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Experimental green build findings published

Posted: 05/11/2008

A green building project which involved a massive 140,000 hours of monitoring at three sites in Cambridgeshire has spawned a new report from BRE. The document sets out the results from a pioneering housing demonstration project that was carried out in the Fenland district of Cambridgeshire. The SmartLIFE Housing Demonstration Project was conducted to find the best ways the UK can deliver a greater volume of sustainable, affordable and high quality homes in less time, using both traditional and innovative methods of construction.

SmartLIFE - Lessons Learned details the findings from the project which involved three development sites in the towns of Chatteris and March. Issues such as build speed, build quality, the sustainability of the construction process, and the related costs of the resulting houses were assessed and recorded for each of the construction methods: timber frame, light gauge steel frame, insulated concrete formwork and traditional brick and block construction. The key findings have been that:

* Regardless of construction methods an average of 13% of man hours are lost on non-value-added activities on site - significant cost savings could be made with more efficient site processes.

* MMC systems can compete on cost with traditional build - the light gauge steel frame system used on the project proved to be the most cost effective followed closely by brick and block

* All the systems used, including traditional brick and block construction, achieved a high level of sustainability, reaching Ecohomes ‘Very Good'.

* The highest achieving system used on the project in terms of speed and cost - the light gauge steel frame system - was delivered through an already established partnership between the site contractor Inspace and the manufacturer Fusion. This delivery partnership was seen as key to the success of the system.

* All systems have benefits, and selection of the right method depends on each project's characteristics and requirements

Speaking at the launch Oliver Novakovic, Director of Housing Futures at BRE said ‘Research in the field of construction methodology is so lacking that often it is difficult for developers or contractors to compare and select the right approach for their requirements - whether conventional ‘brick and block' methods or Modern Methods of Construction - we now have such a robust body of knowledge that will inform and enlighten our approach to future house building - once the current credit crisis abates'

The project was delivered through SmartLIFE - a not-for-profit partnership between BRE and Cambridgeshire County Council - along with English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation, Fenland District Council, the Department for Communities, EEDA, Home Group and a host of their partners *.

Jonathan Higgs, Managing Director of Home's South region, said: ‘As the only affordable housing provider involved in this project, we are delighted to have been at the forefront of delivering this pioneering scheme, and the results will certainly be invaluable for future social housing developments across the UK.'

Geoff Arnold of Pinewood Structures, the timber frame system providers on the project said ‘As an organisation, we gained a valuable insight based on factual information into how time is gained and lost in the design and build process. I am extremely pleased to see that a delivery partnership was highlighted as a major factor in optimizing build speed.'

The new report SmartLIFE - Lessons Learned is published by IHS BRE Press as BRE Report BR500, and is available from www.ihsbrepress.com. It includes a CD Rom with a detailed technical report on the site measurements.

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