MMC expertise on tap

HOUSING 2020: As part of this year’s event, LHC will have a virtual stand where attendees can speak directly to a procurement expert.

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Even while working from home, local authority and housing association development teams can access exclusive technical advice on how to implement MMC for social housing projects, via LHC’s virtual stand and talks at next week’s Housing 2020 event.

LHC’s Offsite Project Integrator (OPI1) framework was launched earlier this year to help authorities and housing associations to find the technical support that can help with the planning and implementation of offsite housing schemes. The OPI1 framework covers the preliminary stages prior to RIBA Stage 0 and then implementation to stage 7. This framework sits alongside the Offsite Construction of New Homes (NH2) framework to offer local authorities and housing associations solutions at every stage from design right through to occupation.

John Skivington, group director of LHC, will be discussing the opportunities for MMC in social housing during the “Engineering the homes of the future: MMC, BIM and digitalisation” panel alongside speakers from NHBC, Urban Splash and Cast Consultancy. This session will take place on the Future of Living stage on Tuesday 8 September.

“We hope that this session will help to dispel some of the myths around MMC that make local authorities nervous about fully embracing this way of building new homes,” says John.

“Although the format of the event is obviously different this year, our technical experts will still be available to live chat and answer any questions local authorities or housing associations may have about getting started with MMC or about our frameworks in general.”

Improving energy efficiency in housing stock is another key theme for Housing 2020. LHC is a supporting partner of the Climate Change Hackathon and the Climate Champion Power List. In the Climate Change Hackathon participants will be looking at how both new homes and retrofit adaptations can withstand the impacts of a changing climate to keep people safe and comfortable, even as these climate change risks grow.

Unlike a traditional hackathon, the Climate Change Hackathon will be split into four, two-hour sessions. The sessions will focus on solutions that will engage with a variety of stakeholders and motivate the housing sector to adopt a climate emergency approach to all their decision making.

Tony Woods, technical manager at LHC, will be on the panel for “Zero carbon 2030: can housing do it and what would it take?” alongside speakers from BEIS, Savills, Connected Places Catapult and Liberty Group to discuss the technology, financial planning and leadership needed to move the housing sector towards net zero emissions. The debate will take place on the Keynote stage on Thursday 10 September.

For more information on LHC’s approach to MMC, visit its dedicated MMC website: mmc.lhc.gov.uk