Right to buy abolishment and Offsite Construction are key to affordable housing targets!

Right to buy, which allows tenants in social housing to buy their homes, ended on the 1st of August 2016. The Scottish Government documented that by ending the Right to Buy up to 15,500 social homes are protected from sale over the next ten years, safeguarding this stock for future generations.

The Scottish Government has also committed to delivering an ambitious target of 50,000, affordable homes over the lifetime of this Parliament, including 35,000 social homes.

So how does this reshape Scotland’s Social Housing landscape and assist in achieving new housing targets on time and on budget? Steve Hardy, JMD of offsite specialists Sidey tells us that offsite construction is absolutely the way forward in delivering cost effective, long term thermally efficient, and quick to deliver dwellings for residents currently on waiting lists and for future generations.

“ The abolishment of  the ‘Right to buy Scheme’ in Scotland is most definitely a step in the right direction to reducing waiting lists for affordable housing, however demand is still outweighing supply. It has been well documented by the Scottish Government and the SFHA (Scottish Federation of Housing Associations) that Scotland desperately needs more affordable homes in order to solve its current housing crisis, and although there has been a commitment to delivering at least 50,000 new affordable homes, backed by more than £3 billion, over the lifetime of this parliament, there are other factors impacting on the sector’s ability to deliver increased numbers of affordable housing. The key issues are planning, availability of affordable land and access to skilled workers.

Offsite Construction is the solution

“The solution to these problems has to lie in the growth of offsite construction.  Costs are now no more than when building through standard construction methods, but the two huge pluses are the delivery of better buildings by design, and delivery on time”.

“There is a growing lobby of government agencies, procurement organisations, and individual housing associations all reviewing whether they should directly invest into, or partner with offsite manufacturing factories; they are recognising that the housing crisis which the country faces is being exacerbated by a basic failure in the construction sector – an inability to deliver on time”.

“Offsite is well and truly proven as a construction option and it is the way forward for the housing sector wanting to build better quality homes; cost effectively, and most importantly sure to be delivered on time”.

Offsite construction automatically brings a collaborative approach to the supply chain

“One of the great benefits to a company such as Sidey, is the opportunity for us to get involved at the design team stage, to work collaboratively with the architects, the constructors, and the clients themselves; to understand exactly what they want, and to offer them bespoke solutions, and to ensure that our element of the build – enhanced specification windows and doors, air-tightness and offsite installation solutions compliments the whole of the construction process”.

There is capacity in the offsite market to fill the growing demand in a controlled and health and safety conscious way, and at the same time to offer the social housing sector the best products on the market to give them a long term return on their investment and further reduce waiting lists of thousands waiting on affordable housing”.

 

Contact Sidey for more information on the unique offsite solution for installing windows and doors offsite – KitFix® and Scan the QR code to watch KitFix® in action.

KitFix QR Codekitfix@sidey.co.uk | 01738 572 152 | www.kitfix.co.uk – NEW website coming soon…
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Student Accommodation that gives Investors a Win-Win Solution

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The removal of the cap on student numbers in UK universities has seen a 3% rise in university enrolment across the country. This has meant a shortage of accommodation with some students having to share bunk bed rooms in halls. Whilst others have been given reduced rate hotels with two weeks to find alternative accommodation.

In 2015 around £2.5bn was spent on additional student accommodation with around a 14% yield on investment. These figures are expected to rise.

To answer this gap in the market Premier Modular developed an innovative modular building system. This highly efficient light gauge steel frame based, factory engineered product is constructed by skilled assembly teams in the company’s 22 acre site in Yorkshire. The system is ideal for a full stand alone build and also perfectly designed for rooftop extensions in tight inner city locations.

These engineered and factory assembled products offer significant advantages in many areas.

Foremost are the time benefits, as manufacturing is done on a flow line there is no risk of late delivery from outside forces such as the weather. Business Development Director, Rachel Davis, commented ‘Rooms can be manufactured at a rate of 25 per week and complete houses at a rate of 20 per week, with minimal onsite time’

IMG_26.gif-web This speed of construction not only reduces labour rates and prelims but gives a much faster return on investment whether clients are selling or gaining a monthly rental income

This doesn’t mean compromise in other areas though, modules are constructed to exacting quality levels in the controlled factory environment and with as much as 75% of the buildings manufactured offsite, the risk of accidents on site is greatly reduced.

Premier Modular Ltd working as a supply chain partner to Sir Robert McAlpine completed a 5 storey 206 bedroom student accommodation block in Sept 2015. Located in Newcastle Upon Tyne city centre it consisted of a mixture of 54 studio flats, 105 en-suite bedrooms and 2 accessible en-suite rooms with associated living spaces, kitchens and study areas.

Premier was chosen as the preferred supplier due to speed of programme and the high quality finish that could be provided. The project was driven by an immovable programme requirement of the September student intake, Premier efficiently manufactured 300 modules fully fitted out and decorated in the factory – an excellent demonstration of the enormous time benefits realised by using the off-site system.

IMG_23-webSignificantly the foundations and demolition commenced on site whilst the modules were being manufactured – ensuring no time was wasted in the process.

Rachel Davis, Business Development Director at Premier Modular said ‘Completing this project using off site construction not only gave the investors a whole year of additional return, it was also a deciding factor in ‘The Foundry’ in Newcastle winning  ‘Project of the Year Up to £10m’ at the Construction News Awards. The client is at the centre of everything we do and we take great pride in pushing the limits of modular design whilst balancing other key project drivers ’

‘We always strive for innovation and excellence, coupled with a customer-focussed service ethos, and are proud and excited to have been shortlisted for an Offsite Award on another recently completed project. These awards are confirmation for ourselves that we continue to be forward thinking and creative.

IMG_01-webIn a market where an increased rate of build is required, building standards are increasing, sustainability is of upmost importance and high quality lifestyle choices are an expectation – Premier Modular’s offsite construction has the answer.

To View more about Premier Modular please visist www.premiermodular.co.uk
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It’s not what you build, it’s how you build it

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By Graham Cleland, general manager, NG Bailey’s Offsite Manufacture division

Graham-Cleland-webThe current UK automotive sector is often cited as one of the best examples that shows how offsite manufacture can positively boost productivity and overall corporate performance. Historically, the construction sector has had many parallels with the automotive industry but these major investments have transformed the automotive sector into an exemplar.

The first wave of these automotive investments took place at Nissan’s Sunderland plant in 1986 which saw the introduction of Japanese manufacturing approaches including offsite production. Some of the impressive results from this investment have seen car production go from 5,000 per year initially to 10,000 per day which represents over a 100 fold increase in a single generation.

This and subsequent investments from other Japanese companies; changed the landscape of British car manufacturing forever by streamlining the production process and introducing more efficient ways of working  including offsite manufacture and assembly.

The construction sector has always had clear aspirations to use offsite manufacture to improve productivity, health and safety and resource efficiency.  In 2013, the Government’s Construction 2025 report established a series of clear targets for industry to achieve including:

  • Lowering costs by 33%
  • Speeding up delivery time by 50%

To achieve these ambitious targets by 2025, offsite manufacturing will need to play a key role in this.
The Construction Leadership Council was set up on the back of the Construction 2025 report to focus on the delivery of the joint industry and Government commitments. Many of the UK’s leading contractors are members of the Council as it oversees the delivery of the Action Plan and the strategic priorities.

Change comes from the top

To achieve the ambitious targets set out in Construction 2025, there will need to be a shift in how the leadership of many of the UK’s leading contractors view offsite construction.  Having a health & safety culture and incorporating sustainability into projects is now the norm – and there now needs to be a seismic shift to offsite working becoming a similar norm.

As natural and physical resources become increasingly scarce, leaders who are able to understand and embrace how offsite manufacture can be factored into their day-to-day business models; will be the ones who are able to secure competitive advantage.

Move from what to how

Major contractors tend to focus on what buildings they have delivered as opposed to how they have delivered them. By making a subtle change in their mindset, to focus on the ‘how’, there is a huge opportunity to start thinking, and more importantly embedding offsite into every viable solution.

Early engagement between contractors and the wider supply chain should become the norm where everyone comes together to think more about the ‘how’ at the start of projects. By committing to spend more time on the ‘how’; alternative construction methods can be explored and then incorporated into the design and build process.

The change in mindset to make offsite construction really work would require more commitment from clients and developers as it commonly requires the design to be tied down at a much earlier stage, reducing flexibility, and suppliers to be paid much earlier in the cash flow.

The focus is still on what is being built and, as such, the same approach – using traditional construction methods – becomes the default position.

As a general rule it matters not which annual or sustainability report you choose to read, there is plenty of narrative highlighting where major contractors have been active and what they have been building.

We frequently see information about the projects completed, linking schemes to health and safety targets, financial results, environmental results and achievements, but very little information on how such projects were built, the methods of construction and how these have helped contribute to targets.

If this focus were to change, then I believe we could see a considerable change in the methods of construction being used.

GE4C5548-webInvesting for growth

Major contractors still have a fantastic opportunity to make major gains in productivity by investing for growth through the development and implementation of offsite techniques into their business and site operations. The gains made by the automotive sector are something that could be replicated by the UK’s major contractors but it will take vision, leadership and change to drive a revolution in terms of how we deliver projects.

To hit the ambitious targets in construction, the pace of investment in offsite manufacture will need to significantly increase. Also, the way in which offsite is incorporated into construction methodologies on site will also need to be revisited in order to make sure that the maximum time and efficiency savings are secured.

Moving from site to factory

Construction sites by their very nature feature many unknowns. By shifting many elements of the build to offsite manufacture, we are able to produce many of the projects build components under strict factory conditions. As a result of this, the quality of the build improves as each stage of production is closely monitored. By moving the bulk of the work to a factory, less operatives will be required on site and their role will mainly cover installation and assembly so productivity improves. There are also major health and safety benefits from moving the bulk of the difficult work to factory conditions.

ROI – proving the value.GE4C5334-web

At Birmingham New Street Station our modular service ‘spine’ was built offsite then installed in just 15 days, saving over 10,000 working hours and reducing carbon emissions by 57%.

This is just one of many great examples where offsite manufacture has saved time, improved quality and led to better health and safety performance. As an industry, we should be sharing what we are doing and making sure that we measure and demonstrate the tangible results that can be achieved through the use of offsite manufacturing. There is a major education process needed so that the industry as a whole is aware of what can be achieved with a little forward planning and knowledge of what really is possible.

As the UK construction market becomes increasingly global, international competitors who focus on the ‘how’ are becoming the norm. There are many new contractors entering the market that aren’t ingrained in the traditional approach to construction. Many of these new entrants are from the Far East and are bringing a wealth of new approaches to construction delivery. They are approaching the ‘how’ with a factory mentality and focusing on how to bring benefits across the entire construction process. For example, earlier this year in China, a 57-storey skyscraper was completed in three weeks by taking advantage of the reduced construction times made possible by offsite building techniques.

Offsite manufacturing offers contractors a great opportunity to do more for less. Going forward, the most successful contractors will be those that embrace offsite as the norm and develop a strategy that embeds offsite into all aspects of their everyday operations.

There are wealth of solutions and approaches to offsite manufacture and the key for UK contractors will be to not only keep up to date with the latest innovations but more importantly to understand how these innovations can drive their business strategy and their methodologies on site to boost productivity.

I am very lucky in the fact that the company I work for has invested heavily in its offsite capabilities over the last 16 years and, while we have admittedly learnt lessons along the way, that investment and focus on the role offsite plays in projects is now becoming an increasingly dominant factor in the way we approach and more importantly ‘win’ contracts.

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Don’t set your watch… watch it set!

Introducing the new smart mortar adhesives from Simpson Strong-Tie – the first chemical mortar to change colour as it cures.

There’s no need to guess when to start loading studs in masonry or concrete, because our latest fast curing range of mortar resins change colour (from blue to grey) as they set. So you’ll know at a glance.

Simpson Strong-Tie Sales Director Jon Head says “We’re pleased to announce our innovative range of mortar resins, which offer some great features to make the job simpler for builders. Our general purpose Poly-GP is ideal for solid or hollow block masonry, and our AT-HP high performance resin is approved for use in threaded rod and rebar concrete.

“Both mortars cure in as little as 20 minutes, and being styrene free, they doesn’t give off any nasty odour. What’s more each cartridge comes with 2 mixing nozzles – another breath of fresh air!”

A full range of tools and accessories is also available – including threaded rods, pumps, brushes and applicator guns.

For more information visit www.strongtie.co.uk.
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Continuous flow up to 7% more cost effective

AECOM, a major global player in the building engineering services consultancy arena, has concluded a report showing that continuous flow water heating systems have a clear advantage in terms of initial capital costs as well as life cycle costs over 20 years, when compared with stored hot water systems*.

The ‘Life cycle study of continuous flow water heating systems’ shows that continuous flow water heating systems can be up to 7% more economical than equivalent ‘traditional’ stored hot water systems.

AECOM was commissioned to carry out a life cycle study on continuous flow water heating systems, and to provide a comparison with conventional storage systems. Two case studies were provided that are based on projects using continuous flow water heating systems.

AECOM then determined an equivalent storage based system for each case study and compared operational and capital costs.

For the life cycle comparison, the analysis period was 20 years, based on the expected service life. The net present value (NPV) calculation is based on a discount rate of 3.5% (The GREEN BOOK – HM Treasury), an inflation rate of 2% for servicing costs and projected retail fuel costs from DECC1.

In both case studies the continuous flow system showed a clear advantage in terms of initial capital costs, as well as life cycle costs over 20 years, with the continuous flow system consistently lower in energy use than the two storage systems.

Case study 1

This was a system for a typical, small, pre-fabricated fast food restaurant. It is assumed the system only serves the hot water demand.

The life cycle analysis includes the initial capital costs, projected annual fuel costs, and estimated annual servicing costs which are assumed to increase by 2% each year. The annual fuel cost assumes the same daily fuel consumption over the whole year.

The servicing cost is based on £130/year per boiler, and £160/year for a boiler and cylinder. The resulting net present values of the three showed that the continuous flow system is 6 – 7% lower than the two storage systems based on that 20-year analysis period.

Case study 2

This was a system for a shower block in a holiday camp, with six showers and four basin taps.

For the continuous flow option, the analysis is based on a configuration of 4 continuous flow water heaters that each have a nominal output of 48 kW, which, for this particular application, because there is a very short run of pipe work between the water heaters and the fixtures, it is possible for the water heaters to generate water at 40°C. The risk of legionella is overcome by regular flushing of the system.

For the energy required to deal with the instantaneous hot water demand the analysis assumes that the bulk of the hot water demand would be due to the showers. Each shower would typically have a flow rate of around 9 litres per minute, which if mixed to 40ºC would equate to an instantaneous load of around 19 kW each, so even if there was only one shower running, the load on a single continuous flow water heater would equate to an efficiency of 95% based on the performance curve. As the hot water demand increases, the modular nature of this particular configuration would allow the 95% efficiency to be maintained for the bulk of the demand.

The difference in daily fuel costs between the three systems is around 7%. The usage profile for this case study is particularly suited to continuous flow systems (i.e. high but infrequent demand over the day), which is why there is an advantage in fuel consumption over the storage systems.

Systems employed in the study

*Indirect fired storage systems
This consists of separate heat source and storage cylinders, where for this study the heat source will be gas fired boilers running on 80ºC flow and 60ºC return with gross efficiency of 89%. As the hot water is stored at 60ºC in insulated cylinders there will be standing heat losses. The standby electricity is assumed to be 15W per boiler, and 60W when operating to cover fan and controls.

Direct fired storage systems
This is where the hot water storage cylinder has an integral gas burner to directly heat the water, and the key difference with indirect fired storage systems is that they are designed to operate in condensing mode and generally achieve gross efficiency up to 96%. A disadvantage of direct fired storage systems is that the standing losses are around 3 times higher than indirect storage cylinders.

Continuous flow systems
This is essentially a gas boiler that is designed to instantaneously heat mains water for supply directly to water fixtures without any storage. The key advantages with this type of hot water heating, is firstly saving in space needed for hot water cylinders and the associated standing heat losses. The challenge is that instantaneous hot water demand can vary hugely for most systems and therefore the continuous flow heating system needs to have a wide modulation range as well as maintaining efficiency over that range.

For more information on the RINNAI product range of high efficiency condensing continuous flow hot water heating units and systems visit www.rinnaiuk.com.
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New landmark high-rise in South West London, supplied by Hueck UK

Another successful collaboration between aluminium building systems supplier, Hueck UK, and façade contractor McMullen Facades Ltd, a Lakesmere Group company, has recently seen the completion of one of south west London’s new landmark buildings, The Pinnacle.

Rising 170 feet high, the tower construction delivers 88 new luxury apartments, including a number of penthouses, with impressive views of the City. Developed by St. George PLC, this 15-storey building is the flagship high-rise within its award-winning riverside project, Battersea Reach.

The Pinnacle’s fully glazed curved façade has been manufactured using the high performance Trigon L aluminium system from Hueck. Highly versatile, this unitised façade system lends itself to a wide variety of curtain walling designs.

“We are using Hueck systems extensively across many of our current projects, and have successfully collaborated with Hueck UK on a series of iconic buildings over the past few years,” said Derek Price, operations director at McMullen Facades Ltd.

“The Pinnacle has a complex design, with no flat elevations, and we were looking for a range of high performance systems, not just curtain walling, but also window and door systems, to meet a series of demanding requirements. Hueck’s portfolio is very broad, allowing for great flexibility, and enabling us to deliver a complex design while ensuring the correct building tolerances were achieved.

“We worked closely with the architect, façade consultants, and our supplier – Hueck UK, through the design stage, ensuring a smooth delivery of the project, on time and on budget,” added Derek.

Approximately 1,300 unitised panels shape The Pinnacle’s striking curved envelope. Aside from Trigon L, the building also boasts nearly 180 Lambda 65 windows and doors. Featuring low thresholds, the doors comply with the Life Time Homes standards, and achieve an impressive 600Pa air permeability/water tightness.

Hueck’s popular Volato M lift/slide doors have also been specified for apartments and penthouses opening into private balconies or terraces.

Leon Friend, Project Development Director at Hueck, commented: “The Hueck Trigon L unitised façade system, combined with McMullen Facades’ engineering expertise, delivers The Pinnacle’s wavy appearance, a tribute to the river Thames, which it overlooks. Aside from looking the part, our systems have had a substantial contribution to meeting stringent energy performance requirements and practicality needs.”

For more information visit www.hueck.com or call 0044 121 7671344.
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Book your Giacomini CPD course now!

Giacomini is now a CIBSE approved CPD course provider and is offering two courses that CIBSE members can take to contribute towards their CPD qualifications.

The first in underfloor heating explores heat transfer, design factors and component applications and gives participants an understanding of how and why underfloor heating systems work. The 1 hour presentation covers:

  • Theory behind underfloor heating
  • Benefits of underfloor heating
  • System components
  • What influences the output?
  • System design
  • Types of floor build up

The second course focuses on Giacomini’s other specialist subject, heat interface units, and in 1 hour participants will learn about:

  • Central plant heating systems
  • The role of heat interface units
  • Types of heat interface units
  • Unit components
  • System design
  • Heat metering
  • System performance

Attendees will receive a certificate that will contribute towards CIBSE CPD requirements.

To arrange a seminar, or for more information, please contact Helen Gibbons, Giacomini’s technical support manager 07824 595527/01454 311012 or email helen.gibbons@giacomini.co.uk.
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COMPAC’s technological marble specified for Shanghai shopping mall

Versatility, functionality, longevity and beauty were key factors for leading architectural practice RTKL to specify COMPAC’s technological marble for a state of the art shopping mall in Shanghai.

The shopping mall is part of the largest multi- transportation hub in the world integrating Hongqiao airport –Shanghai’s second international airport with high speed rail, metro stations and road networks.

COMPAC’s high performance technological marble in the distinguished Nacarado design was specified for over 9,000 sq metres of flooring to provide a cool to the touch hardwearing surface.

RTKL specified 600×600mm and 600×900mm tile formats each with a 20mm thickness to produce a stunning, modern contemporary look which perfectly complemented the aesthetic requirements of the building.

COMPAC have been able to create ‘technological marble’- an engineered stone composite which has the look and feel of natural marble but with properties that eradicate many of the problems associated with it.

Containing up to 96% natural marble mixed with resins, COMPAC’s technological marble has a hardness that is similar to marble but its resistance to impact and breakage is much greater owing to its enhanced flexibility.

COMPAC’s technological marble can also be polished, thus maintaining its shine and original appearance for much longer.

It can be used on kitchen and bathroom floors, walls, vanity tops, building façades, and staircases and on high footfall surfaces such as airports, shopping malls and public buildings.

For more information please visit www.compac.es.
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Flame-free roofing solutions for all your school’s needs

There is growing demand for improved safety within the education sector, especially in relation to refurbishing school and academy buildings. In response, flat roof manufacturer Bauder has developed various high-performance waterproofing solutions over the years that can be installed using flame-free methods; removing the need for a naked flame or hot bitumen at roof top or ground level.

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 place specific duties on designers, contractors and building owners to take fire safety into account throughout a building’s life cycle, making sure that all people on site are protected if a fire does ever occur. By utilising flame-free roofing solutions it not only eliminates any risk of fire from hot works but also means that school buildings can remain fully operational throughout, causing minimal disruption to the school term.

Bauder has a comprehensive system portfolio that includes a choice of bituminous, cold liquid applied and single ply waterproofing solutions, which all deliver a safe, flame-free alternative to traditional application techniques without compromising on quality, performance or aesthetics.

Bituminous solutions

Bauder’s bituminous system Airtech has been specifically developed to meet the need for improved safety, combining the latest generation of heat activated self-adhesives, polyurethane adhesives and hot air welding for an unrivalled flame-free installation that is faster, cleaner, quieter and safer than traditional pour and roll or torch-applied methods.

The single layer elastomeric bituminous membrane features patented lap joint technology that is sealed using electrically driven hot air welding equipment, which can be powered from the mains supply or by generator where appropriate. This process is simple but precise and avoids operatives having to carry buckets of hot bitumen on site and having unattended pot boilers at ground level, removing risk to school staff, students and visitors alike.

The system has an estimated life expectancy in excess of 30 years, can easily withstand foot traffic and permanent loads and features elastomeric detailing membranes that make them practical for full bond application even during cold conditions. The membrane also includes expandable graphite fire retardant to prevent the spread of flame in the event of a fire ever breaking out.

Cold liquid applied solutions

Bauder’s cold liquid applied systems, LiquiTEC, are based on the most advanced PMMA (Poly Methyl Methacrylate) resin technology, combining ease of application, exceptionally fast cure and durability without using any hot works, making them suitable for use in all kinds of flat roof, balcony, walkway and terrace waterproofing applications.

All Bauder LiquiTEC products are solvent, isocyanate and halogen free; and unlike many other systems do not contain styrene and isocyanate, which are linked to serious health risks. The waterproofing products are resistant to ponding water and also incorporate a polyester fleece to provide increased membrane strength, life expectancy and resilience to cracking.

The fast curing times and cold application make this an ideal solution for refurbishing school buildings; as it causes minimal site disruption, the roof area can be accessed within hours of installation and it delivers a UV stable, seamless waterproof membrane of the highest quality.

Single ply solutions

Bauder’s single ply waterproofing systems, Thermofol (PVC) and Thermoplan (FPO), offer a lightweight, fast track, flame-free installation suitable for new build or refurbishment projects. The systems are installed using hot air welding techniques with mechanical fastenings or adhesive bonding to provide high-performance solutions, which are durable and give excellent fire resistance.

The membranes deliver strong and flexible polymeric waterproofing that is resistant to weathering, chemical oxidisation and UV radiation. They not only possess exceptional performance characteristics but are also incredibly versatile to meet the specific design challenges of each individual project.

Supporting YOU

Bauder can work with you to choose a roofing solution that is tailored exactly to your building’s requirements and school’s budget through its honest and expert roof appraisals. Its high performance, safety conscious waterproofing solutions are ideal for any school flat roof project, whether new build or refurbishment, and Bauder’s no obligation service means it can perform a comprehensive roof review to evaluate the condition of the roofing area entirely free of change.

For more information visit the Bauder team at the Academies Show at The NEC in Birmingham November 23rd or access its website at: www.bauder.co.uk.
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OFFSITE CONSTRUCTION – INNOVATION IN PRACTICE

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Productivity, collaboration, innovation and skills are the cornerstones of the government’s most recent construction strategy, published in March this year, and still reflects the 2013 joint approach from government and industry. The Construction 2025 ambition focuses on erecting buildings that create less emissions, can be delivered quickly and cost less to build and run over their lifetime.

resorts-world-at-nec-birmingham-uk-webOne company that shares the Construction 2025 vision is voestalpine Metsec plc. Located in the heart of the industrial West Midlands, it is the first cold roll forming company to be certified BIM Level 2 for design and manufacture by the BSI – a key element of the national strategy.

BIM Level 2 improves accuracy, efficiency, and productivity, resulting in time and cost savings. Ryan Simmonds, Sales Director for Metsec Framing explains:

“BIM has really changed the way we approach building design – it’s a crucial design tool to ensure the client receives the best performance quality and value for money. With buildings becoming more complex, planning drawings simply don’t provide enough information and manufacturers must always be at the table in the early stages to get the best long-term response.”

The modern construction market is not just about BIM but also methods of construction which enable cost, waste and time savings.  Once again, Metsec is at the forefront of innovation when it comes to offsite construction methods – its first Metframe building was completed in Norfolk in 1984.

Thirty years on, Metframe is now a well-established solution to provide the load bearing structure for low to medium rise structures certified for up to 15 storeys in height, with scope for flexibility in design, making it ideal for residential, hotels, social housing or student accommodation.

Metframe structures can incorporate steel joisted or concrete floors, depending on the client’s requirements. Joisted floors offer a much lighter structure, but concrete floors generally provide a higher level of acoustic and fire protection. Pitched, dormer or flat roofs can be readily incorporated into the system as well as balconies, cantilevers and insets.

As well as flexible design, the Metframe system scores highly on cost saving when compared against timber and volumetric construction and there is no compromise on quality. Cost savings are also achieved through the speed of build that the system allows, with Metframe structures regularly taking less than two weeks per floor to construct. Coupled with the energy efficiency and zero waste offered by these buildings, it is not surprising to see so many high profile developments adopting the Metframe system.

Genting UK turned to Metframe for the construction of its £150m Resorts World development in Birmingham. Built by main contractor Galliford Try, the unique 55,000sqm leisure and entertainment complex boasts a hotel, spa, casino, 50 retail outlets, a wide range of restaurants and bars and a multi-screen IMAX cinema.

Metframe was chosen as the structural solution to enable quick and efficient construction of the top three storeys of the complex. The three-storey structure forms a 178-room, four-star boutique hotel and spa facility with five-star suites on the top floor, which caters for delegates and visitors to the 900 events that are held at the National Exhibition Centre annually as well as leisure guests visiting the West Midlands region.

As Metframe is assembled offsite to form easy-to-erect panels, the full frame could be delivered to the contractor in the required erection sequence and simply bolted together on-site.

Steve Milward, Design Manager at Galliford Try explains the benefits of using Metframe for the Resorts World project: “Due to the lightweight nature of the joisted floor solution within the Metframe system, Metsec was able to deliver a frame that fitted within the strict criteria of the supporting structure below. Also, a huge benefit for the project was the speed of installation. By using Metframe, we could easily manage the build in phases to ensure structural soundness throughout the process.”

Thomas Atkin of Atkin Trade Specialists, who installed the Metframe system, comments: “In total, the construction of all 178 units took just 16 weeks, which is highly impressive for a build this big. Metsec worked closely with us to produce a 3D design of the hotel structure for Galliford Try, which enabled us to plan the works and stick to the contractor’s construction programme.”

Richard Allen, Marketing and Business Development Director at Metsec added: “As a Black Country-based business, we are incredibly proud that we were able to supply a cost-effective and highly manageable solution for the landmark project at the NEC. Metframe is an extremely competitive solution, which delivers a high quality building. Therefore, it was the perfect choice for the construction of the new 4-star boutique hotel at the Resorts World complex.”

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