L-R Scott Bibby of CoreHaus; Sarah Slaven of Business Durham; and Cllr Carl Marshall of Durham County Council

Innovative modular housebuilder, CoreHaus, is opening its first UK manufacturing site at a County Durham business park as part of its scale-up plans.

CoreHaus has secured its new 20,000 sq ft unit at Jade Business Park, in Murton near Seaham, and recruited a highly skilled team to start production of its unique modular homes, which have already been successfully trialled in the North East of England.

CoreHaus will now be able to expand production and perform a greater scope of work including the assembly of steel frames that are central to its modular homes. The company’s five-year plan will see CoreHaus producing 1,000 modular homes a year, resulting in more than 100 people working across the business.

Managing director of CoreHaus, Scott Bibby, said: “With such a great facility situated in the heart of the North East and at such a competitive rate, it made perfect sense to set up our manufacturing site at Jade Business Park.

“County Durham has a highly skilled and rich labour market which we have already begun to take advantage of. This has allowed us to employ a diverse, highly competent and experienced team from the surrounding area which will allow best practice from multiple industries to be deployed into our products.

“As a social enterprise the generation of social value is highly important to us. The support from Business Durham and the Council has been fantastic so far, we look forward to strengthening this relationship and building upon it further in the future.”

CoreHaus is a joint-venture company between Newton Aycliffe based Carlton & Co Group, the parent company behind North East based Homes by Carlton, and national social enterprise Fusion21, specialists in public procurement for the built environment based near Liverpool.

CoreHaus homes appear much like any traditional build. They differ to both standard brick-built homes as well as other modular designs because of the way they are constructed and assembled. CoreHaus is a flexible combination of being part modular, with a standard, engineered core, that can be configured to meet customer requirements.

Scott Bibby added: “We have been really pleased with the interest and early demand shown for our innovative product. The concept was successfully piloted with Homes by Carlton at a site in County Durham last summer and we are now looking to work together on other new housing developments across the region.

“We’re also talking to local authorities and housing associations. Several have already told us they love the flexible, high-quality nature of the product. It is quick to build, easy to adapt and has a low-carbon footprint.”

Sarah Slaven, Interim managing director at Business Durham, said: “It’s fantastic that CoreHaus have chosen to open their first UK manufacturing site at Jade Business Park, joining Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems Europe in the first phase of the park. “

Cllr Carl Marshall, Durham County Council’s cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: “We are delighted to welcome CoreHaus to Jade Business Park.  As the economy continues to feel the impact of Covid-19 it is vital we support economic growth and job creation.  Creating high quality facilities to encourage businesses to move to the county is key to generating new opportunities for County Durham residents.  We look forward to welcoming further businesses to this premier development in the near future.”

Data may well be the new oil, but the ability to interpret it properly is the oxygen for any business. Rob O’Connor reports on an insightful webinar on how digital transformation can help the UK build back better in the post-Covid recovery.

The vital importance of digital transformation to enable the construction industry to help the nation build back better as part of the post-Covid recovery emerged as the major theme of the first Infrastructure Intelligence webinar of the year on Friday 15 January 2021.

The special business webinar, Data – the foundation of construction transformation, in partnership with Atkins, gathered together a hugely influential panel of industry big-hitters to discuss the importance of data and its key role in construction transformation. Hosted by Infrastructure Intelligence editor Andy Walker, a top line up of panellists was led by Atkins UK CEO Richard Robinson. He was joined by Mace chief executive Mark Reynolds, Alison Atkinson, CEO at the Atomic Weapons Establishment and Stephen Dance, the director of commercial advice and delivery at the Infrastructure and Projects Authority.

Together, they outlined why the power of data is transformational at every level and essential if the industry is to make the improvements the nation is striving to achieve. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the construction sector to think differently, embrace digital and accelerate its transformation to a more technological driven and digital industry and the webinar reflected on this during an insightful and informative 90-minute session.

Building on the conclusions of a successful industry roundtable held on this issue last October, the panel drilled down into the debate about data, access to data and the importance of sharing data, as part of an illuminating discussion on how the industry can realise the full potential of construction’s digital transformation.

Richard Robinson, Atkins UK CEO, said: “Digital transformation is not a new topic, but it’s more important than ever before. The Covid crisis has underlined the need to stimulate the economy and our industry has a crucial role to play in building back better. However, our industry’s productivity has been pretty flat for over 20 years, compared to a 20% rise in productivity in other industries. So, it’s clear that a huge digital transformation is required across the industry, but the sector has made huge strides, especially in the last 12 months.

“We’re well on the way to creating a common data environment, sharing information right across the supply chain and leveraging data will help us transform construction on a day-to-day basis.” Asked how he saw data impacting decision-making around infrastructure delivery, Robinson said: “I think, put simply, we’ll be able to actually do some decision making. It would enable us to make decisions on a minute-by minute basis, rather than weeks or months as has previously been the case. It would help the industry work faster, cheaper, and much more effectively for everyone.”

Looking positively to the industry’s emerging and future workforce embracing the digital transformation, Robinson said: “We’ve noticed that graduates are focussing very much on climate change. That means access for the industry to recruit new data scientists is changing at pace – and that bodes very well for the industry and society as a whole.”

Mark Reynolds, Mace chief executive, said: “Some say data is the new oil and if the past ten months are anything to go by, that’s certainly true. No matter what we do, how we do it, or at what stage of the process, data is essential to make better decisions, learn and build a knowledge database.”

Covid had made a difference to industry forcing it to work differently, said Reynolds. “It took the coronavirus pandemic to get our teams and clients to realise the real value of data and what can be achieved if you think enterprise and data – it has been transformational,” he said.

“It’s providing us with information to make better decisions, seek areas for lower costs, drive efficiency, improve safety, quality and productivity which will allow us to pay higher salaries and create a more attractive industry,” Reynolds  said. “The power of data is transformational at every level and essential if the industry is to make the improvements we are all striving to achieve,” he said.

Alison Atkinson, CEO and managing director at the Atomic Weapons Establishment pointed out that data security is obviously paramount and described data as “the oxygen of any business”. “Data, and the ability to interpret it properly, is the oxygen of any business. The reliability of business data coming through is vital, and there’s a need to achieve consistency right across the industry,” she said.

“It’s still about people who interpret data and produce fantastic outcomes – and there’s a huge opportunity to link the digital savvy of today’s established and emerging engineers with upgrading the skills of current decision makers,” Atkinson said.

Stephen Dance, director of commercial advice and delivery at the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, said that digital transformation provided a “massive opportunity” for the industry to help the nation build back better as part of the post-Covid recovery.

“When the economy is in deep trouble – which it is – and we want to build our way out of trouble, then we’ve got to look at the whole issue of companies that have been unproductive and have maybe procured in the wrong way,” he said. “We need to look at the whole lifecycle of buildings – from carbon, cost, modern methods of construction – and at the heart of that has to be the way we use and measure data,” said Dance.

“From a sustainability standpoint, it’s important we use the data technology to help us build back better and greener. Without breaching people’s personal data, I would like to see data become free for the common good – and I’d like to see information shared as benchmarks for best practice,” Dance said.

Commenting on the webinar, Infrastructure Intelligence editor Andy Walker said: “There is no doubt that senior decision makers and clients across the infrastructure sector want to see digital innovations from the design, engineering and consultancy sector to help support their organisations and it’s abundantly clear that data will be a crucial part of this change.

“The panellists at the webinar have done the industry a real service by sharing their insights and thoughts on how construction’s digital future will unfold and crucially what that will mean for those that work in the industry and also those that experience that work. Full marks too to Atkins for taking a leadership position on this crucial issue for the sector.”

Click here to watch a recording of the “Data – the foundation of construction transformation” webinar.

Source: Infrastructure Intelligence

Rolls-Royce is planning to build 16 Small Modular Reactors, and says the first one could be on the grid by 2031 (Credit: Rolls-Royce).

Rolls-Royce is planning to build 16 Small Modular Reactors, and says the first one could be on the grid by 2031.

For many, nuclear power stations are eyesores – great slabs of gun-metal grey cluttering up the UK’s coastlines. But that could be about to change.

Last year FTSE 100 blue-bloods Rolls-Royce announced it was planning on building a fleet of 16 so-called “small modular reactors” (SMRs) in a move that would shake up the UK’s nuclear landscape.

According to an artist’s impression, the engine-maker’s model will resemble a cross between an oversized woodlouse and an armadillo – a far cry from the behemoths to which we have become accustomed.

“Effectively, what we’re doing is building a nuclear power station in a factory”, explains Tom Samson, the chief executive of the consortium developing Rolls’ SMR.

“That’s what’s unique about this project”.

An artist’s impression of Rolls-Royce’s SMR (Credit: Rolls-Royce).

Unlike other SMR projects, Rolls-Royce elected not to tamper with the nuclear technology itself, focusing instead on how it could make the project as low-cost as possible by building it in individual pieces.

Samson explains: “By using a factory-based environment, we can use all the latest technology to commoditise the building process. That means that we can use what we learn on every single piece that comes out.”

When all the pieces are ready, they are loaded onto trucks and delivered to site, where they are then assembled – just like the modular building techniques widely-used in construction today.

It all sounds rather painless, and it doesn’t take long for costs to come down either. The initial plants, Samson says, will cost around £2.2bn, but by the fifth model, that price has come down to £1.8bn.

Compared to the decades-long process of building big nuclear power stations such as Hinkley Point C in Somerset – now estimated to cost £22bn – and you can see why the project is gathering fans fast.

Among these is the UK government, which in November put £215m into the project – and will be matched by £300m by the private sector.

This is another huge advantage of the SMR, says Samson. Unlike large-scale nuclear, where costs are so high that building them without government support is very difficult, Rolls-Royce’s model is designed to be a magnet for private investment.

“We’re not looking for the government to stick its balance sheet behind this after the initial investment. What we’ve got is a very efficient capital deployment programme that minimises the role of government in getting it to market.”

So when might we see these SMRs in action? Samson is bullish that the first could be on the grid by the start of the 2030s.

“This is not a reality for the future – this is a reality for now”, he said. “When we get an order, we can get the first one on grid in 10 years.”

Power surge calls for new nuclear solution

With renewable energy making up more and more of the UK’s power supply by the day, many have questioned whether nuclear power has had its day.

But for Samson, there’s no doubt. “By 2050, we are probably going to need double the amount of power to support all the new electrification activity that’s going to happen in this country.

“Renewables are intermittent – what nuclear gives you is dependable, reliable, constantly available clean energy that can be run all day.”

The Committee on Climate Change – the government’s leading advisers on the energy transition – agrees, saying the UK should aim for 10 gigawatts of new nuclear power by 2035.

Crucially, it’s no more expensive. Samson estimates that the price of power from his SMRs will be between £40 and £50 per megawatt-hour – roughly the same as that paid for renewables, and half the cost of power from Hinkley Point.

And embracing the technology could also lead to a jobs boom at a time of uncertainty for the UK’s manufacturing industry.

Rolls-Royce estimates that over the next five years the programme will create 6,000 jobs – but over the next 20 years, when the project has been scaled up, this could rise to as many as 40,000 jobs.

The economic benefits could yet be greater, says Samson, with several foreign countries already in discussions with the consortium over the technology, including Turkey, the Czech Republic, and Poland – all nations with high carbon footprints but limited renewables resources.

“This is probably first time in probably five decades that we have a nuclear solution here in the UK, so the export potential is huge”, he said.

“We are a leading edge country when it comes to innovation and if we get behind this technology then other countries will follow suit.”

Ultimately, says Samson, it’s time to start preparing the ground to make sure the rollout of the SMRs can be as smooth as possible when the orders start coming in.

“Our programme is not dependent or conditional on any large project going ahead. We’ve got a solution and design and an ability to create a supply chain that could be self-sufficient, and we’re ready to go.”

As far as Samson is concerned, smaller really is better.

Source: City A.M.

Flickr/Creative Commons License/Nicolás Boullosa Wikkelhouse, by Amsterdam-based Fiction Factory

This time of year, paper and cardboard are omnipresent materials. One-time-use boxes, bags, and sacks have proliferated during the pandemic because of the increase in mail-order and food delivery services, and enjoyed another spike during the holiday gift-giving season. According to the Fibre Box Association, corrugated box shipments grew 9% in 2020 over 2019.

This increase in the consumption of shipping materials hasn’t created any significant environmental concern, however (beyond the carbon footprint of transportation in general), presumably due to the high recycling rates of paper and cardboard. (Corrugated packaging is, according to its representative industry, the most recycled substance on the planet—with 96% recovered in 2018.) Furthermore, paper and cardboard are considered greener alternatives to plastics, and many companies are shifting to these biomaterials to meet their plastic reduction goals.

Nevertheless, it is important to remember that paper products are not recycled so much as downcycled—meaning that they lose quality and value each time they are broken down and remade anew. According to industrial products distributor R. S. Hughes, corrugated cardboard may be recycled up to eight times. Afterward, the material is likely to be burned or composted, thus releasing its stored carbon. If used exclusively for single-use shipping applications, these eight lives may represent a brief timeline compared with other uses. Given the relatively long duration of buildings, for instance, a sensible alternative might be to upcycle paper in architectural applications, which would significantly extend its lifespan.

Paper does have a long history as a building material. Japanese shoji screens, which consist of lightweight wood frames filled with paper, evolved from Chinese folding screens that date back as far as 400 BCE. In contemporary architecture, Shigeru Ban, Hon. FAIA, has earned widespread acclaim for his paper tube-based construction techniques. Ban started his experiments in the 1980s and has used cardboard construction tubes, which can be manufactured from 100% recycled content (they were developed in the mid-20th century as concrete forms for circular pilotis). Ban has not merely employed off-the-shelf tubes, however; he has collaborated extensively with engineers and testing facilities to develop optimal water-resistant coatings and connection details to ensure paper’s longevity when used in challenging structural—sometimes even exterior—applications. Ban’s most recent paper tube work is the Paper Green House, completed last year in Kanazawa City, Japan. The luminous building features an expansive barrel vault composed of paper tubes and metal connectors, which support a light-transmitting greenhouse roof above and a grapevine trellis below.

Cardboard can also be used as exterior insulation. Amsterdam-based Fiction Factory incorporates the material in its Wikkelhouse, a modular prefabricated dwelling system made primarily of bio-based products. The design gets its name from the Dutch word wikkelen, or “wrapping,” and features composite exterior panels made of 24 layers of cardboard adhered with eco-friendly glue. Each module is 1.2 meters (3.9 feet) deep and is clad in plywood (interior) and water-resistant wood paneling (exterior). The Wikkelhouse construction system is lightweight (only 500 kg per module), has performed well in structural and thermal tests, and is fully recyclable.

Interior paper finishes require less rigorous testing. Consider the Cardboard Office, designed by Pune, India-based Studio VDGA. The architects crafted undulating surfaces composed of stratified 73 mm (2.9 inch) thick honeycomb cardboard sandwiched between 6 mm (1/4 inch) MDF strips. In addition to providing the necessary structural strength for interior partitions, the structured panels also function acoustically—absorbing sound via the exposed honeycomb interlayers. The stacked wall system additionally facilitates the incorporation of windows, doors, and display shelves.

Nudes, a Mumbai-based architecture office, devised a similar interior application for Cardboard, an award-winning restaurant located in the firm’s home city. In the design, the architects oriented the cardboard vertically without using MDF strips.

When one considers how many other building products are made from cardboard—including furniture, light fixtures, and countless accessories—it is possible to imagine an architectural gesamtkunstwerk in paper. Such an approach can significantly extend the serviceable life of this resource, and once it has reached its eighth and final use, designers have developed even more eco-conscious applications. For example, Amsterdam-based Thom Bindels has designed the Ecosystem Kickstarter, a foldable cardboard construction used to revive and help bring back farming to eroded landscapes. Torino, Italy-based Studio Nucleo offers Terra!, a similarly structured cardboard soil-reinforcing system designed in the shape of a chair or sofa. These and other creative approaches demonstrate the ways architects and designers can give a potentially temporary, throw-away substance an enduring, multifunctional life.

VIDEO – Visit the Carboard Restaurant

Source: Architect Magazine