When every building is a prototype

Paul Ruddick calls for buildings of the future to truly embrace modern methods of construction to deliver more efficient, better performing environments

 

In the last year, the built environment sector has faced its biggest challenges yet, from site closures and materials shortages, to restrictions on meetings to collaborate on design and delays on projects as a result. It has had to reinvent the wheel and in some ways has been successful, yet I can’t help but feel disappointed. I believe we could and should have moved further forward, towards a process on every project that cuts out waste, drives efficiency and delivers high-performing, energy-efficient environments that promote health and wellbeing.

Let’s start with the positives. The industry has finally begun to wake up to the fact that we can’t keep doing things the way we always have. It has taken some steps in digitalisation, using virtual tools and BIM to keep projects progressing. It is highlighting the waste inherent in our construction process and is starting to look more favourably at the potential of modern methods of construction (MMC), not least because it provides safer, controlled environments where construction can still deliver at pace.

However, looking at options and talking about change simply doesn’t go far enough. A survey of procurement trends by cost management and quantity surveying experts Rider Levett Bucknall in February this year showed, despite concerns over shortages of materials and labour, 113 main contractors said MMC take up had only gone up 2 per cent since 2019. The use of BIM is only “creeping up” at tender stage and the ‘Construction 2025’ report noted that two-thirds of construction contracting firms are not being innovative enough and are halting technological progress within the sector.

We need affirmative action. The Government is taking us in the right direction, with new regulatory requirements designed to revolutionise construction for the better. The Construction Playbook, for example, sets out 14 policies that will drive innovation, encourage standardisation, speed up delivery, promote MMC and improve how the supply chain works together. Critically, it will also push better building and workplace safety, drive us on our journey to net zero by 2050 and promote social value. While this exists for the public sector, it should change processes and behaviours across the industry, which will positively impact commercial and private sector development too.

Another big driver comes from our customers, the end users of our buildings, whose mindsets have changed. They no longer want to be guinea pigs in the building process, where the wheel is reinvented every time and they don’t want to have the hassle ofprocuring, commissioning and operating buildings either. They want buildings that are not just fit for purpose, but also high quality, low carbon, low maintenance, agile and resilient. They want a service that delivers on all these priorities where they can go about their business unhindered. The only model that can achieve this is MMC.

There are two fundamental differences betweentraditional construction and MMC. One is the integration, control and management it guarantees. The other is that it creates products whose material, design, transportation, and embodied and operational energy are optimised around a series of standard details and materials.

It is process-based, so as well as delivering a new building every 4-6 weeks, it lends itself to continuous improvement in design details, materials and manufacturing processes, enriching the BIM model each time. Airtightness is a good example. The factory production environment means modular buildings now regularly achieve levels of 3m3/hr/m2, heading towards Passivhaus requirements without any special additional measures.

Then there are the elements that deliver a better service. Vertical integration streamlines the process, and collaboration with suppliers and designers leverages the benefits of standard details and maintains architectural integrity, core functionality and building performance. Quality is controlled, costs are saved, programmes are cut, sustainability is optimised, and all with a smaller team.

The buildings delivered are more intelligent, with the ability to embed monitoring in operation and create a SMART building that can run optimally without too much intervention, driving up efficiency in use, while gathering data about performance so improvements can be made.

There is also the potential for more, far reaching benefits, particularly in response to the climate crisis. We are currently working on the Ministry of Defence’s Net Carbon Accommodation Programme (NetCAP), which involves delivering new carbon-efficient accommodation blocks across the UK Defence Training Estate. To date we have been able to deliver accommodation blocks with EPC ratings of 12, -5, -7 and most recently -9, meaning they actually generate power for the site. We also achieved a reduction in embodied carbon (tCO2) of some 130 tonnes at no further cost when compared to the first iteration of the building. By treating every project as a prototype for the next, there can be continual feed-forward and product development. We’re now exploring how developments can be taken off grid entirely and scope for neighbourhood buildings to share power.

We want others to follow suit to accelerate change. We accept that there is a long way to go, but we already have the data to do the following, which is game changing in itself:

  • control carbon in use within net-zero targets;
  • reduce maintenance costs;
  • prove the link between internal environment and end user satisfaction, wellbeing and productivity;
  • extend the resilience and economic life of critical plant;
  • identify redundancy in design and alter future projects; and
  • assure a building’s performance during the operations phase.

Imagine if the whole industry turned its focus to the customer, not the process, investing in compelling propositions supported with the right technology and business models and driving transformation to deliver a much bigger prize than simply the adoption of off-site construction alone. We want the events of the last year to inspire innovation and action. The possibilities are endless!

 

• Paul Ruddick is CEO, Reds10