CONSTRUCTION 4.0
affordable homes market . In the last few years we ’ ve seen market demand rise along with labour costs , so we ’ re seeing more contractors want to work with us from an early stage for a preindustrialised type of construction to leverage the cost and time benefits of off-site . It also offers a huge quality advantage combined with enhancing health and safety by reducing congestion on site . If you look at one of our projects in Wembley , by utilising our off-site solution , we used 10 times less labour than you would typically need to install 60 sqm of brick cladding with a team of bricklayers on site . These are laid to panels in our factory and thus reduce risk on site .”
Aylward highlights the challenge for Techrete of striking a balance between the architectural innovations that push the company forward with meeting the needs of the market for capacity in residential projects like Wembley . “ Projects such as the Dundee V & A are high risk and not necessarily profitable without a lot of preparation . When you ’ re doing something new , things can go wrong but we ’ re always up for the challenge . When we take on a new project we fall in love with a design and commit to making a difference in the market with each new commission .”
With Brexit on the horizon some have a pessimistic view of the market but Techrete has been very surprised because the reaction it has seen is positive . “ We ’ re now booking work two years ahead of schedule which we ’ ve not done before ,” says Sanchez Casado . “ And , with facilities and factories in both England and Ireland , Techrete is well placed to mitigate against currency risk .”
Looking to the future , Techrete is planning to continue its work on prestigious ground-breaking projects to win new business and further develop off-site solutions for the market . “ Anyone can put one brick on top of the other ,” says Aylward . “ But there are very few who can achieve the results we have shown with Victoria Gate . We ’ re proud that architects and designers come to us for our proven off-site expertise and we hope to continue developing those relationships across the industry .”
32 May 2018