Archive for category: News

Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) is increasingly recognised as a key solution to solving the UK’s housing crisis. Clive Feeney, LHC’s Interim Group Director, explains why.

In recent years MMC has carved a place in government policy, with Homes England placing it at the forefront of future housing development.
Dwellings built using these methods have great powers to expedite the levelling up agenda, thanks to speedy construction, use of low carbon building materials and methods, and the energy efficient, cheaper-to-heat homes produced.
The Homes England Affordable Homes programme mandates that 25% of new homes will be constructed using MMC, while the MMC taskforce, set up in early 2021, was allocated £10m funding to accelerate the adoption of offsite methods. This recognition of the value of MMC in homebuilding projects, coupled with investment to accelerate the adoption of offsite methods, is extremely welcome.

Fulfilling demand

Quality housing should be attainable for all UK citizens. But with more than one million people on social housing waiting lists, it is more important than ever to speed up the delivery of new homes to meet this demand.
A major benefit of using MMC is that not only is it possible to create better quality homes for people, but to build them more quickly than would be possible using traditional construction methods.
As is well-known, MMC-built homes are assembled in factory environments, allowing for more rigorous quality control. They are more energy efficient than traditional brick builds, with better insulation and designs created with sustainability and efficiency integral to them. Not only is this good for the environment and vital to helping us all reduce carbon emissions, but it is also significant in managing household utility spending – a crucial element in levelling up and in lessening the blow of rocketing energy bills.
One of the barriers to MMC being used in greater numbers has so far been the inability to scale up developments. But there may now be the catalyst, thanks to increasing routes to procure MMC through construction frameworks, together with July’s announcement from 2021-formed trade body, Make Modular, that it could reach 15,000 homes a year by 2024. This is in part due to a £500m investment in factory facilities since 2016 from its members, which include Ilke Homes, TopHat, Laing O’Rourke and Legal & General Modular Homes.

Reluctance to adopt

One of the key stumbling blocks is a hesitancy on the part of the social housing sector to adopt MMC until it becomes a tried and tested approach. Many registered providers would rather let the big commercial players make the mistakes from which smaller providers can learn, but can’t afford to make. This is an understandable but unfortunate impediment to progress which will no doubt be overcome in time as evidence of its benefits becomes clearer and it is recognised as a safe, progressive and cost-effective approach to housebuilding.
There is also an educational component to encouraging the adoption of MMC as standard. Requiring a significant shift in the way our homes are designed, procured and delivered, MMC is arguably the single biggest change to housing construction in many decades. The case is clear, but there’s much work to do to improve confidence in the sector and begin to see a wholehearted acceptance of MMC as the norm.

A brighter future

LHC has already supported the creation of more than 5,300 MMC-built social homes and with extra support provided by government, it is likely we will see more widespread uptake for the delivery of affordable homes built using MMC in the short term.
What will certainly help to drive the use of MMC is an aggregation of projects from housing providers across the country to allow greater standardisation in the supply chain. This means delivery can be quicker and cheaper, while facilitating the production of buildings of a higher quality.
At LHC we have already started on this journey and are connecting social housing providers across the UK and encouraging a constructive culture of collaboration. We are focused on identifying areas in which providers can aggregate and seek to approach their projects using MMC together, while sharing the burden of risk.
This approach has the potential to help scale the MMC market more quickly, enabling us to help UK residents reap the many benefits that a comfortable, safe home brings. It is also a vital ingredient in supporting the government’s levelling up agenda and addressing the inequality that has long surrounded our housing sector.

 

 

 

Article by Clive Feeney,

Interim Group Director at LHC Group

 

 

 

www.lhc.gov.uk

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THE SUMMER ISSUE OF MMC MAGAZINE IS NOW AVAILABLE TO READ ONLINE

In the UK water conservation has been almost treated with derision.  Excepting the summer of 1976, water restrictions are limited to occasional hose pipe bans.  However, the wider impact of excessive water usage is now becoming recognised.

“Water is the primary medium through which we will feel the effects of climate change.”¹
United Nations, Water Facts

Even in our ‘green and pleasant land’ the change in weather patterns due to global climate change have resulted erratic rainfall patterns, leading to (mostly) short term supply issues, which can impact on our green spaces and countryside.  In addition to these ‘direct impacts’, the process of cleaning, processing, and heating water accounts for 6% of CO₂ emissions in the UK.²

To date few people have made the link between the water coming out the tap to local environment.  However, the connections between water, the environment and energy costs are being highlighted by organisations as diverse as the United Nations through to local conservation groups.

‘The energy used to heat water for devices and appliances emits an average of 875kg of CO2 per household per year. This is equivalent to the CO2 emissions from driving more than 1,700 miles in an average family car.’ ^{3, 4}
Energy Saving Trust

At the 2022 Waterwise conference, Prof Liz Sharp, University of Sheffield, explained that research had shown that the water efficiency message in itself had little impact on behaviour.  The relative cost of water is low, so monetary savings in not a good incentive.  Conversely, links with wider issues of interest to a particular community could.

To many, the more immediate issue is energy prices, approximately 17% of energy used in the home is to heat water.⁵ Whilst water efficient appliances, i.e. dishwashers and washing machines, can reduce domestic water and energy usage, much of this hot water used in ‘time critical’ usage e.g. taking a shower or running the tap to rinse dishes.

Future proof properties

Water Metering is the future.  Utility companies have not been slow in recognising the benefits of a ‘Smart Buildings’.  The ability to interrogate and manage energy usage at any given time of day or night has been recognised as an effective way for organisations to reduce usage and manage costs.

Gas and electricity meters located on external building walls has enabled easy upgrades and introduction of countrywide ‘Smart Meter’ programme.  However, the traditional location of a water meter in a metal-covered hole in the public highway is not conducive to this new way of thinking. A ‘Smart Water Meter’ located in such a situation is exceedingly poor in transmitting a signal even to a local pick up.

 

The best location for a ‘Smart Water Meter’ is on an external property wall – co-located with other utility meters. With Groundbreaker water management system, properties are future proofed to allow for easy installation of ‘Smart Water Meter’ technology as it is introduced across the UK.

Recent field trials of Groundbreaker have proven that the range of such meters can be over 3Km (2 miles).  The impact on data collection is massive.  The improved data transmission range could allow for single point data capture in towns the size of Norwich or Coventry.

This ability to link into ‘Smart’ Building Management systems also allows for organisations to monitor for exceptional usage and potential identify maintenance issues or leaks.

 

 

Design out leak paths:

Comply with Water & Construction Industry Guidelines comply with “Water Safe” initiatives
Another benefit of the unique location of the Groundbreaker water management system is that it allows for an unjointed water supply, minimising the risk of developing future leaks.  Installation of Groundbreaker meets the best recommendations of Water UK and the Home Builders Federation⁶ and in some water company areas, such as Portsmouth Water, are now the standard required for all new properties.

Bringing Water Supply into the 21st century

If you are looking for a way to bring water services into the 21st century, Groundbreaker’s range of water supply management products can be the way forward for time and cost-efficient installation and replacement of water supply and allow for future site redevelopment with minimal environmental cost.

Steve Leigh FIWater, Managing Director Groundbreaker Systems

Groundbreaker Systems won the HBF’s ‘Utility of the Year’ in 2018. 

www.groundbreaker.co.uk

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1.  LINK

2.  Environment Agency (2008): Greenhouse gas emissions of water supply and demand management options, Science Report – SC070010

3.  Ref: An average passenger car (any fuel) emits 0.311 kgCO2 per mile. Source: 2012 Guidelines to Defra/ DECC’s GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting.

4.  LINK

5.  LINK

6.  For further information, check the Home Builders Federation Guidance. LINK

 

Following on from his article about the energy crisis in the previous edition, Technical Journalist Bruce Meechan explains how a more reliable energy infrastructure might look.

When the Hindenburg crashed in May 1937 while trying to dock at its US base in New Jersey, the disaster claimed three dozen lives and effectively ended the travelling public’s love affair with the great airships of the era. What is more, not only did the eruption of fire from the hydrogen tanks – caught on newsreel footage – destroy the skeletal steel-frame structure in moments, it also branded the lighter-than-air gas for ever after as inherently dangerous.

As the RAF was soon to discover, the setback for air passenger travel did not deter German scientists’ developments in other branches of aviation, though the country’s politicians have at times shown a tendency to be risk averse regarding technology: most notably when Chancellor Angela Merkel reacted to the 2011 Fukushima tsunami by slamming the brakes on their nuclear power industry.

The outcome we’re witnessing is Europe’s industrial powerhouse being reliant on Russian gas supplies as well as demonised dirty coal. And while all the apocalyptic prophesies of the world’s elites at COP 26 were still reverberating around the media channels, a global supply crisis saw exponential rises in wholesale energy costs.

As I described in my previous article for this publication, wind and solar proved pitifully inadequate at meeting our needs during much of last year (2021) and can only ever be a bit-part player in satisfying the UK’s long term energy requirements. Hydrogen, ironically, is now moving from being dismissed as a “Fuel of the Future” to becoming a mainstream answer to keeping the lights on and traffic flowing.

In fact, it could be a crucial answer to the problem of storing the power produced by wind turbines, solar farms and even the off peak production of nuclear reactors.

As highlighted previously in Building Specifier, large scale battery storage of electricity has proved fraught with problems – including battery fires which are very difficult to extinguish – while creating more ‘pumped hydro’ water storage involves major civil and mechanical engineering projects which will inevitably suffer years of planning delays.

Hydrogen, while volatile, is already being successfully introduced into the UK’s mains gas supplies, with studies underway to determine whether the percentage concentration can be safely increased; and without the need to modify existing gas boilers. New generation boilers and dedicated distribution mains could allow natural gas to be phased out for domestic and other customers, while fuel cells present a technology which could transform the commercial transport industry.

Two of the Footsie’s biggest companies – Shell and BP – are permanently in the dross-hairs of environmental activists like Extinction Rebellion, when they can realistically claim to be doing proportionately more about decarbonising their activities than most nations and their politicians sermonising on the subject.

In fact BP recently announced plans to build a second major hydrogen focused production plant on Teeside, with the combined facility projected to account for some 30^% of the UK’s total commitment by 2030.

HyGreen will be created alongside the already proposed H₂Teeside and be capable of adding 60 MW/e of green hydrogen to the ‘blue’ output. The oil major is working closely with regional as well as national government and believes it is going to see the region become a key part of the UK’s hydrogen supply chain creating highly skilled jobs.

Shell, for its part, has recently begun to produce hydrogen at one of its plants in Germany using what is termed an ‘electrolyser’ supplied by ITM Power: a company that is also involved in a genuinely ground-breaking trial here in the UK, which promises to have a very real impact on cleaning up our domestic and industrial heat generation.

The pilot to replace 20^% of natural gas consumed with green hydrogen is being carried out in conjunction with Keele University, which owns and operates its own gas grid supplying 100 homes and 30 faculty buildings.

Key to the sustainable credentials of the demonstration project is the use of ITM’s Proton Exchange Membrane technology to separate hydrogen from tap water with the use of renewable electricity from wind turbines and solar farms. Crucially the technology has the ability to respond rapidly when excess or off-peak power is available from such sources. And the hydrogen is produced at pressure and at a purity where a 20^% blend can be used without adversely affecting any components in the distribution network or adapting existing gas boilers.

The £6.8 million trial titled HyDeploy is being funded by Ofgem and is led by Cadent and Northern Gas Networks; becoming operational early last year. The research required special permission from the HSE to vastly increase the proportion of hydrogen mixed with mains gas from the miniscule 0.01^% currently circulated in our grid. If rolled out across the country the displacement would cut CO₂ emissions by six million tonnes a year – the equivalent of taking 2.5 million cars off the road.

Dr Graham Cooley, CEO, ITM Power said: “I am delighted that this important pilot project is now operational. The increased use of hydrogen to decarbonise heat via the gas grid will perform a critical role in helping the UK to fulfil its ambitious climate change obligations. Indeed, the Committee for Climate Change has indicated that the UK will need between 6GW and 17GW of electrolysis in the next 30 years to store renewable power and provide renewable heat. Today’s announcement is a very significant step.”

Mark Horsley, Chief Executive, Northern Gas Networks, added: “Hydrogen is a key piece of the decarbonisation jigsaw, and this milestone allows us to take a huge leap forwards in terms of its use in meeting climate change targets.

“Customers are ready to embrace cleaner, greener solutions in their homes, and projects like HyDeploy give us the opportunity to start making a difference to emissions today. We’re very excited to be a part of it.”

While hydrogen also has great potential for fuelling motor vehicles, sales of electric cars are currently growing at a far faster rate and appear to have caught the public’s imagination as the way ahead. Where battery power falls down of course is on the critical issues of range, and the time it takes to recharge.

Far more likely then that we will see a growing number of hydrogen powered buses and lorries taking to our roads in the years ahead; not just keeping freight and public transport on the move, but ridding our urban areas of diesel fumes with their highly dangerous micro-particulates.

Another factor which is certain to boost hydrogen’s fortunes as a green means of storing electricity, is the recent realisation by the UK Government that nuclear power must play a part in our future energy strategy if we are to decarbonise the National Grid. While several new nuclear solutions have gained taxpayer backing, you simply cannot crank nuclear reactors up and down like a gas turbine; though the latest projects will be cheaper and more flexible than the late-running Hinkley Point, being built by our least reliable friends, the French.

In November UK engineering and aerospace giant, Rolls Royce, formally established its Small Modular Reactor business having raised £195 m funding in conjunction with BNF Resources UK and Exelon Generation Ltd; giving the group access to an additional £210 m UK Research & Innovation backing. Design assessment can now progress along with identification of suitable manufacturing sites.

Like BP’s hydrogen plant, the SMR programme is expected to be focused on the North of the country with some 80^% of each reactor – capable of supplying power to a million homes – being prefabricated and coming from the UK supply chain. And as well as green hydrogen, the SMRs are expected to support the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels and district heating.

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the UK to deploy more low carbon energy than ever before and ensure greater energy independence. Small Modular Reactors offer exciting opportunities to cut costs and build more quickly, ensuring we can bring clean electricity to people’s homes and cut our already-dwindling use of volatile fossil fuels even further.”

Already proving to be a true advocate for British businesses, rather than another apologist for foreign takeovers, the Business Secretary was also patriotically flying the flag for a home grown fusion power project, which promises to be the first commercially viable manifestation of the elusive Holy Grail of clean generation.

The prototype Tokomak reactor in Oxfordshire has been built with Government funding and private investment, to bombard a cloud of superheated hydrogen particles – plasma – with a beam of subatomic particles; turning the innards of the six foot diameter metal sphere into the hottest place in the solar system. Crucially though, this is contained using unique low energy electromagnets requiring only a fraction of the power consumed by rival experiments.

Tokomak’s backers are talking about success within a decade, which would mean virtually limitless, safe clean energy that could be used for distribution or transport. And of course fusion power could be used to produce ever more hydrogen to fuel UK manufactured fuel cells whose only waste output is water vapour.

 

Now that really would be a virtuous circle.  

Boho 8, the most recent phase of Middlesbrough’s Boho Zone, is the commercial quarter for the town’s digital media, digital technology and creative sectors located in Tees Valley.

Previously a car park, the £2.5million project, supported by the Local Growth Fund from the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority, provides additional space for companies that are rapidly expanding elsewhere on the campus, and is intended to attract new digital and creative businesses to the area.
The award-winning concept by Seymour Architecture outlined high-quality facilities and a unique cantilevered design, with buildings ranging from 1,000 to 3,000ft². The buildings are complemented by a modern external communal space, with the aim of making it feel like a high street.

From concept to completion in just eight weeks
CPC worked closely with Middlesbrough Council and its partner Faithful+Gould through the  Modular Buildings (MB1) framework, resulting in modular specialists M-AR being appointed to deliver the project.
The ambitious modular offices project began in August 2020, with construction of the buildings being manufactured at M-AR’s site on the banks of the River Humber in East Yorkshire while the groundworks were being carried out.
Just eight weeks later, four office blocks consisting of 18 individual 49m² modules had been completed and quality checked. They were erected over a five-day period.
Amanda Grimbleby, partnerships and business development director at M-AR, said:
“This just demonstrates the speed in which off-site construction can accelerate the delivery of such projects, and this has all been able to happen during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The innovative design created by Seymour Architecture will provide light, bright and inspiring office spaces for ambitious and creative digital businesses in the region, and being part of making this happen is inspiring in itself.”

Collaboration is key
The working relationship between Middlesbrough Council, Faithful+Gould, M-AR and CPC contributed to the success of the project.
“It’s all about collaborative working and early engagement with the client and appointed company, to show what our Modular Buildings solution can achieve,” said Tony Maw, technical support manager at CPC.
“Our relationship provided a solid foundation in understanding how each other work, helping us to work in an effective manner to achieve the best quality results. I think Boho 8 is a great example what can be achieved by working side-by-side.”

Utilising procurement frameworks
Using frameworks for offsite projects allows relationships between clients and suppliers to develop and flourish over a longer-term period and sets out an integrated supply chain without any legal problems for procurement teams. Early engagement between suppliers and clients through the framework also ensures the risk load is shared more widely.
Mark Chicken, quantity surveyor at Faithful+Gould, said:
“CPC are very interactive, which is something you don’t get from most framework providers. This interaction gives you confidence in using their services, and you know there is always someone there to talk to for advice.”
The latest iteration of the framework, Modular Buildings (MB2), was launched in June 2021 and allows local authorities, social landlords and other public bodies to source preapproved specialist suppliers who can design, supply and install permanent, temporary, and refurbished modular buildings.
The MB2 framework can be used by local authorities across the UK through LHC’s regional hubs – LHC London and South East, SPA, WPA, SWPA and CPC – and will run until May 2025.

Offsite procurement frameworks
LHC has two additional frameworks that can support local authorities as they plan and implement offsite projects.
The Offsite Project Integrator (OPI1) framework can help to deliver an experienced and integrated supply chain. Launched last year to help authorities to find the technical support that can help with the planning and implementation of offsite housing schemes, the 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 solutions at every stage from design right through to occupation. It allows relationships between clients and suppliers to develop and flourish from the very early stages onwards and sets out an integrated supply chain without any legal problems for procurement teams. Early engagement between suppliers and clients through the framework will also ensure the risk load is shared more widely.
The Prior Information Notice for the third iteration of the Offsite Construction of New Homes (NH3) framework is live as of early February 2022. Companies can register interest in the NH3 framework and receive further updates by visiting LHC’s eTendering portal Proactis.

www.lhc.gov.uk

The new homes will seek to deliver low-carbon housing with low energy environmental design while exploring modern methods of construction.

 

Glenn Howells Architects has unveiled plans for a 5,000-home masterplan around the National Exhibition Centre in Solihull, east Birmingham

The new ‘urban village’ will be built on more than 27ha of surface-level car parking and surplus land, and will include a new hotel, restaurants and cafés, a primary school, 35,000m² of commercial space and 14,000m² of event space.

The scheme is being developed by the NEC Group, which is owned by Blackstone, a New York-based asset manager that looks after $650 billion (£482 billion) of funds. It is being built on the NEC Campus, on land owned by Birmingham City Council.

NEC Group said the plans will ‘establish an inclusive, diverse and prosperous community for over 11,000 people,’ adding that the new settlement will work ‘in harmony with the existing mature woodland and hedgerow landscape’ and ‘promote nature-focused and active lifestyles’.

The plans also include a new ‘grand plaza’ for the NEC Campus, to improve the visitor offer. This will be surrounded by restaurants as well as the new hotel and will provide a ‘dynamic outdoor event space’.

NEC Group said the plans would create a total of 3,500 new jobs.

There will also be a new ‘urban boulevard’ which will connect the site with the HS2 Interchange station and the Arden Cross development around it. The boulevard will be lined with commercial buildings with ground-floor retail space.

The masterplan will be subject to a six-week consultation running from 10 November to 24 December. After this it will be updated before a developer for the first phase of the scheme is procured.

Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, said: ‘This is an exciting moment for Birmingham and the wider West Midlands, as this transformational masterplan is published. Birmingham is attracting record levels of investment and the NEC Masterplan is testament to that.

‘Over the coming years this project will provide much-needed new homes and high-quality jobs for people from our region and I encourage people to make their thoughts known through the public consultation.

‘I believe that we are at the beginning of a golden decade for Birmingham, with the Commonwealth Games taking place next year and the arrival of HS2. The NEC Masterplan will connect the site with Arden Cross and the High Speed 2 Interchange, which together will transform this area, creating thousands of jobs, and building thousands of homes.’

 

Source: Architects Journal