Image: Proctor and Matthews
Government housing agency Homes England’s new office in the south east will be built offsite, it has confirmed.
Homes England has awarded a contract to offsite construction specialist McAvoy Group to construct the two-storey building in Northstowe, Cambridgeshire, designed by architects Proctor and Matthews.
Homes England is leading a long-term project to deliver 8,500 new homes in the centre of Northstowe new town.
It has recently tendered its first parcel of land at Northstowe, with a requirement for developers to use panellised construction on at least half of the 400 homes on site. Plans for a plot solely using MMC techniques are also under consideration.
The agency said its decision to have its office built offsite demonstrated its commitment to modern methods of construction (MMC).
Paul Kitson, general manager for Homes England in the South East said: “Homes England champions MMC as a means of increasing building productivity and improving energy efficiency.
“MMC has the potential to be significantly more productive than traditional methods of construction and greatly increase the pace of delivery. It can also improve the quality of construction and help address labour and materials shortages.”
“Opting for an office built using MMC shows our strong commitment to non-traditional building methods.”
“Working with McAvoy and Proctor and Matthews Architects will enable us to create an office that allows our workforce to experience first-hand the capabilities of modular construction.”
Raymond Millar, construction director of the McAvoy Group added: “This project is a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate the potential of offsite construction and how the approach can realise an ambitious architectural design and deliver a high-quality and flexible office environment. By moving construction into a highly efficient factory environment, we will be significantly reducing the build programme, minimising disruption to local residents and offering greater certainty of completion to the highest quality standards, on time and on budget.”
