It’s time to change perceptions of modern methods of construction, says Brian Ham, Executive Director of Development at Home Group, that is working with several partners to test, monitor and compare a range of offsite methods as part of a live research project in Gateshead.
In the last 20-30 years, technology, cars and phones have all advanced dramatically. But houses still look pretty much the same and are still built in pretty much the same way. But if we keep doing things in exactly the same way I’m doubtful that we’ll meet the government’s target of building 300,000 homes – which many people believe is already an underestimate in terms of what we need to tackle the housing crisis.
The NHBC’s statistics on construction type for new homes registered show that masonry construction continues to account for the majority of new residential builds. A fact that has remained fairly constant for some time. And whilst the popularity of offsite methods is growing – we’re still not using them at scale. It makes you wonder if there’s a confidence issue here. And if that is the case, perhaps the only way to grow confidence in using offsite at scale is to learn more about it.
Gateshead Innovation Village, in partnership with Homes England, ENGIE and Gateshead Council will see a new community spring to life in a matter of months, consisting of a range of modular homes and a small number of traditional (41 homes in total). To make the most of the opportunity, we will also be using the project to test a range of electric heating options for homes and smart technologies. We’ll be working with an independent research partner in order to do this, but it won’t be simply about monitoring the build. We’ll be working closely with residents to look at how the homes, energy options and smart technologies contribute to people’s lifestyles. One of the issues around the use of offsite at scale is public perception.
We recently commissioned YouGov to carry out some research on this to see if our assumptions were correct about negative public perceptions. The fact that around 50% said they wouldn’t choose to live in a modular home shows that there is a challenge to overcome. However, what was really interesting is the fact that when the respondents were asked to identify modular homes from the images we provided, 75% selected images of shipping container homes. Only 11% identified a modern home by ilke Homes as modular. So these perceptions are not based on reality. We know in the sector that we have a solution to build more homes more efficiently, but a significant proportion of the public don’t want to live in these homes. Or at least, they don’t think they do – because they imagine these homes to be shipping containers. So, as part of our Gateshead Innovation Village project, not only are we exploring methods and technologies for the sector to make use of, we are also inviting the general public to go behind the scenes and learn what today’s modular homes are really like.
There will be augmented reality and virtual reality opportunities, filmed content that goes behind the factory doors and much more. We can’t go on this journey without the support of the public – after all, at the end of the day, it’s the public we are building the homes for.
To read the article in Offsite Magazine please visit: Offsite Magazine
For more information visit: www.homegroup.org.uk
