OFF-SITE
BUILDING BENEFITS
FROM EXTERNAL FORCES
The combination of the pandemic , a greater focus on sustainability and rising affordable housing demand are taking remote building to new heights
WRITTEN BY : DOMINIC ELLIS
One of the COVID-era corporate catchphrases must be ‘ the acceleration of existing trends ’, and it ’ s particularly apt when you look at the remote construction sector . While the world made harsh adjustments to remote working , for modular companies , it was business as usual as rivals struggled to maintain on-site schedules and reduce costs .
Only it wasn ’ t quite usual . With the combination of the ongoing COVID disruption , renewed focus on sustainability and net-zero targets , constant pressures for new housing and continuous digital transformation , modular found itself swept up in new momentum .
If the pandemic has taught us anything , it ’ s that working on-site is clearly no longer the only modus operandi . Offsite ’ s appeal is its versatility across residential , commercial , education and healthcare sectors – the latter , in particular , understandably saw a spike in demand for hospital and quarantine-related prefabricated projects .
But it is housing that remains the primary driver . With England alone needing 345,000 homes to keep up with demand , modular is looking an increasingly key element of the development puzzle .
The term ‘ Modern Methods of Construction ’ ( MMC ) has been bandied around the industry for some time , but it has only been in the last six to seven years that stakeholders have begun to embrace them . As part of new building regulations ,
“ As well as dealing with the growing construction skills crisis , many are turning to modular housing due to the speed ”
STEPHEN STONE ILKE HOMES constructionglobal . com 39