Jason Bowker, commercial manager at Elite Systems, has discussed the reasons why the company has made the move into the housing market.
At Elite Systems, our team prides itself on being able to work with customers to create a bespoke modular solution for any market: whether it’s the company’s eco classroom concept, modular units for healthcare, or commercial buildings. But the past year has shown us that one segment of the modular buildings market is growing and growing: housing.
For us, it is a natural progression: more people now understand the benefits of modular construction – speed, cost-effectiveness and a pleasant environment for end-users – so the residential sector is looking to offsite construction as part of a solution to the current housing shortfall. The UK government has estimated that England will have an extra 210,000 households per year between 2014 and 2039, any many experts see offsite construction (and modular homes in particular) as a key part of the solution.
That’s why we are expanding our capability into the residential housing sector: but the same principles that make modular construction a good fit for education and healthcare hold true for housing.
We believe that housebuilders and local authorities can benefit from all that modular building methods have to offer, including reduced construction times, lower material wastage, lower cost of preliminaries and fewer contractors on site.
Our bespoke approach to offsite construction leaves plenty of scope for flexibility in design: our team can manufacture single units or mews-style homes, and will work closely with architects, developers and local authorities to ensure that the property is of the highest quality, meets planning conditions and provides an excellent living environment for the end user. What’s more, we can develop a property to match the local character of any given area, with a range of cladding and finishing options.
This bespoke modular housing prototype offers a much-needed solution for low-cost or social housing providers, offering a speedy and flexible solution to what is an ongoing issue for local authorities.
One Cambridge University study stated that England required a total of 75,000 new social sector houses per year. With its fast rate of construction, high cost-efficiency and economies of scale achievable when building in a factory setting, a bespoke offsite construction housing solution is a perfect fit.
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