Lessons Lea

The Design for Manufacture Competition was devised to bring out the best in the housing sector. It started out with the simple challenge to build good-quality homes for a construction cost of £60k, but it turned out to be about much more than that. Entrants to the competition rose to the occasion in a variety of ways with innovation and new partnerships. The legacy will be long lasting. Here are just 10 of the lessons learnt so far.

4 Quality and cost are compatible

1 Construction costs can be tamed

The Design for Manufacture Competition has shown that total construction costs can be controlled whilst improving quality. Many solutions have been tested, but it seems that those bidders who closely linked their design, suppliers and delivery teams into a single process, found savings that others did not. The Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) has verified the results and their findings suggest that the successful bidders now have achieved something. Bigger savings will naturally come with replication of these approaches and higher volumes but a start has been made of lasting value. Recent forecasts1 predict that construction cost inflation combined with flattening house prices will soon put pressure on house building margins. The competition therefore provides timely food for thought for all involved in the housing market.

High quality has been happily married with construction efficiency. The £60k homes in the competition are at least 76.5 sq m gross internal floor area so cost savings are not being achieved by making homes smaller. The public will be getting better value for money per square metre. Overall, market value has been achieved for the portfolio of sites. No development subsidy has been given by the public sector to these sites, demonstrating that such achievements can be repeated on private land in future.

8 Future proof homes

5 One thousand and one house types

Get the basic structure right and homes can come off the production line looking different on each site – all tastes and vernaculars catered for. Modern construction methods, prefabricated factory-built homes, need not result in boring boxes. All of the winning entries provided several variations on the £60k house-type from the same basic production specification. This is about technology and designs that respond to consumer appetite for choice. It also creates mixed housing and interest in every street that will help create exciting new communities.

The competition has generated many excellent ideas on how to future proof housing so it responds to energy cost increases and the impact of climate change. Flat panel construction has enabled use of large windows in the roof which provide light to all floors of a home. EcoHomes ratings at the top end of the Excellent category are promised for some of the homes and the predicted energy efficiency (u-values) for one overseas supplied home would see annual heating bills for occupiers slashed. The prefabricated construction techniques have also exploited the potential for eco lanterns and eco hats that warm homes in the winter and cool them in the summer by releasing heat. Acoustic features have been built into many designs such as the glazed partition halls that separate one of the designs and an enclosed staircase in another proposal that cuts sound between the ground and first floors. Consumers of the future will be more discerning: they will be seeking out comfort features and improved running costs.

9 Place and product must work together

Some bidders fully understood how individual homes need to work in context to create successful places. Curving linear terraces and crescents have been proposed to create small and distinct public spaces. Kitchens have been placed to jut out of the front of homes to give views up and down the street. Cars have been accommodated carefully in a variety of ways so as not to dominate development. Windows have been cleverly placed to overlook the street and produce natural surveillance and a sense of community. Design for Manufacture has not been about drawing board designs but about creating real homes in real neighbourhoods.

10 Vision

When communities get behind the business of growth and of changing places, development can happen faster and more effectively. It is interesting to see what has happened to those sites in the competition where the best use was made of Design Codes or strong and clear design briefs pre-agreed with the local authorities and local communities: the planning process was completed in under 13 weeks. What is more, some of the most modern houses are going to be built in places that like their traditions, confounding the critics who predicted the ambitions would be watered down along the way. The Design for Manufacture Competition has shown that by working with people at the local level and providing direction at the national level we have been able to make a major leap forward in housing design and construction efficiency. The competition will have a major impact for years to come.

2 Density with houses, not just flats

Efficient land use need not always mean one-bedroom flats. Through this competition developers will be achieving densities of over 60 homes per hectare in suburban locations, mainly with houses. The message seems to be: get the design and development process right and you can have houses with gardens, front doors that open onto the street and even garages. These are homes and communities that people want with no waste of our scarce land supply.

6 Innovation is for everyone

3 A home is forever, not just the first sale

Homes are going to be built through this competition which grow as households grow and change as the social patterns change. Competition bidders have shown how a good starter pad for a first-time buyer today can be adapted to become a family home tomorrow or remodelled again for ‘empty-nesters’. The imaginative response by bidders to Lifetime Homes principles has also shown that additional costs can be avoided if they are designed-out early enough. So every home can be a truly inclusive home for people with disabilities or for the elderly or for families with young children. Panelised systems and frame systems without trussed roofs have allowed ‘room in the roof’ possibilities for easy expansion of homes. Most of the homes have internal walls that can be moved or removed to suit different lifestyles. Others have car ports that can be turned into garages with living space above. People’s lives change and markets change and so will the Design for Manufacture homes. The next generation will be thankful for this.

7 New players

Housebuilders have used the Design for Manufacture Competition to show they are capable of investing in more than their land banks. Innovation is clearly a mainstream interest to the biggest and best in UK housebuilding. 53 consortia took the time and trouble to get involved. Many report that their experience in the competition has had a lasting impact on their business approach. Design and construction management teams are clearly working together with the development and sales teams. Design for Manufacture shows that Sir John Egan’s recommendations to the construction industry were not in vain.

Most of the successful bidders did something different with someone new. Some teamed up with housing associations and others created close links with suppliers. There have also been some new names entering the housing market –from the wider construction sector and abroad. International architecture practices more commonly identified with iconic structures have been busy redefining the English suburban home. Some bidders have deployed advisors from the car industry to identify ways to cut waste. Some of those not making it to the final six consortia developing sites have continued their £60k home experiments outside of the competition and are soon going live with their products.