Bre Innovation Park - Collida
Project Details
Project - Bre Innovation Park
Sector - Commercial
Technology - Steel
Project Overview
Collida, a next generation business working within the built environment, integrates digital technology with modern methods of construction to deliver highly sustainable buildings. Collaborating with a wide range of industry partners including Architype and Met Structures, it has developed two innovative prototype homes at the BRE Innovation campus in Watford. Collida embarked on the project, which started on site at the end of 2021, to deliver the next generation of sustainable MMC homes that would enable local authorities, registered providers, and developers to meet the UK’s net zero commitments.
By taking an R&D, fabric first approach, each detail has been carefully researched, designed, and tested to ensure optimum performance – including the steel frame of the homes, which led to the prototypes becoming the first steel-framed residential buildings to achieve the Passivhaus Plus standard. Collida decided to implement the innovative use of light gauge steel frame for the structure – rather than the more commonly used timber – in order to develop a fully non-combustible solution capable of delivering to both Passivhaus Plus and Future Homes standards. The use of a 2-3mm light gauge steel frame, which was delivered to site in eight panels per home, also supports the accelerated delivery timeline.
It was rapidly assembled in just two days, utilising the benefits of offsite construction to speed up delivery time by decoupling multiple trades from the critical path and enabling simultaneous working – for example, interior decoration is able to place whilst the exterior brick slip system is being installed to ensure maximum efficiency on site. As a result, the properties can be delivered in just 15 weeks. This is significantly faster than the 18–25-week industry standard and requires 40% less labour than traditional construction, thanks to its optimised, manufacturing-led approach. The prototypes have been finetuned at each step, benefitting from Passivhaus features such as reduced energy consumption, enhanced air and daylighting quality, a 60-year design life, and total energy bills as low as a pound a day.
