From Chris Stanley, Housing Manager, Concrete Block Association
As a new decade dawns upon us, I’m filled with a certain degree of cautious optimism. Of course, you have to take any new government’s pledges with a slight pinch of salt, but the housebuilding industry should be buoyed by Boris’s pledges of increased funding towards new starts and essential infrastructure. Perhaps, as some have suggested, it’s the beginning of a new compact between developers and policymakers? Only time will tell.
Of course, increased construction output will always come as welcome news to building products manufacturers who stand to benefit significantly. However, when we finally start to grow our stock we should concentrate on the lessons of the recent (and not so recent) past. Crucially we must build quality housing for a nation which requires quality homes.
Here are a few things which I believe will drive our approach to housebuilding in the next few years.
On-Site, In Mind
Successive governments have had a track record of being persuaded by one particular solution to a problem. They then proceed to firmly place all their eggs in that basket, with other methods and solutions falling by the funding wayside. Most recently we have seen it with the clear bias towards modern methods of construction (MMC) such as offsite and timber frame at the expense of other more traditional approaches to housebuilding. It is not the sole answer to the housing crisis.
Redrow’s declaration that MMC is not the silver bullet, at the tail end of last year, was significant. Their commitment to traditional construction methods highlights that we should be focusing on quality housing which lasts opposed to quick-fix, factory built dwellings with a limited shelf-life.
In my opinion, once the hype has died down, we will see many housebuilders redirecting funds away from manu-construction back towards on-site methods.
Thermal Performance
Inevitably climate change will create even more erratic and extreme temperature fluctuations. As such, the homes of the future will need to be built in order to mitigate both increases in seasonal heat and cold.
Overheating is set to become a major challenge for housebuilders who will increasingly look to building materials manufacturers to provide solutions which can deliver the best fabric performance. Expect to see many more architects designing homes which both actively and passively moderate temperature.
Build British
Post-Brexit we will inevitably see a rise in import duties and tariffs. This presents the opportunity for UK housebuilders to look to their locality and buy British building products. This country’s material manufacturers have been working hard during the uncertain years to build up a ready supply which can be rolled out rapidly to meet the Government’s new housebuilding and infrastructural commitments.
Housebuilders will have a dual satisfaction of supporting local businesses and communities as well as significantly reducing their bottom line through carbon footprint at the same time through lower transportation costs.
Fire Safety
The ongoing Grenfell Inquiry and subsequent regulation will no doubt guide housebuilders in the coming decades. We’ll see certain materials gradually disappear from our built environment due to their unsuitability as safe construction materials following a rigorous retesting process.
Equally, a higher degree of transparency delivered through the ‘Golden Thread of Information’ will ensure that all parties from manufacturer through to contractor are held accountable.
Personally, I would like to see a more transparent testing process for building products established. Current legislation highlights a product can fail twice, but if it passes the third time it is verified with no requirement to highlight the previous failures. This is totally unacceptable and must change.
Designing For Wellbeing
On a conceptual level, there will definitely be a rise in designing more intuitively for human comfort, taking physical and mental health into account. People-centric architecture will become increasingly popular giving consideration to a home’s aspect, ventilation and access to natural light to better reflect the circadian rhythm.
Aesthetically we will see a more strategic use of colour to avoid visual monotony and biophilia to encourage more ecology around our build. Fundamentally, there will be a concerted effort to design buildings which feel both safe and secure, an essential requirement for any home. Architects like Ben Channon, author of ‘Happy By Design’ are leading a new generation ensuring that residential design holistically revolves around the owner/occupier.
As you can see, there’s plenty consider in the year ahead, but I urge the industry to look towards tradition. The old adage, ‘more haste, less speed’ has never been truer than it is now. We have an opportunity to build great quality, long lasting homes for the public, let’s not waste it.