Tata Steel has teamed up with two offsite manufacturers, Elliott Group and the McAvoy Group, to develop a kit of parts to allow energy efficient schools to be built offsite before being shipped to their final location.
The UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)-funded project aims to show how standardised components can be mass-produced to deliver better quality, performance and value for sectors including education and healthcare, using a process similar to the car industry.
Other firms in the consortium include offsite building expert Blacc; the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC); the Active Building Centre (ABC); and the National Composite Centre (NCC).
The news comes just weeks after the government announced a scheme to modernise the nation’s schools. The rebuilding programme will start in 2020-21 with the first 50 projects supported by more than £1bn in funding.
The government aims to reduce the construction costs and whole life costs of buildings by a third, while seeing those same buildings delivered in half the time and with a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from the construction sector.
Phil Clements, Tata Steel UK technical director, said: “Traditional building techniques using bricks, mortar and wood can be slow, wasteful and have a significant impact on the environment.
“This project will allow thousands of children to have access to education in buildings which have been designed using the latest technology, constructed off-site to lower emissions and can be repurposed and recycled.”
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Very interested to know if this product would be transferrable to other parts of the world.
I am involved in a PPP program in Saudi Arabia (similar to the old BSF schools) and we see modularization as a key to the rapid improvement in schools here.
Would welcome your thoughts.
Andy Thomas