Passivhaus pioneer and modular construction specialist Beattie Passive, a member of the Passivhaus Trust, the AECB and the Good Homes Alliance, has made a series of appointments to strengthen its project management, HR, and architectural design teams.
James Little, formerly of Elements Europe, Barratt London and Berkeley Group, has joined the firm as a project manager, and will be responsible for leading Beattie Passive's Passivhaus and net zero modular housing projects from pre-construction through to completion.
James is highly experienced and spent over 16 years at Sir Robert McAlpine, where he worked on a series of major commercial developments, including the Emirates Stadium in London. Commenting on his new role, James said: "I'm absolutely delighted to be joining Beattie Passive at such a pivotal time, both for the company and for the wider adoption of Passivhaus in the UK. I'm excited to work with a company that's using MMC to deliver some truly groundbreaking net zero and Passivhaus projects."
Beattie Passive appoints new human resources manager
Beattie Passive has also appointed a new HR manager. Another experienced hire, Natalie Higgs joined the company last month and will lead recruitment, employee engagement, health and wellbeing. With production currently well underway on several modular projects, and with more in the pipeline, Beattie Passive has been focused on scaling its business to meet demand. In addition to recruiting almost 60 timber frame fabricators since the start of the year, the firm has also increased its working factory space, with plenty of room in reserve for continued expansion in the future.
Natalie said: "I'm really looking forward to managing the HR department and supporting the workforce, who are at the heart of everything we do. Demand is driving expansion, so we're making a big investment in people to ensure we can achieve our strategic growth objectives. Beattie Passive is a social value company, so creating employment opportunities is one of the major ways in which we have a positive impact in local communities, together with our efforts to ease the housing crisis, end fuel poverty and decarbonise the housing sector."
Beattie Passive enjoys strong growth in modular housing
Beattie Passive has been appointed to three major offsite construction frameworks [1] this year and has also expanded its roster of Flying Factory partners, who use the Beattie Passive Build System, under licence, to build Passivhaus standard properties across the UK. One of these partners, Ashcot Construction, recently delivered Stonewater's first Passivhaus standard homes (in Chard, Somerset). Another partner, Creating Enterprise, is building Passivhaus standard housing across North Wales. The most recent addition is Cubed Homes, who have completed their training course at the Beattie Passive Academy and will be delivering Passivhaus standard housing across the South East of England.
To manage the increased workload, Beattie Passive has added another architectural technician to its in-house design team. Dan Sanders, an experienced REVIT user, joined the company in April and is assisting on modular projects. Dan said: "This is a fantastic opportunity and I've really enjoyed my first few months, getting stuck into a variety of architectural projects alongside the team. I've been very impressed by the Beattie Passive build system and how the team works to design these net zero modular schemes to Passivhaus standard."
In May, Beattie Passive hosted the bi-annual BOPAS Forum, giving delegates a tour of its offsite factory in Norwich. In June, the company sponsored the inaugural Unlock Net Zero Live Awards and was ranked 171st in J.P. Morgan Private Bank's annual list of the Top 200 women-powered businesses in the UK.
For more information about Beattie Passive and its Passivhaus certified build system, please visit: beattiepassive.com
[1] Beattie Passive is a named supplier on these Frameworks:
· Crown Commercial Service Offsite Construction Solutions (RM6184) Framework (Lot 3: Residential and Lot 6: Thermal Efficiency Upgrades)
· The Offsite Homes Alliance (OSHA) national modular construction framework.
· LHC's Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) of New Homes (NH3) Framework.
