Homes England has commissioned its own research into modern methods of construction (MMC) in a bid to drive innovation in the construction industry.
The study will monitor the construction of around 1,500 homes at sites across country over several years, and test the performance of different types of MMC.
Homes England claimed the study would provide long-term, in-depth and verifiable data so that informed decisions about emerging construction technologies can be made.
Sites confirmed as being part of the study so far include:
- Northstowe Phase 2a, a 406-home 100% MMC neighbourhood in Cambridgeshire being developed by House by Urban Splash; the partnership between Urban Splash, Sekisui House and Homes England. The modular homes will be manufactured in the House factory in Alfreton, East Midlands.
- Spencer’s Park in Hemel Hempstead, a 600-home development by Countryside, where all the homes will be closed panel timber frame units.
- The 87-home York Road development being delivered by Vistry Partnerships in Birmingham. The homes will be built using a timber frame closed panel system, delivered to site for assembly.
- The study will also monitor sites in Swindon, Warrington, Newcastle and Milton Keynes.
The research will explore a range of themes, including cost and pace of build compared to traditional building methods, skills required, safety performance, snagging and defect issues, construction wastage, energy efficiency performance and post-occupation performance.
Atkins and Faithful+Gould have been appointed as the agency’s research and development partner for the project. Working with the Building Research Establishment and University College London, they will collect and monitor data from the developers and produce annual updates on the research findings, before a final report is published at the end of the build programme.
Jon Swan, client director for Homes England, Atkins, said: “With UK-wide expertise in the housing sector, we have an appetite for doing things differently. Relying on a solutions-based approach, our team will gather comparable and verifiable data to evaluate how MMC could be used to solve the construction industry’s flatlining productivity and other key challenges within the UK’s residential sector.
“The first step will be to establish a benchmark approach to measuring the impact of MMC. This consistency in analysis across the industry will lead to an ever-growing data set on MMC, with the potential to inform and improve the housing industry for years to come.”
Andrew Prickett, head of residential, Faithful+Gould, said: “The UK is currently tasked with the target of delivering 300,000 new homes every year. Through this landmark initiative, we will collect and analyse a substantial body of data to quantify the performance of modern methods of construction and bring clarity to the housing industry on the benefits of choosing this technology. Working closely with Homes England, this is a great opportunity to explore house building best practice and find ways to make housing safer, more affordable and more efficient to build.”
