim was to produce a document that could be used as part of the induction process for people new to their companies and to provide everyone with a better understanding of how their role plays its part alongside other activities in the process of new home delivery.

Shelagh Grant, CEO of The Housing Forum, said: “I would like to thank The Futures Network and their mentors for their commitment and hard work in bringing the Route Map forward. Members of The Futures Network have contributed a broad perspective, coming from customer facing, legal,

marketing and manufacturing backgrounds as well as a wide range of construction disciplines. At The Housing Forum, we know that quality and improvement in housing construction comes through partnering, working consistently and as a team, towards shared outcomes – just as the Route Map demonstrates.”

The process of delivering new homes has been split into eight ‘stages’ including project inception and commissioning, procurement, design, planning, pre-construction, manufacturing, construction and handover and post-occupancy and management.

So Sum Lee of the Futures Network and Consultant, Inner Circle Consulting added: “As a member of the Futures Network, I am excited to highlight the

significance of the recently launched Route Map for New Home Development. This invaluable resource can serve as a comprehensive guide, covering every key stage of housing development, from project inception to post-occupancy. Our collective experiences and knowledge within the housing development process have been instrumental in creating this essential tool. By actively contributing to this project, we aim to support newcomers in the housing and construction sector by providing them with valuable insights and knowledge. Additionally, the Route Map extends the knowledge of existing professionals, empowering them to achieve successful outcomes in their housing development.”

Source: www.housingforum.org.uk

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MARK FOX

M-ARVELLOUS MODULAR

M-AR recently celebrated its 15th anniversary as a business with big plans to scale up its modular operations. We caught up with Operations Director, Mark Fox, to find out more about its sustained and successful growth.

Q: M-AR recently joined the UK’s modular housing trade body, Make UK Modular – is more industry collaboration required to drive forward the volumetric industry and realise the full potential of offsite construction?

Mark Fox (MF): Absolutely. We’re all up against the same challenges in the built environment, not least the skills crisis that seems insurmountable in the medium to long term, and the need to build more sustainably too. For our part at M-AR, we want to bring together brilliant minds from across the industry who can help find ways to tackle these issues.

Beyond that, we believe that some clients are turned off by our industry as we fall into the trap of selling something ‘special’ to fluff up our sales and marketing campaigns,

without realising that we’ve got much more in common with other forms of construction than we dare say. Afterall, modular is a process, not a product. We all use materials you can find in any builder’s merchant, just in a more efficient, reliable and controlled way. Industry-wide collaboration is vital if we’re to realise the full potential of offsite construction.

Q: The UK housing market has faced a shortfall in new homes for decades with an increasing number of ‘market disrupters’ offering various answers –how does M-AR fit in to this dynamic?

MF: We’re in the mix, but it’s important to realise we’re only a small cog in a very large machine that is the housing delivery machine. We all rely on a good supply of land, planning permission and finance before we can put a shovel in the ground and a

spanner on the shop floor. Volumetric modular has a place, and we’re quietly bridging our ambitions with today’s realities of business. It’s a fine line to align this as a business model and that is why we don’t just deliver housing. In our business model housing plays a part in our pipeline, variable in quantity subject to market conditions.

Q: Your track record of achievements has been impressive including the recent Centrepoint scheme, that also demonstrated the range of clients for modular homes. Have you been finding clients and specifiers understanding the finer details of volumetric methods better?

MF: There’s certainly been an uptick in awareness in recent years with many clients increasingly seeing the benefits of delivering differently through offsite construction methods. Understanding is somewhat of a challenge though, so

it’s really important that clients get the right advice for their project especially as there’s been a proliferation in organisations claiming offsite and modern methods of construction (MMC) expertise with little handson experience. This is one of the reasons why we aim to be open and transparent with our technology and offering, so we can help the industry upskill itself and learn from our success and challenges. Our regular open days are a way for us show what we can do as well as to share ideas and best practice with others working in the MMC sphere.

Q: Factory-design and volumetric modular systems can help deliver ‘net zero’ housing and reduce the construction sector’s carbon footprint. How is M-AR delivering sustainability and affordability with net zero targets in mind?

MF: We’d say we’re doing ok but balancing affordability and net zero ambition is a real challenge for everyone. Saying that, adopting a modular construction method makes controlling outcomes much more predictable when considering design versus actual performance and bridging the performance gap. Like many others we start with the building fabric and work out to renewable energy systems. As always, we’re keen to understand what clients actually want as words and phrases such as ‘sustainability’, ‘net zero’ and ‘passive’ are often used as by-words for wider strategic drivers. We’ve found that most of our best value schemes aren’t dogmatic about how we deliver the solution or are about achieving compliance for compliance’s sake, we always balance performance with capital and operational cost.

Q: Away from housing, you have delivered several projects in the education and commercial sectors e.g. for KFC Restaurants, how easy is it to reconfigure the prefabrication process from living room to classroom for example?

MF: Easier than you might think from a product perspective as our product isn’t massively different between our market sector applications and to the untrained eye probably looks the same. We opted to try and make our base product flexible and repeatable and standardise the components that

users can easily interact with. The key difference is in the non-modular services we offer to those sectors such as design, construction, and aftercare. An end user in a social housing building is very different to an end user at a school. We’ve had to work hard at our process for operation and aftercare and learned many lessons to effectively tailor our offering to meet client’s needs.

Q: The use of technology and digital tools within factory environments is central to offsite manufacture with additional rollout of toolkits, platform approaches, repeatable components

and harmonised design – how is M-AR developing this Industry 4.0 approach?

MF: We implemented Autodesk BIM 360 Build into our business a couple of years ago and we’re really starting to benefit from using the underlying data this is offering us – we’re building smarter and are able to catch any potential issues before they even arise. We’re on the road with repeatable components and see many useful applications in our day-to-day delivery and we’re working out how to really integrate platforms into our business. We believe that we can be smarter and

MARK FOX

offer much more by way of solutions to the market in the coming years, and we’re keen to keep learning and collaborating with other like-minded organisations to do this.

Q: Being named as a supplier on the Crown Commercial Service’s Offsite Construction Solutions framework is an affirmation of your approach and provides opportunities to showcase your modular expertise – what are you hoping to deliver through the appointment?

MF: New thinking! The Crown Commercial Service £10billion Off Site Framework represents a significant opportunity to our sector, and we were pleased to be named earlier this year amongst our well-respected

peers, it is a statement of how far we have come. The four-year framework, which may extend a further three years covering a period of seven years in total, aims to support the public sector to innovate, drive efficiency and work towards net zero targets. SMEs like us like to champion new ideas and ways of thinking, so we’re keen to work with many of their public sector clients on finding new ways of delivering better.

Q: M-AR unveiled a ‘mission statement’ earlier in the year with a vision to: “drive change through fresh thinking… and challenge accepted industry norms”. What ideally do you want to see from an M-AR perspective over the next 18 months and how do you see the volumetric modular sector developing generally?

MF: After lots of growth, we’re keen to consolidate our efforts and refine down areas we know can be better and we have identified points within our strategy to do this. At a sector level we’d love to see a focus on client needs and wants, and we see a world where volumetric providers really prioritise the on-site works and services to deliver consistently for clients who are asking for turnkey contractors like ourselves. This area of the market is under served, and many providers focus only on the manufacture piece of the puzzle. We’d see that as a missed opportunity to turn clients away, so we expect to see developments of either self-delivering volumetric businesses or the rise of interesting partnerships between traditional contractors and volumetric providers to answer this challenge.

For more information visit: www.m-ar.co.uk

Images:

01. Mark Fox, Operations Director, M-AR

02. The Centrepoint project has successfully used volumetric modular methods to award-winning effect

03. Stourton Park & Ride, Leeds

04. BOHO 8 office accommodation, Middlesborough

05-06. Summer 2023. M-AR’ Hull factory hosts regular open days

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POLICY FOR IMPROVEMENTS

Despite more than a decade of progress, particularly in the creation of a number of ‘product’ housebuilding manufacturers, we are seeing just how challenging it is to disrupt the traditional construction methods and business models for housing delivery in the UK.

We cannot hide from addressing this paradigm – we are facing a future where a declining workforce and the disappearance of contracting capacity in the current economic crisis will create a major structural issue for the future delivery of the homes we now most certainly need. In the big push for rebalancing the UK economy, there continues to be a fundamental failure to invest in the skills we need, and the productivity we must have, to navigate and compete in a growingly complex world.

We can already see, even before the current downturn, that the capacity in the contracting sector struggled to build back from the loss of a huge number of SMEs in the 2008 crash. The sector was additionally tasked with addressing the difficulties and renovation activities that followed from the Grenfell tragedy. More recently a condensation and mould ‘crisis’ and push for sustainable renovation has meant that public sector has oriented

away from demand for contractors in the newbuild sector, towards those who can undertake large scale refurbishment projects. This is adding an existential challenge to supply chain capacity and materials availability at the same time as the rest of the world is undertaking similar work.

Over the last 40 years the business of building homes has become increasingly sophisticated and complex. Construction requires absolute adherence to the science of building and in the areas of fire safety, energy performance and lowering carbon, we are adding real challenge and cost to traditional construction. The contractors we are working with are making huge strides in addressing these issues, which should be celebrated as we need to encourage both traditional methods and modern methods of construction (MMC).

Yet with MMC, its greatest asset is to learn and to reapply lessons and come out stronger from its learnings. Matthew Syed in his excellent book ‘Black Box Thinking’ argues clearly, that it was through learning from difficult lessons that the aircraft industry dramatically increased safety.

When Mark Farmer and I wrote our report ‘Build Homes Build Jobs

Build Innovation’ in 2020, we could clearly see a link between a green industrial strategy, rebuilding after COVID-19, and aligning with the economic rebalancing of the country via ‘Levelling Up’. To make this happen we needed to progressively attack the paradigm within which modular delivery works.

The current failure of some fantastic organisations who have benefited from huge private investment, and some from the public purse, has demonstrated that a piecemeal and ‘cherry picking’ approach just will not work. At HTA we have benefited from working with the best manufacturers in the world and have seen first-hand how important it is to control every aspect of construction from inception to delivery and even aftercare. The critical element is in creating a visible forward pipeline of demand which is available to the manufacturer and a consistent operating environment where delivery can happen.

In the report, we observed that there was a strong link between rental housing, particularly social rented housing, with speed of delivery, quality, and sustainability outcomes. These in turn led to higher job creation and quicker placemaking outcomes. We highlighted the Clive Betts

As Mike De’Ath, Partner at HTA Design points out, there is no hiding from the fact that offsite housing delivery in the UK is in a very difficult place.

MP 2020 Select Committee report

‘Building More Social Housing’, which called for a grant funded programme for 90,000 social rented homes a year as a route to pipeline for modular delivery. Moreover, we could see that this represented a real opportunity to align procurement, planning and the thorny issues of warranties and insurance.

To achieve this, we need an enlightened government to grasp the opportunity of capitalising on the fledgling progress we have made that has already led us to be, arguably, global leaders in the delivery of modular homes. Instead, there is now an inherent risk with the many failures we are now witnessing by pioneers and investors in trying to grow the modular sector, that it will become the stuff of ‘I told you so’ and ‘let's stick to the knitting of traditional delivery’.

This is entirely against the interests of the UK. Rather than shying away, now is the time for government to lean into the lessons that we have learned about modular delivery and align policy to support modular much more than it is currently doing. In this endeavour, I strongly believe that it is through data, positive and negative, that we can convince the key players, and particularly HM Treasury, that

5 4

housing should now be seen as critical infrastructure for the UK, with modular specifically a key underpinning of the industrial strategy and recovery that we will need to build back from the current crisis.

Regarding this, I was encouraged that Homes England research into the benefits of investment in town centre regeneration has led to the Treasury positively adjusting its value calculation in the green book that dictates the rules of investment into that sector.

Therefore, this is a call out to those in the manufacturing sector to come together to share critical data on areas

such as productivity, carbon, fire safety and cost using lobbying platforms such as Make Modular UK to make the case for the sector. Unless we plan for the capacity in the market recovery that will certainly follow the current slowdown, we will not get to a position where we will be increasing the level of homes we need.

For more information visit: www.hta.co.uk

Images:

01. Mike De’Ath, Partner, HTA Design

02. The report ‘Build Homes Build Jobs Build Innovation’ outlined a clear strategy for modular housing and UK urban regeneration

03-04. Hanham Hall

05. Savoy Circus

TIMBER TYPOLOGIES

grant-making fund accelerating the timber building transformation and is looking to foster cross-sector industry alignment on solutions to ensure the widespread adoption of large-scale mass timber offices.

In a bid to provide more knowledge and act as a guide to understanding construction options for low-carbon developers, ‘Timber Typologies’ outlines the variety of build options and methodologies available for low carbon timber construction and details the sort of building types, each method is suitable or appropriate for.

Aimed at developers, investors and policy makers and written with Waugh Thistleton Architects, one of the leading ‘timber first’ architects’ practices in the UK, the book is intended as a primer or beginners guide to the variety of timber solutions available. It will help decision makers understand the options open to them and make the right choices to deliver the best outcomes.

“Timber is vital when it comes to decarbonising construction,” says David Hopkins, Chief Executive at TDUK, However, if it is going to realise its full potential, we can no longer talk in simple generic terms about this material. We need to be specific about the systems and approaches available and the benefits and risks each of these can bring. We can’t make progress if clients, architects and policy makers are talking at cross purposes about what they mean when they talk about building in timber.”

‘Timber Typologies’ is the first in a trio of books aimed at increasing understanding options among the decision makers. It will be accompanied by ‘Timber Policy’ – a guide to the variety of ways countries and city authorities are encouraging timber construction around the world, and ‘Timber LCA’, examining comparisons of lifecycle analysis between buildings constructed of different materials.

Alastair Ogle, Associate at Waugh Thistleton Architects, and one of the lead authors of the book, said: “We still see enormous amounts of misinformation and misunderstanding when it comes to timber. Clients, local authorities and even insurers don’t seem to understand that all of these things they refer to as ‘timber’ are in fact a wide range of completely different build systems with very different properties. We’re committed to helping design and enable a low-carbon building revolution, but that will only come when we increase understanding across the market.”

Long seen as a world leader in engineered timber and a pioneer of timber buildings, Waugh Thistleton are also at the centre of a recent Built by Nature €200,000 grant towards the development of a technical Commercial Timber Guidebook. Built by Nature is a network and

The project lead is engineering consultancy Elliott Wood, joined by implementing partners Waugh Thistleton Architects, fire engineers OFR Consultants and insurance specialists Lignum Risk Partners. The development of the Commercial Timber Guidebook has additional backing and input from some of the largest investors, developers and asset owners in the UK including Stanhope PLC, Related Argent, Lendlease, British Land, Derwent London, Landsec, MUSE, Berkeley Estate Asset Management (BEAM) and Hines.

Built by Nature CEO Amanda Sturgeon said: “This is an exciting, important project given the scope of its cross-sector collaboration and the involvement of major UK developers. The Guidebook can be a milestone on the roadmap to wider acceptance of timber by creating a clear, peerreviewed framework for overcoming the insurance barriers.”

The Guidebook will establish common ground and a realistic route for the wider adoption of structural timber in commercial buildings through consensus on defined design principles, mass timber building typologies and technical design measures.

For more information and to download ‘Timber Typologies’ visit: www.timberdevelopment.uk

For more information on Built by Nature visit: https://builtbn.org

Images: 01-02. Timber Typologies come in a variety of configurations

A wider and more detailed understanding of structural timber has seen Timber Development UK (TDUK) launch a new guide to understanding options for those adopting timber construction.

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high performing, sustainable and comfortable homes.”

From Concept to Reality

Saint-Gobain Off-Site Solutions has unveiled Thermistud™️, a closed panel timber solution, to help housebuilders and affordable housing providers efficiently construct high performing homes.

Thermistud has been designed in response to the UK government's drive for sustainable offsite construction, helping housing providers maximise premanufactured value (PMV) and meet the upcoming Future Homes Standard.

Offered via Scotframe and designed to be compatible with other SaintGobain products, the closed panel timber solution provides a scalable solution for building sustainable and energy-efficient homes. The wall system benefits from the repeatability and quality associated with offsite manufacturing, with a flexible design which enables a Thermistud based design to be tailored to each project’s unique requirements, while still delivering projects at speed on-site.

Thermally efficient panellised solution

Thermistud is built through the combination of established technologies and is designed to help customers achieve a better thermal performance than that required for current building regulations. The use of an engineered timber stud reduces thermal bridging within the panel and is combined with a mineral wool core to form a closed panel solution that achieves a U-value as low as 0.13 W/m2k.

Thermistud wall panels can be used with lightweight modern cladding solutions, or with traditional brick

facades, dependent on the project’s need. When combined with lightweight cladding solutions, the wall thicknesses needed to achieve low u-values can often fit within a standard masonry wall width, meaning that enhanced thermal performance can be added within existing building layouts without loss of usable space or land. With the inclusion of membranes, service zones and externally fitted battens, the system speeds up on-site build time and, when combined with suitable flooring and roofing solutions, delivers a highperforming fabric.

The result is a solution with a performance point that can exceed the expected wall requirements likely to be needed by the Future Home Standard without the need for additional siteinstalled insulation. However, the wall panel is only part of the solution needed for whole house performance, the Saint-Gobain’s product offer also includes structural roof and floor solutions and is supported by a design service that helps the client create a building that meets the whole life needs of its users.

“By supplying whole-house fabric solutions with complementary service offers, rather than individual components, we can be confident of performance and quality,” says Tom Cox, Technical and Development Director at Saint-Gobain Off-Site Solutions. “Together, we can work with design teams to understand how solutions such as Thermistud work to meet and exceed a client’s design brief. Understanding how our systems work at a total fabric level and the complex relationship with other key areas of design such and heating and hot water provisions will enable clients to deliver

Thermistud has already been delivered as part of the eHome2 concept home, a collaborative partnership between Saint-Gobain UK & Ireland and SaintGobain Off-Site Solutions, Barratt Developments, and the University of Salford (see Offsite Issue 36 for more details and building tour). Built at the university’s globally unique £16million Energy House 2.0 facility (part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund) the project aims to accelerate progress towards low carbon and net zero housing with a programme of rigorous whole-building testing.

eHome2 is monitoring the thermal performance, energy efficiency, running costs and residential comfort of the concept home as well as its ability to cope with extreme temperatures and climatic conditions.

“In the UK we are really struggling to tackle the housing crisis. We have got to find better ways to build high quality, affordable homes,” adds Ross Baxter, Managing Director of Saint-Gobain Off-Site Solutions. “Several years ago, we united a number of brands – Pasquill, Scotframe, Intrastack and Roofspace Solutions – under the banner of an offsite division which aims to help achieve this.

“While each has its own product range and area of expertise, together we’re greater than the sum of our parts, providing joint solutions rather than individual components. This is further strengthened by the group backing of our global parent company – SaintGobain. As such, we’ve introduced Thermistud as an incredibly flexible offsite system designed to meet the needs of affordable housing providers and other scale housebuilders to increase supply in an efficient and sustainable way.”

For more information visit: www.offsite.co.uk

Images: 01-02. The new closed panel timber frame give an enhanced thermal performance and are part of the ongoing project for the eHome2 concept home

BUILD BETTER WITH JJI WALL STUD

The JJI Wall Stud has been developed to complement changes in Part L legislation that requires more efficient insulation in timber frame and modular homes.

Made in the UK at our manufacturing plant in Forres, the JJI Wall Stud offers a low carbon solution to the UK and European construction market.

More than ever there is need for highly insulated, healthy homes and the JJI Wall Stud, in combination with different types of insulation, help achieve this.

The JJI Wall Stud comes in depths of 195mm, 245mm and 300mm with a 47mm wide softwood flange. A softwood flange and OSB web give great structural strength and stability.

Manufactured in easy to handle, easy to cut lengths of 4.8m, 5.4m and 6m, the JJI Wall Stud offers flexibility to the off-site manufacturing process.

Main Features of JJI Wall Stud versus other stud materials:

• Stronger

• Straighter

• Stable

• Longer lengths

• Depth choice

• Less heat loss at thermal bridging

• Low U Values in combination with insulation

• Energy saving

• Helps create a healthy home, cool in the summer, warm in the winter

• Part of the widely used JJI-Joist range

The JJI Wall Stud is available via our distribution network throughout the UK and Europe.

DRIVING TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT

As the first specialist event of its kind, OFFSITE EXPO was well ahead of the MMC curve and has played an instrumental part in driving transformational change in the built environment. Now in its fourth year, the construction industry is not only embracing factory-based build methods, but the government is mandating its use in public sector projects.

REGISTER TO ATTEND

With the government mandating 70% pre-manufactured value (PMV) in all public sector projects and developers recognising the speed, safety, quality and predictability benefits – offsite technology is becoming an increasingly dominant force in the world of building design and construction.

Offsite Expo will be taking place at the Coventry Building Society Arena on 19 and 20 September 2023. Entry to the exhibition, CPD Accredited Explore Offsite Masterclasses and Spotlight on Offsite Sessions – are free of charge.

To book tickets go to: www.offsite-expo.co.uk

knowledge transfer and facilitate collaborative opportunities to increase offsite technology uptake to improve construction productivity.

WHERE TO GO AND WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR

Now established as the most technically advanced event in the construction calendar, OFFSITE EXPO brings together the sector’s highhitters in one easy to reach central UK location. Designed by leading industry experts to create an interactive programme and stimulating exhibitor line-up – the event will showcase offsite best practice, maximise

Offsite construction is changing the norms for contractors, developers, architects, engineers and specifiers. There is an urgent need for construction professionals to get to grips with the latest industry innovations. OFFSITE EXPO is the place to go to take a deep dive into the emerging trends that are making the building process safer, faster and more sustainable to reach net zero goals.

Throughout the two days, the show will welcome over 4,000 visitors, host over 150 exhibition stands, hear from 80+ speakers and facilitate over 300 meetings in the buyers and specifiers lounge. Next, we feature some of the essential highlights not to be missed at the UK’s premier national offsite show…

INTERACTIVE AND IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

Speeding up the construction process, ushering in new levels of quality control, improving building energy efficiency and providing much more consistency between the design and the end product –are just some of the advantages routinely associated with offsite construction. Prepare for ‘information overload’ with two busy days bursting at the seams with the latest products, innovations and developments across the offsite sector.

MEET INDUSTRY CHAMPIONS

Over 150 offsite specialists from across Europe will unveil their latest products and services plus be on hand to give expert advice on how best to use this dynamic construction method. With live demos showcasing the latest digital innovations, new products, custom-built features and offsite technology showcases – construction professionals will be able to scrutinise and interact with the widest display of new technology and offsite build methods.

EXPLORE FEATURE BUILDS

Rising above the exhibition hall, one of the many highlights of Offsite Expo are the feature builds. As ‘must see’ exhibits, these provide and interactive and immersive experience, allowing construction professionals to go inside, examine the detailing and study the component parts of these structures together with discovering more from the experts on hand about the full scope and applications.

We recommend dedicating some time to go and visit:

OFFSITE EXPO is a must attend event for architects, engineers, contractors, specifiers and local authorities looking for the latest offsite solutions. Visitors to the show will be able to see the most extensive range of offsite systems and technologies, including:

EXHIBITION PACKAGES

With 90% of exhibition stands now reserved, maximise your business development potential and secure one of the few remaining spaces at the UK’s biggest showcase of offsite manufactured construction technology and digital solutions. Book your stand today by contacting Julie Williams on 01743 290042 or email julie.williams@radar-communications.co.uk

Framing Solutions in Concrete, Timber and Steel Modular Volumetric Systems Bathroom and Kitchen Pods MEP Pre-engineered Building Services Prefabricated Building Components Digital/ BIM/ Augmented Reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR)

In Partnership With:

BUYERS AND SPECIFIERS FORUM

At the heart of OFFSITE EXPO, you will find the Offsite Connect Buyers & Specifiers Forum. Driving value-led procurement decisions, Offsite Connect offers those with a purchasing or specifying remit a structured and highly effective way to improve supply chain networks and meet offsite systems providers in the comfort of the forum lounge.

Adding tangible and significant benefits to a day away from the office, business meetings are scheduled in advance at 30 minute intervals through an online diary system – so you are in control.

Taking part in the Offsite Connect Forum ensures your time is well spent, eliminating waiting on exhibition stands to meet with the relevant technical experts. This is a highly focused way to make new connections, find answers to your questions, gather new ideas and discover more about the latest offsite technology in face-to-face discussions with industry specialists.

REGISTER YOUR INTEREST

We know that your time is at a premium – too much work, a busy schedule and not enough time to meet new suppliers. As a result, you may miss out on making contact with significant key offsite experts that could have a huge impact on the future success of your business. Offsite Connect provides a solution. Construction professionals with a buying or specifying remit need to sign up in advance to take part.

Participants Benefits

• Free refreshments

• Access to the Buyers Forum Lounge

• Opportunity to meet key industry experts

• Invitation to the networking drinks reception

• Buyers/Specifiers admin support, helping to organise your diary

To register your interest in participating in Offsite Connect 2023, email: francesca.gelmetti@radarcommunications.co.uk

Offsite Connect participants include representatives from:

CPD ACCREDITED EXPLORE OFFSITE MASTERCLASSES AND SPOTLIGHT ON OFFSITE SESSIONS

One of the reasons OFFSITE EXPO has experienced incremental growth year-on-year is the quality of the speaker programme. Helping fulfil CPD obligations, the Offsite Expo masterclasses ensure construction professionals stay up to date with the latest technology that is transforming the built environment and supports the development of new skills and specialisms.

Developed and curated by leading offsite experts, the masterclasses at OFFSITE EXPO will provide a comprehensive and balanced perspective on this rapidly emerging sector from a host of renowned architects, engineers and offsite manufacturing pioneers. Delegates will experience an interactive learning environment which will actively encourage engagement with the key themes.

A valued element of the show and a central part of the OFFSITE EXPO experience – with over 80 confirmed distinguished speakers, Offsite Masterclasses and Spotlight on Offsite Sessions are the place to gain insights, learn from the best and meet experts offering in-depth analysis and technical know-how in an extensive range of CPD-accredited sessions – all free of charge.

For the full programme of seminars, visit: www.offsite-expo.co.uk/masterclasses

Speakers and panellists include representatives from:

In Partnership With:

2023

Taking centre stage on the evening of 19 September 2023, the Offsite Awards will once again be returning to the Coventry Building Society Arena following OFFSITE EXPO –creating a dramatic climax to the first day. Here the winners of the 23 categories will be announced at an informal drinks reception. The ceremony is always a fun and relaxing evening of celebrations and of course, a high-profile networking opportunity.

To book FOC tickets to the Offsite Awards go to: www.offsiteawards.co.uk/attend

The 2023 finalists have just been announced – turn to page 40 for more details.

Issue 39 of Offsite Magazine will be available to pick up at Offsite Expo throughout the show floor! For advertising and editorial opportunities go to: www.offsitehub.co.uk/offsitemagazine

POSITIVE MOVING FOR GREENCORE HOMES

Greencore manufactures homes that set a new standard for low carbon construction, coupled with energy efficiency and low carbon living. The company has big ambitions for the future, aiming to deliver over 10,000 Climate Positive homes across the south of England by 2035.

Greencore recently moved to a new 30,000sq ft facility in Bicester, where it produces its innovative Biond closed timber frame panels, insulated with natural materials, the output of which is currently enough for more than 200 homes per year. The offsite manufacturing process enables the timber frame superstructure to be erected quickly and safely, and a home is airtight and watertight just two weeks after the first panel arrives on-site.

One of Factory Manager Rob Bresnahan’s early tasks for the new premises, was to find a forklift that was suitable for handling the diverse mix of incoming raw materials, as well as ideally being able to lift and move the sizeable and bulky finished panels around the factory and yard areas. Using just one truck for multiple tasks, in the storage, production and outside areas was obviously going to be a more efficient and cost-effective investment. And given the nature of the company’s homes – which are targeted to be better than net zero in terms of whole-life embodied carbon – electric power was a further prerequisite.

An evaluation of several truck brands on the market eventually led to the Irish forklift manufacturer Combilift, which has focused on expanding its electric range over the past five years or so. With a wide choice of models, Rob went for the Combi-CB4E - a 4t capacity compact counterbalance design truck. Its versatility enables it to handle pallets of the insulation materials, packs of timber which can be 5m long and weigh up to 3000kg, and the sizeable, finished wall, floor

NEW TRUCKS ON SHOW AT LIGNA

and roof panels. Its multidirectional capability, which was one of the selling points for Rob, also allows for safe, low level sideways transportation of the largest loads, enabling widths between stacked products to be kept at a minimum. As production volumes increase, this space saving handling will become even more of an advantage.

Rob said: “A number of factors influenced our decision to replace an old LPG counterbalance truck with the Combilift. I’d had previous dealings with the manufacturer and was impressed with the quality of products, their reputation in the industry and the level of customer service. The CB’s size, lift capacity, manoeuvrability and emission-free operation is perfect for our handling requirements.”

For more information visit: www.combilift.com

www.greencorehomes.co.uk

Images:

01. The Combi-CB4E is helping Greencore move its Biond closed timber frame panels around its new Bicester facility

As Combilift continues its 25 years in business celebrations, another new model truck, was launched in May at Ligna, the international timber and woodworking show in Hanover.

The new Combi-CB70E is a further addition to Combilift’s ever growing range of electric models which offers powerful performance, extensive battery life and unrivalled ergonomics. This model, in the vibrant Combi-green livery first seen on the recently launched Combi-CUBE product, boasts the distinction of being the shortest 7t capacity counterbalance truck on the market whilst also benefitting from multidirectional ability, enabling the versatile space saving handling of both long and bulky loads.

Design features incorporated into the high-capacity Combi-CB70E such as its large super-elastic tyres and compact wheelbase make it ideally suited for the operational demands of the timber industry. With a 7,000kg/15,500lb lift capacity, this model benefits from an impressively small footprint as well as exceptional manoeuvrability meaning that it can easily move bulky loads of timber around in confined spaces.

What sets the Combi-CB70E apart from other forklifts is its gas strut suspension cab, which uses components such as those found in large scale industrial machinery with cab suspension. Combined with the super-elastic tyres this guarantees the smoothest of rides over uneven or less than perfect ground conditions such as those typically experienced in timber yards. This mix of next-gen performance, extensive battery life and exceptional ergonomics combined with all the advantages of the Combi-CB range, makes this the most powerful compact electric multidirectional forklift to date.

When Greencore moved into its new offsite facility it needed reliable and sustainable equipment to move its innovative closed timber frame panels and turned to material handling specialist Combilift.

OFFSITE AWARDS 2023

THE TIME HAS ARRIVED…

The judging is done and dusted and the finalists for the Offsite Awards 2023 have been announced. With an incredible mix of projects and cutting-edge technology on offer – here is a reminder of what is in the running for a prestigious Award.

1 2

offsite technology and manufacture, delivering project excellence.”

2023

With this year seeing over 200 entries, all roads now lead to the presentation ceremony at the Coventry Building Society Arena on 19 September where the Awards will be co-located with Offsite Expo 2023. Offsite technology is changing the contemporary built environment – driving forward projects using prefabrication and factory-based methods, products, systems and disciplines. Examples of these and what can be achieved will be rewarded across 23 categories.

Covering every aspect of the offsite industry from timber, steel, precast concrete, hybrid and modular technology, MEP to engineering and installation, and ensuring that all aspects of the offsite building process is celebrated – the Awards recognise the design and technology that makes these inspiring projects possible.

This year’s judges had the tough job of shortlisting entries into each category and were overwhelmed with the high standard and variety within every category. Typical judge’s comments included: “A beautifully executed project. The entire project team were collaborative and embraced the benefits of digital workflow and

The Offsite Construction Awards are set to take place on 19 September at the Coventry Building Society Arena. The ceremony event is always a fun, relaxed and enjoyable evening of celebrations and of course a highprofile networking opportunity. Overleaf you can find the projects and people that have been picked out as outstanding and potentially ‘best in class’ for 2023 by our judges. All the finalists are of the highest quality but who do you think will win?

Join our finalists, judges and sponsors as they come together over drinks and light bites to celebrate the winners and highly commended at the ninth annual Offsite Awards. Please register your £FOC attendance to the Offsite Awards Ceremony online at: www.offsiteawards.co.uk/book

Images:

01. Best Use of Timber Technology 2022Springfield Meadows, Greencore Construction

02. Healthcare Project of the Year 2022John Radcliffe Hospital, MTX

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AWARDS

MEET THE JUDGES...

We would like to extend a BIG THANK YOU to all of our judges for their time and dedication in assessing over 200 entries!

To register your interest in joining the 2024 Offsite Construction Awards judging panel, email: jessica.holland@radar-communications.co.uk

OFFSITE AWARDS

THE 2023 OFFSITE AWARDS FINALISTS ARE...

Best Use of Concrete Technology

Explore Manufacturing: Everton Football Stadium

Explore Manufacturing: Kings Cross S5 - Cadence

Ibstock: Ibstock Delivers for Network Rail

O'Reilly Group: Sherriff's Gate Development, Worcester - The Largest Regeneration Project in the City's History

PCE: Assembly C

Best Use of Hybrid Technology

Algeco: Algeco Delivers Turnkey Solution at £19.2m Leeds Academy Project using Seismic Platform

B&K Structures, Grosvenor, Heyne Tillett Steel & Stiff & Trevillion: Newson's Yard

Citu: The Climate Innovation District

Engenuiti: Southmere Library

(The Nest)

Explore Manufacturing: Kings Cross S5 - Cadence

Innovaré Offsite: West Coventry Academy

M-AR Offsite: Little Ilford School, Newham

Roofspace Solutions: I-Roof from Roofspace Solutions is Pioneering the Way in MMC Housebuilding

Saint-Gobain Off-Site Solutions: Saint-Gobain Off-Site Solutions

Utilise Off-Site Components to Help Deliver Zero-Carbon Concept Home (eHome2)

Sevenoaks Modular: County Flats Redevelopment

Best use of MEP & Pod Technology

ID Systems: IXOM Pilot Plant

NG Bailey: IssuePlot

Volumetric Modular: Bathroom and MEP Pods

Zehnder Group: Zehnder ComfoAir Q600 with ComfoClime: Making Overheating a Thing of the Past in UK Homes

Best use of Steel Technology

Design4Structures: One Sherwood Street

Frameclad: Keswick Premier Inn

Intrastack: Abbey Wall

Metek: Winnall Affordable Social Housing and Shared Ownership Apartment Blocks

The Hadley Group & A. Proctor Group: The Limes, St Helier

Best use of Volumetric Technology

Algeco: Algeco Delivers Turnkey

Solution at £19.2m Leeds Academy Project using Seismic Platform

Algeco: MOD - Kinloss & Stafford

Rollalong: McCreery Road, Sherborne

Shedkm: Redbridge Quay, Wirral Waters

ZED PODS: Hill Street House, Newport

Best use of Timber Technology

B&K Structures, MEPC, Bowmer & Kirkland, Stora Enso and Simpson

Haugh: NOMA Pavilion Marketing Suite

Engenuiti, Stora Enso, Ryder

Architecture and B&K Structures: Port of Tyne O&M Base – Dogger Bank

Pasquill and MiTek: Pasquill and MiTek Support the Serpentine Pavilion 2022 Black Chapel Designed by Theaster Gates

Scotframe: Innovative Insulation, Valutherm+, Used in Unique Blackiemuir Build

STOAS Architects & Aldi Stores: Low Carbon Store, Leamington Spa

Architect of the Year

HLM Architects: National Manufacturing Institute Scotland

MawsonKerr Architects: Godwit House

Rivington Street Studio: Little Ilford School Expansion

Shedkm: Redbridge Quay, Wirral Waters

STOAS Architects: Aldi Stores, Leamington Spa

Client of the Year

Aldi Stores: Low Carbon Store, Leamington Spa

Centrepoint: Reuben House

Cornwall Council: Housing Project; Old County Hall, Truro

Housing 21: Patent Walk

Mid Devon District Council: Zero-Carbon Social Housing Schemes on Brownfield Sites

OFFSITE AWARDS

Installer of the Year

Ideal Lifts: The Black & White Building, Shoreditch

Innovaré Offsite: West Coventry Academy

Lift and Locate: Wood Wharf

Contractor of the Year

Algeco: Algeco Delivers Turnkey Solution at £19.2m Leeds Academy Project Using Seismic Platform

ES GLOBAL: ABBA Arena

Galliford Try: Assembly C

Wates Construction: One Sherwood Street

ZED PODS: Innovative ZeroOperational-Carbon Modular Developer and Contractor

Engineer of the Year

Design4Structures: One Sherwood Street

Engenuiti: Southmere Library (The Nest)

Heyne Tillett Steel: Technique, Clerkenwell

Price & Myers: Orientated Strand Board (OSB) Construction

Walsh: Portlands Place

Offsite Pioneer of the Year

Algeco and Seismic: Algeco Elivers Turnkey Solution at £19.2m Laurence Calvert Academy (LCA) Project Using Innovative Seismic Platform

Greater London Authority, Turner & Townsend and Energiesprong UK: Mayor of London’s Retrofit Accelerator-homes Innovation Partnership (RA-HIP)

Gurbuild: Platform "H" Housing Delivery ECO System

Design4Structures: One Sherwood Street

Oliver Novakovic: Barratt eHome2, Energy House 2.0

BIM/Digital Construction Award

Design4Structures: One Sherwood Street

Explore Manufacturing: Everton Football Club - The Peoples ProjectStadium

John Sisk & Son: Offsite Manufacturing Facade Panel Progress Reporting

Kier: Component Tracking in Complex Supply Chains: HMP Millsike

NG Bailey: IssuePlot

Building Performance

Pioneer

B&K Structures: Port of Tyne O&M Base – Dogger Bank

M-AR Offsite: Patent Walk for Housing 21

Saint Gobain Off-site Solutions: eHome2

STOAS Architects and Aldi Stores: Low Carbon Store, Leamington Spa

TENMAT: Cavguard 65 Open State Wall Cavity Fire Barrier

Product Innovation Award

Explore Manufacturing: Modular Bridges

GURbuild: THUNDERHAUS, Site Production System (SPS)

I&C Process: Recycled Kiosks

Swifix: The Swifix Solution

Zehnder Group: Zehnder ComfoAir Q600 with ComfoClime - Making Overheating a Thing of the Past in UK Homes

Commercial Project of the Year

B&K Structures, General Projects, Heyne Tillett Steel & Buckley Gray

Yeoman: Technique, Clerkenwell

Engenuiti, B&K Structures, Stora Enso & Ryder Architecture: Port of Tyne O&M Base – Dogger Bank

Engenuiti, KLH & HOK: The Family Kitchen and Shop at London’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Intrastack: Abbey Wall

PCE: Assembly C

OFFSITE AWARDS

Infrastructure Project of the Year

Algeco: Algeco Awarded a Framework Contract for £21.9m to Supply Secure Units to the Ministry of Justice

Explore Manufacturing: Modular Bridges - HS2 / EWR

Knight Architects: Network Rail FLOW Bridge

Education Project of the Year

B&K Structures, Engenuiti, Stora Enso and HLM Architects: DFE Scunthorpe

HLM Architects, B&K Structures, Engenuiti and Stora Enso: National Manufacturing Institute Scotland

Innovaré Offsite: West Coventry Academy

Lungfish Architects: Ravensdale Infant and Nursery School

McAvoy: Merstham Park School

Healthcare Project of the Year

McAvoy: University Hospital

Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust –Modular Wards

MTX: Derriford Hospital – Royal Eye Infirmary

MTX: Queen Elizabeth Hospital Endoscopy Facility

PCE: NHS Golden Jubilee National Hospital

Wernick Buildings: Kingston Hospital

International Project of the Year

Casas inHAUS: Modular Villa and Prefabricated Concrete Cantilever Pool, Valencia

Forta PRO: Hage`s Badehotel

Forta PRO: Unity Malmö

Modula: Conecta

Retail/Leisure Project of the Year

Algeco: Starbucks Restaurant, Derby

B&K Structures, Grosvenor, Heyne Tillett Steel & Stiff & Trevillion: Newson's Yard

Engenuiti, KLH & HOK: The Family Kitchen and Shop at London’s Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

Frameclad: High Bullen Devon Holiday Lodges Starship

STOAS Architects and Aldi Stores: Low Carbon Store, Leamington Spa

Social Housing Project of the Year

Burmor Construction: California Road

Cardiff Living - A Cardiff Council and Wates Partnership: Crofts Street - A Cardiff Living Project

Private Housing Project of the Year

A. Proctor Group and Hadley Group: The Nightingale Quarter, Derby Hawkins\Brown: Portlands Place, Stratford

MawsonKerr Architects: Godwit House

Shedkm: Redbridge Quay, Wirral Waters

SIP Build: Derbyshire Longhouse

2023 Sponsors include:

London Borough of Barking & Dagenham, Equans, Ultrapanel, Energiesprong UK and Turner & Townsend: Becontree Deep Retrofit Pilot

Rollalong: Bull Bridge Mead, Halstock

ZED PODS: Hill Street House, Newport

LIMITED PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES REMAINING

The OFFSITE AWARDS reward outstanding examples of prefabrication and factory-based construction methods, products, systems and disciplines that increasingly strive to develop a sustainable, streamlined and cost-effective way to deliver a better built environment.

Across key sectors of UK construction, the OFFSITE AWARDS showcase innovation, celebrate best practice and recognise overall expertise in offsite construction through landmark projects, influential people and material and manufacturing excellence in this dynamic arena.

20.09.22 CBS AREN

The 2023 marketing campaign is ramping up and many of the sponsorship packages have already been snapped up by savvy companies wanting to gain the full exposure in the coming months leading up to the event.

For more information please contact the team on 01743 290042 or julie.williams@radar-communications.co.uk

PRECAST CONCRETE VIADUCTS HELPING HS2 SHAPE UP

A potentially landmark piece of offsite technology will soon bring a UK-first to the ongoing development of the HS2 infrastructure project.

HS2 has begun assembling the UK’s first major railway viaduct to be entirely manufactured offsite, in a move that represents a major step forward for viaduct design and promises to boost safety and efficiency on-site.

Unlike more traditional viaduct designs, every major element of the 880m long Thame Valley Viaduct is being manufactured in a factory before being slotted together on-site, cutting its carbon footprint by around a third. Crossing the flood plain of the River Thame, just outside Aylesbury, the viaduct will carry HS2 trains at speeds of up to 360km/h between London, Birmingham and (over time) the North of the UK in an attempt to improving rail journeys and times while freeing up space for more freight and local services on the existing network.

The 68 giant concrete piers – each weighing 42 tonnes – are being cast at PACADAR UK’s factory on the Isle of Grain, in Kent, before being transported to site by road. The first 14 piers were lifted into position on top of their foundations in June. Set low into the landscape with a simple and consistent profile, the underside of the viaduct will be just 3m above the ground, with thirty-six even spans crossing the river and surrounding wetlands.

In addition to the 68 precast piers, the Pacadar UK factory will also produce the 72 97-tonne beams that make up the viaduct. The tunnels wall segments for HS2’s tunnels are currently manufactured at these same facilities. Pacadar also has a system of mobile factories, which

when installed next to or close to the construction site reduces execution time, cost and logistics compared to local manufacturers whose production facilities are located elsewhere.

Applying lessons from the construction of recent high-speed rail projects in Spain, the design team opted for a simple structural solution with two 25m long hollow beams per span, which cuts the amount of carbon-intensive concrete and steel, while simplifying work on-site.

“Thame Valley may not be HS2’s biggest viaduct,” said Tomas Garcia, HS2 Ltd’s Head of Civil Structures. “But it does represent a major step forward in terms of its structural design. The post-tensioned double-beam approach used here has enabled the

whole viaduct to be manufactured off-site - dramatically improving efficiency, safety and quality while delivering outstanding performance and durability. Once complete, HS2 will offer zero-carbon journey across the UK, but structures like this will also help us develop new ways to cut embedded carbon in construction that can be adopted across the rest of the industry in the future. That’s why it’s great to see the first piers in place as our construction partners begin to assemble this ground-breaking viaduct.”

The viaduct was designed by HS2 Ltd’s main works contractor, EKFB – a team made up of Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall – working with specialist onsite construction partner, FC Civils Solutions.

Traditionally, viaduct beams are secured together above each of the piers with a concrete diaphragm which is cast in-situ. The larger precast beams

that will be used at Thame Valley can be secured directly to one another, removing the need for the diaphragm and allowing every major element of the structure to be prefabricated. As well as cutting embedded carbon in terms of materials, the prefabricated approach requires less lorries to deliver material to site, simplifies construction, cuts waste, reduces disruption for the community during construction - and improves safety by reducing the need for people to work at height.

The use of offsite manufacturing also helps spread contract opportunities and supply chain jobs across the UK, with 200 people – including apprentices and graduate engineers from nearby universities, employed on the Isle of Grain – delivering the viaduct and also making tunnel segments for HS2’s London tunnels.

“The construction team is thrilled with progress made so far,” says Tiago Palas, FC Civils Solutions Head of

Operations. “In a short amount of time, we have successfully installed fourteen prefabricated piers as well as pressing ahead with the other stages of works, on-and-offsite, such as pile cap construction and the production of the precast beams ready for installation in autumn. Slotting the piers into place takes precision, collaboration and the expertise of the team, however, it’s a relatively quick process – an efficiency enabled by its innovative design and construction methodology.”

For more information visit: www.hs2.org.uk

www.bam.com

www.pacadar.com

Images: 01-03. The first piers for the Thame Valley Viaduct in the Pacadar UK factory with engineers from Pacadar and FC Civils Solutions 04. Artist's impression of the Thame Valley Viaduct in ten years’ time. Courtesy HS2

RECYCLABLE INFINITELY REUSABLE

At its simplest, the circular economy prioritises the reuse of materials, preventing the over extraction of natural resources and the amount of usable construction components that end up in landfill. There is growing pressure on the construction industry to reduce waste and to achieve this we have to move towards resource efficiency.

But first we have to address the commercial realities associated with making this practically happen by ensuring information is readily available. Steel has excellent circular economy credentials both as a material which is strong and durable and as a structural framing system which is lightweight, adaptable and reusable. The qualities of strength, longevity, recyclability, availability, versatility and affordability make light steel frame unique.

Circular Construction Principles

Design optimisation is crucial in a circular construction approach and a lot of thinking has to be done up front. Once the architectural priority was form and function but now there are a raft of considerations coming to the fore such as design for longevity, flexibility, adaptability and the offsite mantra of – design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA). But that is not all, it is imperative to plan for a building’s ‘end’ right at the beginning of the design stage to enhance the sustainability value chain through design for disassembly and recoverability protocols.

Manufactured from the most abundant component on earth, steel can be recycled or reused endlessly without detriment to its properties. This unique characteristic gives steel a high value at all stages of its lifecycle. The recovery infrastructure for steel recycling is highly developed and extremely efficient and has been in

place for decades. Current recovery rates from demolition sites in the UK are 99% for structural steelwork and 96% for all steel construction products – figures that far exceed those for any other construction material.

Research carried out by the LSFA’s technical partner, the Steel Construction Institute (SCI) has estimated that there are around 100 million tonnes of steel in buildings and infrastructure in the UK. This ‘stock’ of steel is an important and valuable material asset that means we are largely self-sufficient in steel and can virtually produce all the steel we need through recycling or reusing our latent stock to satisfy market demand. The LSFA is on a mission to champion steel’s sustainability benefits and its role in the circular economy. Many of our members use light steel framing systems which contain over 50% of recycled stock.

Recycling is often seen as the ultimate goal although reuse for its original or similar purpose without vastly altering the physical form, is equally if not more important but it rarely gets a mention. But how many construction components can be reused with little or virtually no reprocessing? I can only think of one. Reuse offers even greater environmental advantages than recycling since there is no, or few

SUSTAINABILITY GUIDE

environmental impacts associated in reprocessing.

Material Efficiency

Light steel frame is often used for complex buildings where additional structural integrity is necessary and provides the answer to complex questions where a lightweight response is required. Low weight equates to improved efficiencies – you get a lot of structure for relatively little weight which reduces embodied carbon. This is where steel cannot be beaten. Lighter structures not only reduce material consumption but also concrete in the ground with foundation loads and sizes reduced by over 70% relative to block-work construction.

According to research carried out by independent consultants Construction Markets – steel continues to be overwhelmingly the structural framing material of choice with their survey showing that steel now has a 72.5% share of the multi-storey office market and a 60.9% share in the ‘other multistorey buildings’ which includes retail, education, leisure and healthcare sectors. The UK leads the world in steel construction commercially, technically and in terms of quality, and the light steel frame industry is playing a huge part in the dramatic improvements it has made in technology, productivity and efficiency.

With an objective to support specification through developing a better understanding of the benefits, the LSFA has launched an informative Sustainability Guide to verify the environmental credentials of light steel framing technology. Areas covered in the guide include sustainability in light steel frame construction, key environmental benefits and ways of reducing embodied carbon now and in the future. There are also references for further reading which covers the subject of sustainability in more detail.

For more information and to download the Sustainability Guide visit: www.lsf-association.co.uk

The offsite industry can play a vital role in achieving a circular economy by reducing the large-scale use of raw materials. Mike Fairey, Chair of the Light Steel Frame Association (LSFA) explains how the light gauge steel sector is driving change.

100%

PRODUCT CERTIFICATION: MORE THAN JUST A CERTIFICATE

Certification and independent validation of performance has never been more important as Andrew Way, Associate Director at the Steel Construction Institute (SCI), explains.

UKAS Accreditation

Certification bodies which are accredited by UKAS for product certification should be accredited to ISO 17065 which specifies the: “requirements for bodies certifying products, processes and services.”

However, over recent years UKAS has reviewed their accreditations in the construction sector and many of the organisations which previously held accredited to ISO 17065 have had this withdrawn by UKAS and are now converting their accreditation to ISO 17020. The conformity assessment standard ISO 17020 specifies the: “requirements for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection,” which is not the same as ISO 17065 for bodies certifying products.

The basic premise of certification is that something has been independently checked or verified, thereby giving confidence to users and specifiers that it meets defined requirements. Certification can be applied to a product, a service or performance data; it can also be applied to process, such as a design process whether that be an automated design process carried out by software or a more manual process carried out by a designer.

There are many different certification and assessment schemes available in the construction sector and knowing the details of the scheme is vital for determining if the scheme is appropriate for a given situation, product, or process. This can be a minefield. Some specific certifications will be a prerequisite by particular

parties such as those required by warranty providers, other certifications or independent assessments are optional, but they provide added assurance and competitive advantage for the product or service.

It is clear that organisations carrying out certification must have the necessary knowledge and expertise. Some certification schemes will be accredited by UKAS which means that the scheme itself will have been independently assessed to ensure the organisation and those individuals carrying the certification are competent and that the scheme is appropriate. Some certifications or assessment schemes will not be accredited, in which case it is likely to be the company’s known expertise, status and reputation within a particular sector which enable it to offer a credible certification service.

Manufacturers and product specifiers should be aware of the key differences between ISO 17065 and ISO 17020. Product certification schemes to ISO 17065 must have a standard scope and defined product requirements. This means that similar products certified under the same ISO 17065 accredited scheme will have undergone the same level of assessment covering the same scope and the same product performance requirements. The same cannot be said of products certified through an ISO 17020 inspection scheme. ISO 17020 does not demand a standard scope or defined product performance requirements. Certification via ISO 17020 is based on a judgement of fitness for purpose rather than defined product performance criteria. This is open to an inconsistent approach and potential variations in the basis on which certification may be provided.

SCI Assessment

SCI provide certification and assessment through several different schemes, each scheme being designed to satisfy the needs of a particular sector, or product type. We have a combination of prescriptive product certification schemes accredited by UKAS to ISO 17065, non-accredited schemes which provide flexibility to suit the bespoke nature of many innovative construction products, and schemes developed at the request of warranty providers.

Our experience of providing certification and assessment services has demonstrated the importance of independent validation as during the process it is not uncommon to discover errors in the technical information which is submitted. The issues that are identified (and corrected) obviously vary from case to case but most fall into some common categories. These categories include the incorrect or incomplete application of design calculations which may be based on expressions from codes and standards or engineering first principles, the improper derivation of design values from test data, and the inappropriate

use of performance data for alternative materials.

Without independent certification and assessment by organisations with the necessary expertise many of these inaccuracies or omissions would not necessarily be identified. This is particularly true because much of the design information or performance data that is accessible to the market is presented as fact in the form of product information sheets or load span tables, or even software output. This ‘black-box’

approach to performance data means that individuals do not have the opportunity to investigate the derivation or accuracy of such data.

For more information visit: www.steel-sci.com or contact: certification@steel-sci.com

Images:

01. Installation of completed external wall panel for a residential development. Courtesy EOS and Osco Homes

02. Installation of a module for a two-storey modular hall system at Culverstone Green Primary School. Courtesy of Portakabin

THE POWER OF FASTENING

BeA Fastening Systems Ltd is part of the successful global group BeA GmBH and have been in the fastening business for over 50 years in the UK.

BeA manufacture fixings and fastening for construction and industrial sectors across the world. In recent years in the UK, BeA has seen increasing demand from many offsite and structural timber manufacturers, with a focus on housebuilding. The offsite industry has some unique and specific construction challenges – the type and quality standards of fixings are very often bespoke to this sector.

By working closely with some of the major manufacturers, BeA has actively developed specific fixings, fasteners, tools and manufacturing automation to satisfy this fast-growing sector. Staplers and nailers remain the core

products from BeA, more recently our range of automatic solutions for larger scale manufacturing have seen increasing demand from offsite and timber manufacturing.

Fully Automatic AUTOTEC for Offsite Manufacturing

BeA have semi-automatic and fully automated fastening solutions capable of reducing costs and further improving production efficiencies. Autotec is BeA’s fully automatic system with a full range of framing nail guns, coil nail guns and staplers.

A Complete Service

BeA also offer our customers an excellent service. This includes professional advice from our experts and field sales advisors, fast and on time delivery and both internal and mobile technical support tailored to our customers needs when it comes to maintenance and repair.

For more information visit: www.bea-group.uk

MODULAR ELECTRICAL FITOUTS FOR MODULAR CONSTRUCTED BUILDINGS

Modular construction has gained significant popularity in recent years due to its efficiency, costeffectiveness, and sustainability, with the use of modular wiring electrical systems bringing numerous benefits to these projects.

Streamlined Installation

Modular wiring systems consist of prefabricated electrical components, such as connectors, pluggable cables, and distribution boards, designed for quick and easy installation. Unlike traditional wiring methods, modular systems eliminate the need for on-site cutting, stripping, and termination of cables. The plug-and-play nature of modular wiring allows for rapid assembly and connection, reducing installation time and labour costs significantly.

Enhanced Flexibility

One of the key advantages of modular construction is the ability

to easily reconfigure or expand structures. Modular wiring systems align perfectly with this flexibility. With modular components, electrical modifications can be made swiftly without disrupting the entire electrical system. Components can be easily disconnected and reconnected as needed, making it simpler to adapt to changing layout requirements, future expansion, and repurposing plans of modular buildings.

Improved Safety and Reliability

Modular wiring systems undergo rigorous quality control during the manufacturing process, ensuring consistency and reliability. The standardised components are designed to meet or exceed industry safety standards. By reducing onsite electrical work, modular wiring minimises the risk of human error, electrical faults, and potential hazards onsite. Additionally, the factorycontrolled environment in which modular wiring is manufactured ensures higher quality and reliability compared to on-site installations.

Cost and Time Savings

Modular wiring systems offer significant cost and time savings over traditional electrical installations. The electrical installation is plug-and-play, with much of the rapid-form fit-out taking place in the factory, reducing labour costs. Furthermore, the faster installation times onsite result in reduced project timelines, allowing for earlier occupancy and quicker return on investment.

From streamlined installation and enhanced flexibility to improved safety, reliability, and cost savings, modular wiring offers an efficient and effective solution for the modular building fit-out. As the demand for modular construction continues to grow, integrating modular wiring systems will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in shaping the future of construction.

For more information visit: wearemodula.com

WORLD LEADER IN HELICAL PILE FOUNDATIONS

•Fast and effective

• Specialized installation equipment

•No digging

•In-house engineering services

info.uk@technometalpost.co.uk

technometalpost.co.uk

CERTAINTY & DESIGN SPEED

What can digital tools deliver and what is their role in the design and delivery of MMC? Chris Spiceley, Client Accounts Director at Modulous, outlines the role they have to play.

The above is rooted in ensuring compliance but has the added benefits of removing duplication and confusion, and so aiding productivity and profitability. The key is to measure your performance and then engage with digital tool providers, to challenge them to improve your outputs. This evidence-based approach will enable entities to understand if approaches like MMC and modular are the appropriate solution.

• OpenAI can assist in analysing large amounts of data, improving decision-making and reducing errors

• OpenAI can enhance the accuracy and speed of project scheduling, procurement, and supply chain management

• OpenAI can aid in the optimisation of building designs, leading to greater energy efficiency and sustainability

The multitude of digital tools emerging in the offsite space is reflective of the breadth and depth of this sprawling, frustrating and fascinating industry. As with any industry-wide initiative, acronyms come thick and fast – what level of BIM maturity do you have? What is your corporate CDE policy? How are you embracing DfMA? What level of PMV can you achieve?

Most importantly, though, the passing of the Building Safety Bill places of a duty of care on every party involved to evidence how, and when, key decisions are made. Digital tools can augment processes but must be tested and validated before adoption. Otherwise, how can you evidence that you used the best possible options at your disposal? For example:

• How did you capture key decisions made in optioneering/pre-planning that had implications throughout the lifecycle of the asset?

• What monitoring system are you using to proactively ascertain that firestopping has been conducted correctly and, post-closing up, can you evidence this?

• How are you ensuring that your beautifully created, co-ordinated BIM model is utilised by suppliers/ manufacturers?

At Modulous, we are assisting customers in making the right decisions as early as possible in the process. We then realise value creation at all stages thereafter by increasing the velocity (of design, manufacture, assembly and deployment as well as working capital) without losing the certainty (of how decisions were made and the performance of the asset you ultimately create).

The above is what can be achieved now, but we also get asked a lot about the future. I wanted to give an insight into a very zeitgeist tool, Large Language Models (LLM) like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. There is much speculation as to how these tools will change the landscape, with opinion ranging from minimally to extreme. So, what better than asking the tool itself?

The prompt I posted was: “How will OpenAI transform the UK AEC industry – will you supplant jobs, or do you assist in creating efficiencies at every stage, increasing productivity and profitability?”

ChatGPT’s answer (received in 9 seconds) was: “Here are some ways OpenAI can transform the UK AEC industry.”

• By automating repetitive tasks, OpenAI can free up human resources, allowing professionals to focus on more complex and creative aspects of their work

• OpenAI can assist in the management of construction projects by providing real-time monitoring and analysis of progress, budget, and safety.

In conclusion, OpenAI is more likely to assist in creating efficiencies at every stage of the construction process, leading to increased productivity and profitability, rather than to supplant jobs. It is a collaborative tool to make the construction process more efficient, sustainable, and costeffective.

Now, there is a degree of leading the witness here, but why would you not use an additional ‘resource’ to empower and augment your most valuable and scarce resource, your time and knowledge? By understanding the weaknesses in your processes, plus your frustrations – and those of your customers and supply chains, you can prompt and then continually refine tools like ChatGPT to assist you in addressing them.

New doesn’t necessarily mean better, and not every digital tool will prove its worth, but being open to trialling those that enhance data-driven decision making seems to me to be a no brainer.

For more information visit: www.modulous.com

THE MODULAR FACTOR ADOPTING NEW

PRECISION ENGINEERED QUALITY ASSURED

BATHROOM & ENSUITE PODS OFFSITE MANUFACTURED TO METICULOUS STANDARDS WITH A CHOICE OF FINISHES AND FITTINGS

For detailed and up to date information, to attend a factory tour or arrange a meeting please contact our team today.

T: +44 1743 290020

BATHROOM & ENSUITE PODS

Designed, engineered and manufactured by our multi awardwinning offsite experts.

CONTENTS

HOW DOES IT ALL STACK UP?

Welcome to our special magazine section championing some recent projects and businesses operating in the volumetric modular space within the offsite world. Volumetric modular has become synonymous with offsite and modern methods of construction (MMC) in recent years, especially in conversations surrounding housebuilding. Make UK Modular estimate that modular housebuilders require up to 50% fewer workers to deliver the same number of homes, thanks to the efficiency of the assembly line and the economies of scale inherent in volume manufacturing.

While innovation and digital design is driving the success story of volumetric methods, an uphill struggle still remains for many in the industry to convince clients of its benefits. Ultimately, it is just about taking traditional building materials and then using factory-based manufacturing processes and cutting-edge technology, to produce repeatable sections and components. This factory process feeds into improved quality, reliability, de-risking site-based installation and increasing overall productivity.

Allied to this is that within the factory environment, a path of continuous improvement sees producers swiftly identify, reduce and correct those aspects of production that are inefficient. Over the next few pages, we showcase several developments across the volumetric sector where organisations are doing just that, and you can begin to understand why volumetric modular methods are being investigated so keenly as a way to transform the UK’s built environment.

CONTENTS

62

ALGECO

James Withey, Managing Director at Algeco Offsite, assesses the scale of the challenges for building users and outlines a useful CPD to help.

70 | Rollalong

Housing association Magna, Wiltshire Council and Dorsetbased manufacturer Rollalong joined forces in 2022 to tackle the housing crisis using modular building methods pledging to build nearly 1,000 new affordable homes by 2026.

72 | Beattie Passive

Beattie Passive has announced that the homes at Yr Hafan –the collective housing scheme it handed over to Cardiff Council in 2022 – have been officially certified to the Passivhaus Plus standard by the Passivhaus Institut in Germany.

74 | Enevate Homes

Enevate Homes has witnessed recent high demand for volumetric modular that may signal that the proportion of new homes being delivered in this way is set to increase rapidly.

76 | Merit

64 | MPBA

Richard Hipkiss, Development Director of the Modular and Portable Building Association (MPBA) explains how MMC is being driven by increased demand of key sectors including healthcare, education and housing.

66

| MTX

Offsite construction has enabled MTX to achieve faster and more efficient completion of a new general surgery operating theatre at Yeovil District Hospital.

68

| Wernick Buildings

Modular construction pioneer Wernick Buildings recently completed a new healthcare clinic located in Greater London, with volumetric modular proving the perfect solution.

69

| Apex Modular Systems

A new venture formed by two North East modular construction businesses is aiming to supercharge the offsite construction sector across the UK by offering a fresh dimension in M&E provision.

Healthcare is a key sector for the volumetric modular sector being able to provide excellent new facilities quickly. Work is now underway at a much-needed new hospital in Berwickupon-Tweed.

78 | ZED PODS

Using a design-led, offsite approach is central to unlocking the potential for brownfield sites. Lalit Chauhan, Design Director for ZED PODS, describes why.

80 | Aquarian Cladding

Jazz Rigden, Aquarian Cladding’s Sales Director, discusses the benefits of a brick façade and why the Gebrik system is perfect for modular construction.

82 | Top Hat

Taking its modular housebuilding expertise over the Channel to France, TopHat has entered an exclusive partnership with Nexity, France’s largest housebuilder to further advance offsite construction.

ADOPTING A MODULAR MINDSET

The government needs to have a radical rethink when it comes to meeting the needs of today’s building users. James Withey, Managing Director at Algeco Offsite, assesses the scale of the challenges and outlines a useful CPD to help.

Health, education and immigration all seem to be constantly in the news and not always for the right reasons. From the state of school and hospital buildings, through to lack of spaces to temporarily house people entering this country, we seem to be at a stage where the construction industry needs to embrace offsite.

Overcrowded classrooms, shortage of places and substandard teaching spaces are specific issues facing schools. Under the spotlight is reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which was used to construct thousands of schools and hospitals between the 1950s and mid-1990s but is prone to failure. It is estimated that there are around 700,000 pupils in schools needing major repair.

Of equal concern is the fact that RAAC often exists in the same buildings as asbestos, because both materials were widely used in the postwar building boom. According to ‘The Times’ newspaper there are still 21,500 schools open today with asbestos, while 90% of Britain’s 1,200

hospitals also contain it. Remediation or replacement of these buildings on any meaningful timescale can only be achieved by unlocking modern methods, a process that would also boost growth, create thousands of green jobs and address the specific challenges currently facing the market.

Seismic Platform

The Government has already stated that it has a preference for offsite, although with the scale of the challenges from RAAC alone, this really needs to be accelerated. Schools and hospitals require a quick solution before more people’s health. We believe that the Seismic platform provides the way forward. Designed in line with the government’s Construction 2025 targets, Seismic exceeds them in every way, delivering a building that is 75% faster to complete, 70% lower in carbon impact and 47% better value than traditional construction. The standardisation developed for the platform even allows Seismic to compete with other modular solutions, with an improvement of around 30% on speed.

This transformational efficiency means that it offers a solution for other sectors, too, for example, rapid accommodation for the thousands of people entering the country and having to be housed in expensive hotel accommodation. A situation that is both expensive and far from ideal in terms of safety.

All this is one of the reasons why we’re carrying out a new £3.5million capital investment from Modulaire Group to extend our Carnaby facility in East Yorkshire. It will increase production capacity by up to 70% and create more new permanent jobs. Sustainability and low carbon are at the core of the new investment programme, which incorporates solar PV, recycling, energy efficiency and low carbon initiatives. Our goal is to create a low carbon production facility. This investment to expand the offsite business complements our strategic plan for sustainable growth, which the Modulaire Group has been implementing in recent years.

This new capital investment represents a significant step and reflects how

our offsite business has grown over the last few years. Investment will significantly increase capacity whilst contributing to our journey of being a low carbon business. Our offsite business is in a period of rapid growth and expansion, delivering some truly exceptional projects, whilst pushing the boundaries of R&D and innovation. We like to think that we have a solution for the issues discussed here.

CPD: How to design for offsite construction

With multiple sector and building performance challenges it is important for building specifiers to stay relevant and up to date on new industry trends and practices. As the expectations of each construction project becomes ever more demanding, a process that is pushing offsite construction to the forefront, it is becoming more important than ever for architects to really know the ins and outs of different construction methods. In terms of offsite and modular systems, the CPD walks participants through the process, starting at early design stage, through to construction, modular manufacture and, to for life of the building.

‘Form Follows Function – How to Design for Offsite Construction’

is the title of our new CPD presentation that looks to provide these essential insights. It has been certified by the CPD Certification Service, the world's leading and largest independent CPD accreditation organisation working

across all industry sectors. Our CPD presentation is designed to support industry professionals on what offsite construction can do to help them meet their building performance targets, while still utilising MMC to build safe, efficient and striking structures.

The CPD format uses a Design for Manufacture & Assembly (DfMA) overlay to the conventional Plan of Work to highlight the differences between offsite and traditional construction and the benefits that they create. Early engagement, collaborative working, clear accountability and strong project management are consistent themes of our offsite approach.

The CPD is supported with detailed case studies from leading architects. These illustrate where offsite construction has been used successfully, whilst a Q&A section tackles the questions commonly asked such as fire safety and planning – all selected to share knowledge. In addition, the CPD covers the features and sustainability benefits of offsite construction – a key requirement with a growing number of architects and specifiers – before finishing with practical guidance on design considerations and how building performance can be optimised further.

By the end of the CPD presentation, which we are delivering through online sessions, specifiers will have

‘Form Follows Function – How to Design for Offsite Construction’ is available as a webinar or face to face seminar. The CPD online learning module can be previewed and visitors can register interest on the CPD Certification Service website: https://cpduk.co.uk/providers/algeco-uk Alternatively, you can request a presentation directly from: www.algeco.co.uk/permanent/cpd

a greater understanding of modular construction. They will also gain a technical and practical understanding of the benefits of offsite and modular construction as a whole and feel confident about specifying largescale projects using this technique. Sustainability is embedded in our approach and is fundamental to everything we do as a company. This vision is based on the principle that the brand must do social and environmental good.

Making Offsite Count and Debunking Myths

We have developed our new CPD specifically for architects and specifiers looking to help their clients access the benefits of modular and offsite construction – alongside elements of economic and environmental, social and governance (ESG). It offers a better understanding of the benefits of specifying offsite to meet with the most up to date building performance requirements.

We encourage specifiers to take up the opportunity offered by our seminars. They are a great place to ask expert advice for any on-going or future project. As a leading manufacturer our team know their product inside out. We’re keen to help industry colleagues learn more about offsite solutions - and explode the odd myth along the way. Our CPD will ensure confidence when specifying offsite construction.

Images:

01. Hatchlands Primary School

02. Pinderfields Hospital

03. Algeco are leading the way in volumetric modular construction and have also designed a CPD to help all those working across the offsite sector

TRANSFORMATIVE TECHNOLOGY

Richard Hipkiss, Development Director of the Modular and Portable Building Association (MPBA) explains how MMC is being driven by increased demand of key sectors including healthcare, education and housing.

Scanning the industry headlines, you could not fail to notice that some relatively new entrants to the volumetric modular arena are facing challenging times.

Many consider Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to be relatively new, but this transformative technology has evolved over many decades. It is hard to believe that Wernick® Group has been around since 1934. Not long after other major players in today’s industry joined the ranks, with the foundation of Portakabin in 1961, followed by Elliott Group (Algeco) in 1963, Pickerings in 1969 and Thurston Group in 1970.

So how have these companies stood the test of time? There is not one simple answer. But in the main it is down to developing technical solutions to overcome inherent industry issues whilst also having a keen eye on the future and anticipating what is coming down the track.

A simple but effective tactic

It is universally agreed that a robust and regular pipeline of work is essential to ensure that the overheads incurred in running the high-tech manufacturing facilities associated with MMC are covered. Planning ahead for the peaks and troughs is essential. This can be managed in various ways, but experienced operators have a simple and effective tactic. By using a series of interconnecting factories, manufacturing facilities can be expanded at times of high demand and closed off if a project for example, suffers planning delays.

Evidencing value

Pre-Manufactured Value (PMV) is another driving force in the specification of volumetric technology in the commercial sector. PMV is a core metric for measuring the level of MMC in a project and is central to the UK government’s procurement programmes. To secure a contract, suppliers are required to show that

pre-manufacturing will account for 70% of their construction cost, which plays to the strengths of a volumetric modular approach.

Another strategy is acquisition and investment

Portakabin has recently confirmed the acquisition of healthcare modular buildings specialist Darwin Group. The companies say the move will offer significant benefits to healthcare providers across the UK. The acquisition was driven by a shared belief that every patient should have access to world-leading healthcare facilities that empower clinicians and the broader healthcare system to deliver exceptional care.

And whilst Legal & General (L&G) has made the decision to close its modular housebuilding factory citing the impact of the pandemic and planning delays – Aviva Capital Partners (ACP) is investing £20million into TopHat. This equity funding will support TopHat’s

major new factory in Corby and the creation of 1,000 new jobs. The factory, anticipated to operate from summer 2024, has been designed to be capable of manufacturing 4,000 ultra-low carbon homes a year and will be Europe’s largest modular housing factory.

The answer to the UK housing crisis Fast-build modular homes are certainly one of the answers to the UK housing crisis. The quality, energy efficiency, speed and sustainable manufacturing processes achieved in a factory environment are difficult if not impossible to replicate using a traditional site based construction approach.

Taking a long-term view, ACP state that this investment was driven by the sustainability credentials of TopHat’s low-carbon homes. In 2025, compliance with the UK Government’s Future Homes Standard will become mandatory. Its aim is to ensure that new homes built from 2025 will produce 75-80% less carbon emissions than homes built under the current Building Regulations. UK housing stock’s operational emissions is also vital for the UK to meet its legally binding net zero targets and modular homes can provide a fast and effective solution.

The MMC sector for category one (volumetric) and category two (panelised systems) is an interesting

place to be. The levels of investment and innovation are astounding and as with any transformative technology, there will be hurdles to overcome. Our industry unlike others, has nothing to fear from the legislation surrounding the predicted standards and the road to achieve net zero targets in commercial buildings is a well mapped route. The MPBA and our members

MPBA

firmly believe that the benefits of manufactured buildings begin in the factory, continue to the construction site and last through the lifetime of the building.

Images: 01-03. Volumetric modular technology has evolved over many decades and is driving innovation across the built environment. Courtesy Portakabin Group

The Modular and Portable Building Association plays a key role in supporting all sections of the industry. Leading best practice principles, the association is represented on many committees for the benefit of members. Most importantly, the MPBA ensure evolving government policies and decisions are not made on behalf of the construction industry without due consideration for the impact they may have on the volumetric modular sector. Regardless of the size and type of your business, becoming an MPBA member will open doors to valuable business development, training and collaboration opportunities.

For more information visit: www.mpba.biz

OPERATION OFFSITE

Offsite construction has enabled MTX to achieve faster and more efficient completion of a new general surgery operating theatre at Yeovil District Hospital.

Offsite fabricated steel sections of the external shell were craned into position on the prepared site of a former car park at the hospital before concrete screed floors and premanufactured walls were installed. The single storey unit includes the theatre suite with recovery rooms, reception and waiting areas, office space and a dedicated staff facility.

Once the single storey structure was complete, the MTX team began installation of mechanical, electrical and plumbing elements, and fitting out including furniture and specialised equipment. A plant equipment enclosure located on top of the building accommodates air handling units and electrical supply panels to serve the self-contained 420sq m building within the original footprint.

Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) are increasingly being chosen by NHS Trusts because they meet Government requirements for adopting offsite construction techniques. They provide additional facilities more quickly with time onsite reduced by up to 50%, reduced costs and a greener build with offsite construction reducing waste by up to 60%.

The new theatre will principally help reduce waiting times for patients needing day-surgery procedures –breast surgery, dermatology, plastic surgery and other general surgery.

Caroline Osborne, a consultant breast surgeon at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Yeovil District Hospital, said: “We’re so pleased to have opened our new day theatre, which means our team of surgeons can perform many more operations at Yeovil. With the day theatre located away from the main hospital building, it has freed up space in our main hospital theatres for the more complex procedures, helping us to reduce the waiting times for patients across Somerset who need operations.

“There has been a real change in the way we perform many operations in Somerset with some specialties able to offer day surgery, where patients can be assessed, treated and go home on the same day as their surgery, rather than staying overnight in hospital. We’ve had great feedback from patients on this approach.”

MTX worked on the project with Simply Serve Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, which provides a broad range of services to the hospital and other organisations, including management of capital projects.

MTX Managing Director David Hartley explains: “Proven expertise in employing MMC enables us to

quickly deliver high quality new hospital facilities cost effectively. The operating theatres and other facilities we create for NHS Trusts are specifically engineered for medical use with ventilation systems designed to optimise clean air flow and meet clinical needs. Offsite construction takes place while the site is being prepared, enabling the two activities to be carried our concurrently.”

MTX has extensive experience of working in busy locations within hospital sites, and its staff are skilled in optimising progress while minimising impact on existing clinical services and patients. The former car park at Yeovil District Hospital includes an access route used by ambulances, so specific measures were put in place to manage site movements. For example, the crane lift onto the foundations was timed to minimise impacting other vehicle movements on the site, including ambulances.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust runs both acute hospitals in Somerset –Yeovil District Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, along with a quarter of Somerset’s GP practices, services from 13 community hospitals, community-based services and mental health and learning disability services.

For more information visit: www.mtx.co.uk

Images: 01-03. Yeovil District Hospital

BESPOKE SOLUTIONS FOR NHS FACILITIES

Modular construction pioneer Wernick Buildings recently completed a new healthcare clinic located in Greater London, with volumetric modular proving the perfect solution.

Crane operatives had to take special care to manoeuvre the modules in a dense area surrounded by other buildings. A second clinic (Aspen Building) housing the Audiology and Ear, Nose and Throat departments was completed in Spring 2023.

Due to the closure of the previous three-story Roehampton building on-site, Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust was looking for a new purpose-built unit to house its growing outpatient services for the Gynaecology, Audiology and Ear, Nose and Throat departments. After a discussion with the Wernick Buildings team, it was decided that two separate modular healthcare buildings on-site would offer the most timely and costeffective solution to accommodate all three hospital departments. The first building delivered by Wernick was the Gynaecology Outpatient Clinic (Willow Building.)

Through a competitive tender process, Wernick Buildings presented a full turnkey solution, which included a complete groundworks package and service connection. Designed for outpatient use, the two-storey BREEAM-rated block offers several HTN/HBN-compliant amenities including consultation areas, procedure and recovery rooms, staff offices, changing facilities and accessible toilets. The reception and waiting area feature an open floor plan, creating a spacious welcome area for patients.

The building is comprised of 30 modules and showcases sleek cladding, PV panels, and a state-ofthe-art plant room on the second storey. Wernick worked closely with ADP Architecture during the design process. Clinic nurses, doctors and other staff were also consulted in

the planning process, assuring their specific needs and requests were met.

Clinical Director Meena Shankar remarked on the speed and usefulness of the new clinic. “The building was ready to use very quickly and is very modern and comfortable,” said Meena. “We were excited about being involved with the design team from the beginning to get exactly what we wanted.”

The clinic features a modern interior with a cool green colour pallet. Its interior was designed to help provide a calming environment for patients who may be undergoing difficult procedures. The layout boasts a convenient one-way traffic system to support improved infection control measures highlighted through COVID and includes a patient-sensitive discrete exit.

Wernick was also able to provide two temporary modular office buildings to house other displaced departments immediately following the closure of Roehampton Wing. The building modules were constructed off-site, which allowed for minimal disruption and noise pollution to the surrounding area.

Crews overcame several challenges when transporting and installing the modules into place on the property. The building site was landlocked by three roads and located at the front of the hospital entrance near an Ambulance & Emergency facility.

Wernick Buildings has decades of experience in delivering modular solutions in the healthcare sector and is highly skilled at working around live clinical building settings. Design, manufacture and site teams are located in-house, providing you with a single point of contact for peace of mind throughout the project. Wernick’s flexible modular systems provide cost efficiency, shorter and more reliable programmes, and improved quality and sustainability.

Offsite construction methods are attractive to NHS trusts as they can dramatically reduce build programmes. Facilities can be operational in a matter of months, compared to years for many traditional build projects. They also reduce on-site disruption and associated health and safety risks. The Wernick building system is designed to deliver compliant hospital wards and clinical spaces via standardisation with compliancy requirements being applied to building systems. This streamlines the construction process by incorporating pre-approved designs. Aside from integrating standard NHS specifications, modular construction can offer clients the option to create bespoke building designs tailored to their specific requirements.

For more information visit: www.wernick.co.uk

Images: 01-02. Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has benefited from modular construction delivering cutting-edge facilities quickly and safely

MODULAR EXPERTS JOIN FORCES

A new venture formed by two North East modular construction businesses is aiming to supercharge the offsite construction sector across the UK by offering a fresh dimension in M&E provision.

“This partnership trims that saving on manhours further, as customers deal with one business from conception to installation. We know from our 15 years installing Apex Wiring Solutions’ systems that they are the best and with work lining up, we can’t wait to get started.”

CD Engineering Services (CDE) and Apex Wiring Solutions have joined forces to form Apex Modular Systems (AMS), maximising the strengths of both companies in the design, manufacture and installation of modular mechanical and electrical (M&E) systems.

AMS has already secured multimillion pound contracts, supplying and installing pre-manufactured M&E components, with some of the largest offsite manufacturers in the country, which will see AMS deliver their systems into a range of sectors, including the MoD (Single Living Accommodation modules), schools, prisons and healthcare.

With Government setting ambitious targets to grow offsite modular construction from £1billion to £4billion by 2030, existing offsite construction firms must innovate to improve efficiency and increase productivity to meet the increase in demand. This new partnership has potential to deliver a step change in the industry

dramatically increasing the percentage of PMV within offsite facilities.

Between Apex and CDE there’s 40 years of modular experience. Combining expertise from both companies, AMS offers a seamless process for customers, from design, to order, to manufacture, delivery and installation. CDE has been at the forefront of building services engineering installations for over 15 years, designing and installing modular and prefabricated systems for all projects.

Speaking about the developments, Managing Director, Darren Charlton, said: “Forming Apex Modular Systems makes perfect sense, bringing together one of the foremost manufacturers of modular systems and the most experienced installers. The benefit of offsite engineered systems is the time savings they offer. Modular systems arrive ready to plug in, saving clients not just hours on large scale projects, but weeks and sometimes months.

Apex Business Development Director, Mike Lewis, added: “We’re very excited about this partnership with CDE and the potential that it opens up. Like ourselves, it’s a North East company with a well-earned reputation for excellence. The modular sector is one of the fastest growing in the UK and offers huge potential for agile businesses skilled and experienced in modular systems. This new venture provides a ‘one stop shop’ for customers, covering both mechanical and electrical systems – a single point of contact that oversees the design, costing, manufacture, supply and installation of modular systems across the UK.”

Apex Wiring Solutions manufactures over £12million of modular wiring components each year, and two years ago moved into mechanical systems, investing over £500,000 to create a purpose built manufacturing facility to deliver prefabricated utility cupboards, and mechanical sub-assemblies – a modular ‘plug-in’ system to compliment their existing and highly successful modular wiring business. The new business is based at CDE’s Stockton’s HQ with manufacturing carried out at Apex’s Durham plant.

For more information:

Phone: 01642 714050 or visit www.apexwiringsolutions.co.uk

Images: 01-02. This new venture provides a ‘one stop shop’ for customers, covering both mechanical and electrical systems for modular schemes

HOMES REVOLUTION

Housing association Magna, Wiltshire Council and Dorset-based manufacturer

Rollalong joined forces in 2022 to tackle the housing crisis using modular building methods pledging to build nearly 1,000 new affordable homes by 2026.

today, and we’re pleased to have the opportunity to promote the benefits of modular housing as a response to a nationwide housing crisis.”

Magna and Wiltshire have now taken another step towards that goal by placing orders for Rollalong to manufacture 109 new, modular homes for five sites across two counties. The partners have used their joint purchasing power to get better value under a money-saving framework created by the South West Procurement Alliance (SWPA). In Wiltshire, the council will create a further 83 new affordable homes across three sites within the county.

Rollalong uses precision engineering techniques to manufacture high-quality modern homes as modules in its factory near Wimborne Minster. These are then transported, fully fitted with kitchens, bathrooms and electrics, to sites where they will become attractive, energy efficient homes.

The partners’ latest range of modular house types are built to be ‘net zero in use’, in line with the Government’s proposed Future Homes Standard, which will require new homes built from 2025 to produce 75-80% less carbon. The all-electric homes will be heated by air-source heat pumps, with a thermally efficient fabric retaining warmth and helping residents keep their energy bills lower.

The homes can be tailored to the local, often rural setting, with a range of house types and finishes influenced by customer feedback. The partners also have the only modular approach in the

UK accredited by NHBC able to ‘step and stagger’ terraces of houses so that they have more visual variety. Magna and Rollalong have already completed 32 new modular homes across sites in Sherborne, Chickerell and Dorchester.

Paul Read, Magna’s Director of Sustainability and Investment, said: “These are among the most important new homes Magna has delivered, with our ambition to build the right homes of the right quality in the right places. By collaborating with others and modernising how we build, we are creating homes for local people that will help address the cost of living, energy challenges and contribute towards the UK’s net zero targets.

“Thanks to Government retrofit funding, we also have the opportunity to decarbonise our existing homes, including those neighbouring the new, modular houses at Webbers Piece. These older homes will benefit from external wall insulation, new windows and doors, and air-source heat pumps. The timing means we can look at creating a real sense of place in this rural community.”

Steve Chivers, Managing Director of Rollalong, said: “Manufacturing homes offsite in modules is the future for our industry, and our unique partnership provides the volumes we need to make these modern methods of construction work. These are the homes of the future designed for living

Also, as the modular construction sector goes through turbulent times, Steve Chivers says Rollalong is bucking the trend of some recent highprofile failures in the modular offsite construction sector. “Thanks to our many years of experience, our diverse product range and our long-standing partnerships, Rollalong is not facing the same challenges that others are experiencing in the industry,” he said.

“We have a strong pipeline of work, such as the homes recently ordered by partners Magna Housing and Wilshire Council. With these houses now being produced in the factory, our business is continuing as normal. Working together, we can deliver the volumes that we require using a market tested, BOPAS and NHBC Accepts accredited portfolio of standard house types in any step and stagger configuration and roll out through a regional delivery model.

“These are exciting times as we roll out the delivery of almost 1,000 new net zero carbon ready and net zero carbon living modular homes across Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset, using offsite manufactured, precision-engineered techniques to modernise and speed up the whole process.”

For more information visit: www.rollalong.co.uk

Images:

01. L-R: Paul Read, Director of Sustainability and Investment, Magna; Andy Mead, Residential Development Manager, Wiltshire Council; Steve Chivers, Managing Director of Rollalong; Mary Bennell, Director of SWPA

02. Modular manufacture can provide zero carbon, energy efficient homes

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PASSIVHAUS PLUS FOR YR HAFAN

Beattie Passive has announced that the homes at Yr Hafan – the collective housing scheme it handed over to Cardiff Council in 2022 – have been officially certified to the Passivhaus Plus standard by the Passivhaus Institut in Germany.

First’ philosophy and five key principles of Passivhaus with onsite renewable energy to achieve net zero for operational carbon. As a result, the homes at Yr Hafan don’t just save energy – they generate their own. Enough energy, in fact, to power the modular homes throughout the year, effectively transforming Yr Hafan into a Passivhaus Powerhouse. This approach significantly reduces heating bills and serves as a highly effective strategy to prevent vulnerable people falling into fuel poverty.

It is believed to be the first relocatable residential modular housing development in Europe to achieve the rigorous energy efficiency standard. This ‘fossil fuel-free’ scheme has been built on the site of a former gasworks in Grangetown, which was acquired by Cardiff Council in 2020. Rated net zero for operational carbon, Yr Hafan consists of 48 volumetric modular one, two and three-bedroom apartments, and two additional administrative and communal blocks, containing offices, a training room, a training kitchen, a 24/7 medical office and a crèche.

Yr Hafan provides high quality, energy efficient, comfortable and sustainable accommodation for families at risk of homelessness, together with extensive wraparound support services. Commenting on the scheme, Lynda Thorne, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Cardiff Council, said: “What a wonderful facility Yr Hafan is, a real haven for families during a difficult time. As well as the

new flats, the Caban Yr Hafan is a focal point on the site, a mini community centre for residents where they can access visiting health services, Into Work support, Adult Learning opportunities, or just come together with neighbours to use the community facilities.

“Nobody wants to be living in temporary accommodation, but we’ve had some great feedback from the families staying at the centre, both in terms of quality of the flats and the support they receive from our staff there. And, of course, the beauty of this type of build means we can move the units to other locations across the city in the future, if necessary.”

Passivhaus Plus

The scheme at Yr Hafan is notable for several reasons. Firstly, Passivhaus Plus is a relatively new standard that recognises the production of renewable energy by passive buildings. It combines the ‘Efficiency

Secondly, the entire scheme was constructed using offsite methods. Yr Hafan was designed in the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP) and constructed using Beattie Passive’s ‘Passivhaus-certified’ timber frame build system at the firm’s offsite factory in Norwich, Norfolk. As part of the project, Beattie Passive commissioned data analyst CERCULA to conduct a lifecycle analysis at Yr Hafan over a 60-year period.

According to CERCULA, the whole life carbon impact of the project is 1,460 tonnes, which is 78% lower than a traditional build, resulting in an estimated saving of 5,189 tonnes of carbon – equivalent to 12,067 barrels of oil. Yr Hafan has a net zero carbon operational performance rating, with embodied carbon at 242 tCO2e/m2 , which is compliant with the RIBA 2030 Challenge. CERCULA estimates that residents will save a considerable amount on their annual energy bills.

Finally, the entire scheme is demountable and relocatable. This gives Cardiff Council the ability to respond to changing housing needs in the city, without the need for demolition or new building sites –both of which are carbon intensive. Ron Beattie, Founder and Managing Director at Beattie Passive, said: “Cardiff Council declared a climate

emergency in 2019 and has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030. We’re very proud of what we’ve accomplished together, not just in terms of the environmental impact of achieving net zero, but also the social benefits of the scheme for everyone involved. Yr Hafan really does show what can be achieved using modern methods of construction.

“The homes are extremely energy efficient, healthy, sustainable, affordable to run, and comfortable to live in. As the saying goes, the cheapest and most renewable energy is always the energy you don’t use. That’s the beauty of Passivhaus and the Fabric First approach – the energy demand is so low that simply fitting PV panels on the roof spaces was enough to achieve net zero for operational carbon.”

It's no secret that the UK is in the midst of a chronic housing crisis and rates of homelessness are on the rise. Ron Beattie believes that schemes like Yr Hafan can ease the housing crisis, provide homes for the homeless, alleviate fuel poverty and reduce the reliance on private accommodation, such as hotels and B&Bs, to house refugees, migrants and asylum seekers. “Last year, the Home Office disclosed that the government spends around £7million every day on private accommodation.” said Ron.

“By investing in our modular homes, local authorities and other housing providers end up with a long-term asset that meets their needs in terms of affordability, speed, environmental sustainability and low energy costs. The carbon savings are enormous, and the potential lifecycle cost savings for Yr Hafan are expected to exceed £17million when compared to a likefor-like masonry build, with average

BEATTIE PASSIVE RECOGNISED IN UK TOP 200 WOMEN-POWERED BUSINESSES

Beattie Passive was included in J.P. Morgan Private Bank’s annual list of the UK’s Top 200 women-powered businesses. J.P. Morgan Private Bank and research provider Beauhurst analysed 46,300 companies in the UK and found that 13,255 are either founded, led, owned or managed by women. Beattie Passive was ranked at number 171 in the Top 200.

The report recognises the tremendous contribution that female-led businesses make in terms of development and innovation, raising £5.75billion of private equity investment across 2,097 deals in 2022. Beattie Passive’s inclusion underlines the high number of women-powered businesses in the East of England, which accounts for 26.7% of the total population by region.

energy consumption. CERCULA also estimated that residents would save a considerable amount on their energy bills, and that was before the sharp rise in energy prices last year.”

Rosemary Beattie, Director at the Norwich-based firm, said: “We’re very proud to be named in this report. Construction has traditionally been a male-dominated sector, but that’s changing and addressing the gender imbalance will have many benefits. A shortage of skilled workers is one of the biggest challenges facing our industry, so encouraging more women into construction will help to close the skills gap and widen the talent pool. There’s a very broad range of opportunities out there, so I would urge more women to consider a career in construction.”

For more information visit: www.beattiepassive.com

ENERGISING NEW HOMES PRODUCTION

Enevate Homes has witnessed recent high demand for volumetric modular that may signal that the proportion of new homes being delivered in this way is set to increase rapidly.

where Enevate Homes factory can produce an average-sized home in just 30 days.

Gary Mayatt, Managing Director, says: “Despite the benefits of modular housing, many providers have been loss-making, with momentum stalling and leading to several companies falling into administration last year. However, the solution to the UK housing crisis appears to be gaining serious momentum since February this year with significant interest from ministers and housing associations.”

Certainly, modular housing has a pivotal role to play in solving the UK’s housing crisis. UK housebuilders and policymakers need to only look to the likes of Japan and Sweden, where offsite manufacturing has been embraced as a way to diversify the supply of new housing, to understand how beneficial offsite methods can be for a country in delivering new housing levels.

Enevate Homes, a national and independent provider of modular homes, has seen turnover increase by 118% this year as the need for a sustainable housing solution grows. The company, which works with many housing associations across the UK, is using a ‘greener’ approach than traditional construction methods and offering a long-term solution to Kent’s housing crisis in particular.

Enevate Homes, which was founded in 2016, has seen an influx of housing associations, including Greenwich and Dundee, approach them for factory tours and to learn about modular homes in recent months, signalling a start for plans to rapidly produce more homes to provide low-cost social housing. Shona Robinson, Deputy First Minister for Scotland recently visited the company’s 150,000sq ft factory in North Lanarkshire, Wishaw, to discuss the country’s plans for modular living,

Enevate Homes has witnessed its turnover jump from £3.9million last year to £8.5million this year, an increase of 118%, with 250 homes being ordered in recent months. The company is looking to increase its workforce by 30 to 40 additional employees to cater for the increase of new homes and is working alongside the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Career Transition Partnership to give military veterans the opportunity to retrain and join the rapidly expanding business. To cope with the changes, the company recently appointed a new Finance Director and a new Digital Director to the management team, to help support the company as it continues to expand.

“We have seen a significant uptake in modular homes,” adds Gary. “Which is vital, especially if the UK is to tackle some of its biggest issues, such as

an ageing workforce, a mismatch between the supply and demand of new housing and the urgent need to gear up the economy to meet net zero targets by 2050. The UK currently delivers just 10% of new homes using MMC. We expect this to significantly increase in the coming years as we continue to see a pick-up in momentum. In four years’ time, the modular industry will be a significant part of how we deliver homes in the UK.”

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Savills’ Impacts Report predicts that the UK is set to see the strongest growth in modular housing in Europe, estimating that the number of homes delivered using MMC will double to 20% by 2030. Make UK Modular has calculated that the industry will be able to build 20,000 modular homes by 2025. This would equate to a fifth of the 100,000 annual shortfalls, following government targets of 300,000 new homes a year by 2025 (according to

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official figures, about 204,500 were built in the year to March 2022).

For more information visit: www.enevate.co.uk

Images: 01-04. The specification of modular methods for a generation of new homes cannot be underestimated. Courtesy Enevate Homes

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BAD WEATHER BYPASS

Healthcare is a key sector for the volumetric modular sector being able to provide excellent new facilities quickly. Work is now underway at a much-needed new hospital in Berwick-upon-Tweed.

Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest trusts in the country geographically, providing services to more than 500,000 people across Northumberland and North Tyneside. Our staff provide care in hospitals, in the community and in people’s own homes.

17 UltraPODs® that will be delivered to site to form part of the state-of-theart building. The parliamentarians also received a demonstration of Merit’s factory robot, just one of the Industry 4.0 initiatives in progress along with computer numerical control (CNC) technology, automation and digitalisation.

Marion Dickson, Northumbria Healthcare’s Executive Director for Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals and Project Lead said: “We’re very impressed with Merit’s offsite manufacturing capabilities which can fortunately bypass any bad weather and provide quicker solutions to the build of our new hospital.

The long awaited, new £35million Berwick Hospital is being built one year quicker compared to traditional methods of construction by using offsite proprietary integrated platform technology. Leading industrialised construction and manufacturing specialist Merit, based in Northumberland, has work well underway on the new hospital at its offsite manufacturing factory in Cramlington.

The Merit approach also offers a zero carbon emissions-design, class leading lower energy consumption, enhanced infection control and is technically enabled for the future of healthcare.

The factory recently played host to a visit from Berwick’s MP, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, and nearby Blyth Valley MP, Ian Levy, enabling them to see for themselves the construction of Berwick hospital. They were able to view the start of the build of the 800+ pre-assembled modules (PAMs) and

“We are delighted to be working closely with Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and Northumbria Healthcare Facilities Management (NHFM) to build the new Berwick hospital which will be completed by late 2024,” said Tony Wells, CEO at Merit. “It was great to welcome Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP and Ian Levy MP to our factory to show them the work being done on the region’s newest hospital and to explain how different manufacturing processes are being used to improve productivity. We believe that on a larger scale, this solution will bring affordability to the NHS with hospitals being built significantly faster with cost certainty.”

Rt Hon Anne- Marie Trevelyan, MP for Berwick-upon-Tweed added: “It’s really exciting to see the work being done on Berwick’s new hospital and it’s amazing that this area of the country will be the first to benefit from this modern solution to healthcare.”

“Our new hospital will not only provide high quality healthcare well into the future but will also provide a much-improved environment for our staff and patients, enable additional services to be provided and support staff recruitment and retention. It will be something that Berwick, Northumberland, and the North East, can be very proud of.”

Headquartered in Northumberland, Merit Health is the dedicated healthcare and life sciences division of leading industrialised construction and manufacturing specialist, Merit and employs more than 300 people in the UK and owns further facilities in London and Scotland.

For more information visit: www.merit.co.uk

Images:

01. The new Berwick hospital is being built one year quicker compared to traditional methods of construction

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NEW USE FOR OLD LAND

Using a design-led, offsite approach is central to unlocking the potential for brownfield sites. Lalit Chauhan, Design Director for ZED PODS, describes why.

UK housing supply is under acute pressure with thousands of people on housing waiting lists and hundreds of households in temporary accommodation. Government targets to deliver 300k homes per year are not being met and social-rented homes are not being built in a sustainable way.

UK housing supply is at a crisis point where supply has never really met the demand. Before we start exploring greenfield sites and the myriad of implications this brings, we must test solutions within the limits of urban infrastructure. ZED PODs have been pioneering such an approach.

By considering the requirements of latest design standards, future home standards, space standards and other socio, environmental and financial obligations, along with statutory planning requirements –unlocking brownfield sites seems to us to be the first place to start. By using volumetric-led modular construction methodology we have been expediting the delivery of these much-required net zero carbon homes in brownfield locations.

CPRE report (State of brownfield 2022) highlighted that more than 23,000 brownfield sites on 27,000 hectares are available for development as recorded on local authority brownfield land registers. Perhaps there’s a clear design approach required to start engaging, planning and delivering housing on these sites. Once explored these sites will naturally come with their own design challenges, but with a concise and carefully approached urban integration/urban regeneration strategies these challenges can easily be designed out.

Modular Resilience

ZED PODS have been at the forefront of engaging, designing housing and delivering brownfield schemes. We have designed and built several high quality, net zero carbon, awardwinning housing schemes in last three years. Our inhouse design team have shown through successful delivery of numerous social-rented exemplar housing projects how ‘difficult to build’ sites can be ‘built to last’ using flexible designs yet volumetric buildings having a long-term design approach. By delivering these projects with our standard specifications to achieve as built SAP A 100+, we not only have

set very high design standards but also raised the bar for the industry. We have demonstrated how to explore actual strengths of modular buildings in delivering high quality projects aligned to client’s budget and delivery timeframe.

Bespoke Modular

ZED PODS have pioneered the strategy to bridge the gap between standardisation and design flexibilities in response to planning and the client’s requirements. Without compromising the core values to deliver high quality, our net zero carbon homes have been considerably exceeding the building regulation requirements on all fronts.

Delivering brownfield schemes come with unique challenges and requirements. Whilst its not to be approached lightly, especially for volumetric modular homes, when done correctly it creates attractive and highly desirable urban spaces to meet specific needs and requirements. Site specific issues like ground contamination, active flood plains, conservation areas, existing below ground services, grid reinforcements, etc require a tailored design approach and flexibility with an integrated mindset.

Our housing scheme in Newport, Wales required us to think hard about finishes to comply and successfully achieve full planning. It also required an integrated delivery team to address the site constraints and delivery of the scheme. By working closely with the client, the planning consultants and leveraging local knowledge we delivered an award-winning scheme within agreed budget and provided much needed homes in a muchneeded location.

No Two Schemes are the Same

Two different sites, both underutilised council car park’s and outwardly similar in nature had very distinct sets of issues and required completely unique design approaches. The range from ground conditions such as made ground depths, buried services, site gradients, addressing flood requirements and deciding whether to progress with contemporary versus traditional elevation treatments, emphasise the need to be flexible in our approach but both schemes demonstrate what can be achieved when such an approach is taken.

A scheme in Ashford recently achieved planning in an active 3A flood plain with archaeological interest, ecological interest, TPO’s, nutrient neutrality assessment, restricted vibrations zone and an existing sewer line through the site. By not shying away from these issues and embracing them in the design approach, ZED PODS inhouse design team was able to create a bespoke development of 23 dwellings. The exemplar schemes clearly show what can be achieved in the most

difficult of brownfield schemes and emphasises how our approach to urban regeneration can unlock the potential for social homes in the most challenging of circumstances that would put off most traditional housebuilders, let alone volumetric providers.

Combination of construction best practice and modular manufacturing know-how means we can deliver a factory-finished modular scheme, built on a 3m high metal podium above the ground floor level to avoid flood levels. We drew on our knowledge and experience from our previous schemes in Bristol and Bromley to address this more challenging site and create a three-storey building over the podium with landscape features to create a functioning and highly desirable scheme. The scheme was designed using the councils full BIM compliance process, and has already won the prestigious ‘Sustainability Award’ from the Constructing Excellence (London and South East).

Not perturbed by flood plain issues we have also demonstrated that even on the edge of a conservation area with protected views, made ground of up to 3m, historic discontinued sewer line, SuDS and SAB requirements, and a 25–30-degree natural slope, delivering much needed homes in a town centre location is possible. Our early engagement with the client helped us to achieve a 100% affordable twelve one bedroom, one person NDSS complaint, self-contained dwellings on such a difficult site in Newport. Responding to planning

requirements in conservation area and local characteristics, we incorporated a render finish façade with wrought iron style railings, glass entrance doors, green wall, rain gardens, Solar PV facing away from the conservation area and protected views.

One size clearly does not fit all when it comes to unlocking brownfield sites, especially with volumetric design, but if you approach a site in the right way whilst integrating the design and build processes from the outset in a collaborative way, there is no reason we can’t unlock brownfield sites in the most challenging of environments.

ZED PODs have shown that delivering high quality homes, which exceed our carbon commitments and future homes standards, is not only possible but also creates desirable homes that receive positive feedback from clients and tenants alike. If we respond to the local context, include local people, adapt to local materials, existing brownfield sites can create living spaces which can be enjoyed and appreciated by the users from inside to out. Perhaps a new lexicon of ‘Bespokulerauty’ in volumetric design is the best way forward to marry standardisation and design flexibility so that no underutilised urban space is excluded from delivery of much needed homes the UK is crying out for.

For more information visit: www.zedpods.com

GO MODULAR FOR A MODERN BRICK-BUILT SOLUTION

Brick façade system supplier Aquarian Cladding has launched Gebrik Modular for the modular housing market. Jazz Rigden, the company’s Sales Director, discusses the benefits of a brick façade and why the Gebrik system is perfect for modular construction.

On the environmental side, using modular brick cladding reduces carbon footprint simply because thin brick slips require less energy and fewer materials to create. The modular system equals fewer deliveries to site, cutting down on fossil fuel consumption, plus there is much less waste disposal needed on site.

British construction sites get more than their fair share of adverse weather. Yet with the cost of labour and materials rising quickly, construction companies are looking for more methods of decreasing the variables by relying on less expensive and weatherdependent solutions.

In the UK, the humble brick has traditionally been – and remains – a cornerstone of construction, particularly in the domestic sector. That said, significant problems are attached to building with bricks, and they’re not all weather-related. For a start, there is a national shortage of bricklayers, which means that labour costs are higher than they should be. There are also rising costs associated with the manufacture and delivery of raw materials, including bricks, and the environmental impact of producing them. Finally, there is the fact of assembling everything onsite – and once again we return to our unpredictable weather.

All of which suggests that a smarter approach is needed if we are going to continue with brick-based construction, and the answer is twofold – using a brick-cladding system that comes in at about a quarter of the weight of traditional bricks and is also modular, meaning that it can

be constructed offsite and can be delivered and applied at speed.

A brick façade is exactly that – a covering made of fired clay brick slips cast in insulation and supplied in a wide variety of traditional and modern formats, Flemish and stretcher bond being just two of these. A brick façade doesn’t corrode or rot. In fact, compared with other facades it improves with age and doesn’t show weather-related degradation. Brick facades come in a wide range of colours and finishes. For example, the Gebrik system has more than 700 clay brick finishes, giving designers and customers all the creativity and flexibility, they need to get exactly what they want from the façade.

The demand for new housing across the UK means that certain factors, for example weather conditions and an on-going shortage of manual labour, need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Modular brick cladding that is built offsite and delivered in bulk helps to reduce build programme timings and costs, while increasing flexibility around construction sequence. The result is a much faster and efficient build – for example, Gebrik cladding is fitted in an average of 5/6 days compared to around four months to build a house out of full-sized bricks.

This leads us on to issues around on and offsite efficiency. Increasingly, construction firms are seeing the sense in working in a more modular way, i.e. putting together as many components offsite and under controlled conditions, then delivering in bulk. In an era of rising costs, labour shortages and deep market uncertainty, increasing efficiency is key, so a brick cladding solution like Gebrik is now at the front and centre of up-to-the-minute modular methods of building houses. Made under factorycontrolled conditions, it is lightweight and is supplied in kit form, aligning it with other offsite modular solutions. Additionally, it’s easy to install, and training in its installation takes a fraction of the time it does to teach someone how to lay bricks – plus it’s free.

The brick-built house is an important and lasting part of the UK’s architectural history. Yet with changing times and more modern ways of building coming into view, the modular brick façade is an exciting, innovative product that chimes perfectly with the brick-built tradition while offering an efficient and flexible solution to the demands of the modern construction industry and its customers.

For more information visit: www.aquariancladding.co.uk

VOLUMETRIC MODULAR

EXPORTING EXPERTISE

Taking its modular housebuilding expertise over the Channel to France, TopHat has entered an exclusive partnership with Nexity, France’s largest housebuilder to further advance offsite construction.

industrialisation to develop highquality, innovative, and efficient homes that significantly improve our delivery times and costs. This is the beginning of an exciting adventure.”

TopHat will bring its expertise and experience in delivering modular construction to the partnership, while Nexity will provide its knowledge of the market and French offsite construction and development programs.

TopHat is currently building Europe’s largest modular housing factory in Corby, Northamptonshire. The new factory will employ 1,000 people working alongside the most advanced housebuilding robots operating at scale in the UK. TopHat’s first factory, based in Derby, has a current output of up to 800 homes a year. The business recently announced a successful fundraise of £70million.

For Nexity the partnership with TopHat is in line with its Imagine 2026 strategy of offering quality, affordable, and low-carbon housing. Building upon its experience as a leader in low-carbon construction in France, Nexity aims to have 10% of its housing production completed in factories by 2028. The company is France’s largest housebuilder, having delivered over 18,000 homes last year – which is similar to the output achieved by Barratt Developments, the UK’s largest housebuilder.

By partnering with TopHat, Nexity aims to accelerate housing delivery times, offer the highest environmental standards to its customers, and develop affordable and energy-

efficient products. Jordan Rosenhaus, CEO and founder of TopHat, said the development marks TopHat’s expansion into Europe and they plan on applying and deploying the same precision manufacturing techniques that have helped them address the UK’s housing crisis. He said: “In partnering with Nexity, France’s leading residential development, we will benefit from Nexity’s tremendous local market experience, which will combine with TopHat’s best in class platform to speed up the delivery of affordable, high-quality, energyefficient homes.”

Veronique Bedague, CEO of Nexity, added: "Low carbon and industrialisation are two key drivers of our Imagine 2026 strategy, enabling us to better meet our customers’ expectations, affirm our low-carbon leadership, and control construction costs. Our partnership with a leading industrial player in Europe, combined with our experience in low-carbon offsite construction, allows us to confidently envision the acceleration of this new industrial sector in France and actively contribute to the ecological transition.”

Benoit Mainguy, Director of Construction at Nexity, said: “Nexity has delivered over 2,000 offsite prefabricated timber frame homes and possesses real expertise. We are delighted to collaborate with a committed expert in construction

As TopHat accelerates growth, it recently appointed ex-JCB boss as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). David held the CFO role at blue chip brand JCB – the £4billion turnover privately held company with significant operations in the UK, India, US, Brazil and China – for almost six years from 2016. Harnessing 20 years of experience in a global organisation that provides product development, manufacturing and financial services, David will enhance TopHat’s Board and Executive team as the company enters a period of rapid growth. “I am delighted to be joining a business which is harnessing technology and leading manufacturing processes and bringing this to homebuilding at scale,” said David Brown. “Manufacturing houses in factories is a critical part of tackling the nation’s housing crisis and TopHat is at the forefront of this dynamic sector.”

On the new appointment, Jordan Rosenhaus said: “As a senior leader from a major manufacturing business, David brings with him the type of experience that will help us continue to revolutionise house building through the application of cutting-edge technology and lean manufacturing techniques. We’re delighted to have him on board as we enter an exciting growth phase.”

For more information visit: www.tophat.io

Images:

01. TopHat is pioneering robotics and technologically advanced factory manufacture

02. L-R Veronique Bedague, CEO, Nexity and Jordan Rosenhaus, CEO, TopHat

The OFFSITE EXPO CPD Masterclasses will focus on key industry innovations and will provide a comprehensive and balanced perspective on this rapidly emerging sector from a host of UK pioneers.

VOLUMETRIC MODULAR MASTERCLASS

Wednesday 20 September

13:50 – 15:10

Explore Offsite Theatre

REGISTER YOUR FOC TICKET TO THE OFFSITE EVENT OF THE YEAR...

WWW.OFFSITE-EXPO.CO.UK/BOOK

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

If you are interested in learning more about offsite construction and the associated manufacturing processes then the following industry events may be of interest:

Offsite Expo brings together those who are driving change in the construction sector. The event will play host to the leading UK and international offsite manufacturers and component suppliers over two days showcasing a broad spectrum of panelised, volumetric modular solutions, pod and prefabricated MEP solutions, as well as the latest in Digital and BIM technology.

19 September Offsite Awards

Taking centre stage at Offsite Expo, the Offsite Awards will be a major coming together of the industry where over 500 guests will gather to celebrate ground-breaking achievements and the pioneers who are developing radical new offsite technologies, innovative product developments and landmark projects using factory-based methods.

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Timber continues to stand at the core of success across so many sustainable construction projects. This, combined with enhanced speed and performance benefits, are just some of the reasons for the abundance of exceptional projects. The Structural Timber Awards provide one of the most effective platforms to promote brands or companies alongside the best of the best.

12 October British Offsite Factory Tour

Following the opening of their new factory in July, British Offsite are providing high-rise industry experts (including tier one main contractors & developers and architects) with the opportunity to take a tour of their new premises. To register your interest or for more information, please contact jessica.holland@radar-communications.co.uk

15 March Tall Buildings Awards Entry Deadline

Tall buildings present unique challenges in terms of both design and construction. Their sheer scale demands that particular attention is paid simultaneously to strategic and detailed issues. The Tall Buildings Awards celebrate those that are developing unique design and engineering solutions to maximise space in city centres where demand is high whilst creating a legacy of iconic superstructures that are transforming the UK's built environment.

19 & 20 March Modular Matters

Modular technology is ever evolving and to help keep pace with this fast-moving sector. Presenting an insight into the future of construction, this event represents a great opportunity to gain industry intelligence and network with those who are at the forefront of the volumetric modular sector.

16 April

The groundswell of interest in engineered timber is driven by both technological advances and concern for the environment and sustainable construction practices. Experts from the structural timber sector will come together to address timber’s use in the construction industry as a versatile and natural material undergoing a contemporary design resurgence.

The only specialist event of its kind, Focus on Framing provides a solution for light steel frame professionals looking to gain a greater understanding of the latest advances and best practise principles from sector experts. Through informative speakers and case study presentations the seminar will focus on the fast-track non-combustible solutions that are having a significant impact delivering outstanding buildings across all construction sectors.

30 May Offsite Awards Entry Deadline Online

Returning for its tenth year, there will be 25 categories that cover every aspect of the industry from hybrid and modular technology to engineering and installation, ensuring that all aspects of the offsite building process is celebrated - recognising the design and technology that makes these inspiring projects possible.

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Featuring compelling examples of what can be achieved using the most natural and sustainable of materials, the 2024 Structural Timber Awards will be a celebration of not only outstanding projects and inspiring individuals, but the coming together of an industry.

FIRST-CLASS

Delivering more light steel residential structures than any other European producer

At Fusion, we are leaders in light steel framing solutions, a modern method of construction that brings huge benefits to our clients. Our light steel solutions and accompanying products offer outstanding precision, efficiency, adaptability, sustainability and performance. Using digitally enabled processes, we work closely with our clients across a range of schemes to help them achieve exceptional results.

Whatever your project, speak to us today to find out how we can assist you.