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Streamlined housing is aim of DETR group
00:00 11 Nov 1998
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The Department of the Environment Transport and the Regions has
teamed up with industry leaders to develop two research projects
intended to streamline the housebuilding process.
The DETR is working with PRP Architects, Redlands, Hepworth Building Products, Wilmott Dixon Housing, Southern Housing Group, and Nu Aire Ventilation, to identify cost-effective and sustainable housing.
The research group intends to bring in more production methods from the car industry in an attempt to streamline construction and reduce on-site faults from the building process.
Some of the different innovative methods were being discussed at the PRP Architects 1998 Arts Club event last week. The research group is developing two projects where it will experiment with innovative methods for housebuilding.
The Timber Dwelling Project is re-evaluating the potential of sustainable timber house construction. The project planners are to build some prototype houses in Dartford that will look to develop the timber methods. "A lot of the structure will be built away from the site and then brought in later from the factory," said Barry Monday director of PRP.
The second project is a £1.2 million DETR project which is led by the technology policy unit at Sussex University. The Sussex team is working with Westbury Homes, Wilmott Dixon and Southern Housing Group to replace crafts like plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems plus roof construction with components produced to production line standards.
Simon Kaplinsky, director of project services at PRP Architects, describes how defects can be reduced if there are fewer skills based on-site with a greater emphasis on factory production. There also needs to be a reduction in the level of waste and a speeding up of the process, said Kaplinsky.
He draws on the car industry as an example for the housebuilding industry to model itself upon: "The car industry produces millions of cars but the customer still retains a lot of choice and there are almost zero defects."
The DETR is working with PRP Architects, Redlands, Hepworth Building Products, Wilmott Dixon Housing, Southern Housing Group, and Nu Aire Ventilation, to identify cost-effective and sustainable housing.
The research group intends to bring in more production methods from the car industry in an attempt to streamline construction and reduce on-site faults from the building process.
Some of the different innovative methods were being discussed at the PRP Architects 1998 Arts Club event last week. The research group is developing two projects where it will experiment with innovative methods for housebuilding.
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The Timber Dwelling Project is re-evaluating the potential of sustainable timber house construction. The project planners are to build some prototype houses in Dartford that will look to develop the timber methods. "A lot of the structure will be built away from the site and then brought in later from the factory," said Barry Monday director of PRP.
The second project is a £1.2 million DETR project which is led by the technology policy unit at Sussex University. The Sussex team is working with Westbury Homes, Wilmott Dixon and Southern Housing Group to replace crafts like plumbing, electrical and mechanical systems plus roof construction with components produced to production line standards.
Simon Kaplinsky, director of project services at PRP Architects, describes how defects can be reduced if there are fewer skills based on-site with a greater emphasis on factory production. There also needs to be a reduction in the level of waste and a speeding up of the process, said Kaplinsky.
He draws on the car industry as an example for the housebuilding industry to model itself upon: "The car industry produces millions of cars but the customer still retains a lot of choice and there are almost zero defects."
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