L&Q, one of the UK’s largest housing associations and developers, has developed its own modern methods of construction (MMC) strategy.
L&Q has declared its aim of using some form of MMC in all of its new-build homes by 2025.
Next month, it will launch its first range of pre-built product designs including bathroom units and balconies, which will then be produced next year.
Later in the spring, it will build its first offsite manufactured homes outside of London. By 2028 it aims to place its first entirely off-site manufactured home on a site.
Last year, L&Q said it would deliver 100,000 new homes over the next 10 years with its partners and in order to meet this ambition, it established a product innovation team, led by construction services director Wayne Hill, to explore new ways of working.
Now the team has developed a roadmap for the use of MMC. It has also put together a team with of consultants in architecture, engineering and construction to examine whether offsite can deliver quantity and quality.
Fiona Fletcher-Smith, L&Q’s group director of development, said: “To achieve large volumes of building, while still maintaining quality, we needed to innovate. Offsite offers a world of exciting possibilities – faster build programmes, improved build quality, tackling the skills shortage and reduced project costs.”
Hill said: “The findings of the group were very positive and helped develop an approach that can utilise the efficient benefits of MMC whilst retaining the flexibility of traditional construction approaches. This has now formed the basis of L&Q’s phased roadmap towards fully integrated MMC build solutions. This approach to working between client, consultant and supplier is encouraging peer-to-peer learning, trust and bridging the gaps that exist in construction and design, with outputs that will contribute to improvements in the quality and volume of homes we deliver.”
