UK housing crisis

The UK currently faces the largest housing shortage and the construction industry can’t keep up. The impact of Brexit will mean less bricks and fewer available EU workers.

Construction methods have barely evolved in the last 100 years; with people still building the old fashioned way using materials from 1,000 years ago, laying a brick at a time. This makes construction very expensive, slow and detrimental to the environment. Technology must be used if the UK is going to overcome the housing crisis.

The construction industry is ready for disruption, and RDA Modular is leading the way.

“The problem is everything is done manually and it takes anywhere from six to nine months to build an average three to four bedroom house.” Ahad Miah, Executive Director, RDA Modular.

Offsite modular construction

Offsite modular manufacture can achieve superior quality whilst reducing construction time, decreasing costs and improving sustainability. Today, these homes are characterised by their precision engineering, quality finish and eco credentials. They are almost unrecognisable from the ‘pre-fab homes’ of the past.

It is evident that the manufacture of offsite modular housing is essential to tackle the current housing shortages. London Assembly’s Planning Committee outlined recommendations to Sadiq Khan in their report “Designed, sealed, delivered”, highlighting the benefits of pre-fab homes.

RDA’s senior management team have collectively built over 37,500 units, of which 6,300 have been modular. The increasing interest in modular housing is definitely a positive step in the right direction, however it still comes with its issues. The manufacture of these units remains a manual process, total number of units produced per factory is limited, transportation of large modules is inefficient. Modular construction at its current state alone will struggle to meet the UK’s affordable housing demands.

“We spent two years obsessively researching, with sleepless nights, burning the candle at both ends, ‘How can we improve the production of houses: while making them affordable and increasing quality?’” Romy Jardine, Chief Scientific Officer, RDA Modular.

RDA 3D Modular have pioneered technology to mass manufacture modular housing. A technology disruptor, RDA have developed 3D injection and automation to produce housing at 40% of the cost of traditional construction methods.

Over many years of research and development they have combined revolutionary technologies from industries such as automotive and aerospace, to develop their own production lines and dramatically reduce construction time to seven to ten days per home. RDA are designing and building factories to manufacture 10,000 houses per year and in the era of Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Twin factories will scale production even further.

“You would not build a car in a field — so why a house?” Romy Jardine

Addressing eco-sustainability, RDA plan to use materials and methods which meet the Passiv Haus standards and reduce carbon emissions by 75%.

Orchard Village

David Hudson, Chairman of RDA, has an enviable track record and build portfolio of over 25,000 homes, of which 4,000 are modular. As Chairman & MD of Innc UK, his latest project, Orchard Village in Rainham, is an affordable modular housing scheme.

Formerly known as Mardyke Estate, Clarion Housing’s redevelopment is currently in its final phase of construction and will create 130 new homes for rent and shared ownership.

The modular scheme will provide the foundations for improving construction quality, whilst meeting tight deadlines and budget.

Over 300 steel modules have been manufactured offsite; an approach which David Miller Architects states will bring quality assurance to the development, whilst reducing waste, time on site, minimising disruption to residents and improving sustainability.

“New construction and design processes have helped transform consumer attitudes towards new pre-fab homes, with many now actively choosing to live in this type of property. Whilst procurement and production processes are not always as streamlined as some hope, those opting for a pre-fab home can find the principles underpinning the development and the benefits of living in a prefab scheme outweigh any of these difficulties”. Alain Torri, Head of Architecture and Building Consultancy, Carter Jonas

Royds Withy King residential property expert Zainab Dakhil comments; “Modular housing will be a good thing as it could form

“Construction is the final titan of all industries to be disrupted by technology. To make high quality houses that are significantly more affordable is quite the challenge; we had to think far outside the box.”

David Hudson, Chairman, RDA Modular

a new wave of affordable housing, offering low rents for social renters and private tenants as well as allowing registered housing providers funding to build more homes under their part buy / part rent funding from the government.

For mortgage advisers and lawyers, however they have posed problems. Pre-fab houses have a bad reputation historically due to poor structural quality and associated construction problems which have required costly and lengthy remedial programmes”.

Colleague Jo Kent goes on to add, “There is an emerging trend for new modern developments to use a pre-fab modular construction method and this seems to be gaining traction. It is not only cheaper but often more efficient and even possible to add extensions and conversions to existing properties in modular form.

In order to build using this method of construction, you must own the land or plot as you would with any other build method. Whilst the quality of the craftsmanship and process may have significantly improved, the vast majority of mortgage lenders are still wary of pre-fab houses and obtaining finance for the construction may still be very difficult.

Ensuring you choose a reputable company such as RDA Modular who offer expertise in not only the construction of the modules, but also of the installation is key. Some companies may offer a construction warranty which is important as once you have purchased the product, the maintenance will become your responsibility”.

Images courtesy of David Miller Architects

The obstacles or challenges from a legal perspective are as follows:

1. Knowing the difference between the traditional construction and non-traditional construction

2. Planning and building regulations requirements

3. Mortgage lender’s requirements

4. Structural guarantees