Anand Bhatt. wrote:
Design for Manufacture Competition
The Government has announced that there will be a competition to demonstrate that it is possible to build a good-quality home for a construction cost of £60,000. The figure of £60,000 is a target construction cost, not a development cost or a sale price.
English Partnerships will run the competition for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and sites will be provided by English Partnerships.
Construction costs
* The competition is needed because of major rises in construction costs which are contributing to the lack of capacity and flexibility in the construction and development sectors. We aim to demonstrate that efficiencies can be achieved to mitigate and reduce the impact of these costs.
* Construction costs continue to rise out of step with other sectors. Recent increases have been four times the level of inflation (as measured by Consumer Prices Index).
* Over the last seven years construction costs have risen by 50 per cent in the residential sector and 63 per cent in the social sector.
* There is continuing evidence that the shortages of skilled labour and the impact of the world market for materials are also driving up prices, trends that may well continue.
Design quality
* The other main aim of the competition is to show that it is possible to build good-quality, cost-effective housing.
* A recent audit of housing quality by the Commission for Architecture in the Built Environment (CABE) showed that only 17 per cent of the new housing developments sampled were of good design quality. The majority (61 per cent) were average but 22 per cent were poor quality.
* There are many benefits of good quality building and urban design. While design costs are a small percentage of overall construction costs, it is through the design process that the biggest positive impact can be made on the efficiency, quality and long-term sustainability of buildings.
* The importance of sustainability is also one of the reasons why the Government is reviewing Building Regulations and developing the Code for Sustainable Buildings.
* There are signs that the quality of building design is improving, as is the interest in achieving higher standards. For example, the number of entries for the Prime Minister's Better Public Buildings Awards have been rising year-on-year (67 in 2003, 137 in 2004).
Construction efficiency
* Sir John Egan's Rethinking Construction report of 1998 showed that construction labour has only 40 per cent to 60 per cent efficiency, about 10 per cent of materials are wasted and 30 per cent of construction requires rework.
* The industry has made progress in seeking change since the Egan report and the Government has been supporting several industry initiatives. But the pace of change is slow. To move further, there is growing concern that the construction and development industries need to make radical changes to the way projects are designed, procured and delivered.
* More efficient construction methods can increase the speed and efficiency of housing supply, achieve higher quality and better standards of what is built, and offer resource efficiency by reducing waste, increasing productivity and improving health and safety to increase the supply of environmentally sustainable and well designed housing.
The Design for Manufacture Competition
* On 26 September 2004 the Deputy Prime Minister announced that he would be launching a competition to construct a £60,000 home.
* Homes for All, the ODPM’s Five Year Plan, launched on 24 January 2005, stated that the competition would invite organisations to bid for the right to construct one or more new developments on sites owned by English Partnerships. By using public sector land to provide the sites, the competition can focus on improving construction efficiency, quality and design.
* The competition will provide up to 1,000 homes.
* The winners of the competition will be expected to abide by local planning requirements and provide the usual supporting on-site infrastructure.
* A minimum of 30 per cent of the housing units within the competition will be built to a target cost of £60,000 and the remainder will be larger and smaller units that should be built at an equivalent cost-efficiency.
* Around 30 per cent of the housing units within the competition will contribute to the Government’s First Time Buyers Initiative.
* There will be no requirement to build housing using particular construction supply, procurement, materials or delivery techniques. However, there will need to be evidence that the proposed approach can be replicated on other sites outside of the competition, providing efficiency gains.
* As a minimum, all homes must follow the principles of the Urban Design Compendium published by English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation in 2000. The competition brief will include a requirement to achieve English Partnerships’ policy standard of BREEAM EcoHomes 'Very Good', or an appropriate equivalent in the Code for Sustainable Buildings.
* The competition aims to stimulate fresh thinking that will help the industry with its research and development, and promote the integration of efficient construction methods into housing development in a way that will encourage others to follow.
* The competition will provide a showcase of how to build costeffectively across a range of housing types without sacrificing quality and sustainability standards. All short-listed entries will be asked to take part in a national exhibition, and the competition winners will be expected to engage fully in local and national discussion about their proposals and their wider significance to construction and design policies.
Expressions of interest
If you would like to be alerted to the formal start of the competition, which will be in the form of a Prior Information Notice placed in the Official Journal of the European Union and advertised in the media, please email: designformanufacture@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Publication date: 31 January 2005
Prof Txx Kxxx asks...
> Why can't the houses come in boxes come from India?
I think it is a good question, anyone game for trying this?
step 1. prototype houses in india
step 2. ship them in containers to the world
the approximate unit cost (sale price) is INR 36.00.000, i think it can be done.
Design for Manufacture Competition
The Government has announced that there will be a competition to demonstrate that it is possible to build a good-quality home for a construction cost of £60,000. The figure of £60,000 is a target construction cost, not a development cost or a sale price.
English Partnerships will run the competition for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) and sites will be provided by English Partnerships.
Construction costs
* The competition is needed because of major rises in construction costs which are contributing to the lack of capacity and flexibility in the construction and development sectors. We aim to demonstrate that efficiencies can be achieved to mitigate and reduce the impact of these costs.
* Construction costs continue to rise out of step with other sectors. Recent increases have been four times the level of inflation (as measured by Consumer Prices Index).
* Over the last seven years construction costs have risen by 50 per cent in the residential sector and 63 per cent in the social sector.
* There is continuing evidence that the shortages of skilled labour and the impact of the world market for materials are also driving up prices, trends that may well continue.
Design quality
* The other main aim of the competition is to show that it is possible to build good-quality, cost-effective housing.
* A recent audit of housing quality by the Commission for Architecture in the Built Environment (CABE) showed that only 17 per cent of the new housing developments sampled were of good design quality. The majority (61 per cent) were average but 22 per cent were poor quality.
* There are many benefits of good quality building and urban design. While design costs are a small percentage of overall construction costs, it is through the design process that the biggest positive impact can be made on the efficiency, quality and long-term sustainability of buildings.
* The importance of sustainability is also one of the reasons why the Government is reviewing Building Regulations and developing the Code for Sustainable Buildings.
* There are signs that the quality of building design is improving, as is the interest in achieving higher standards. For example, the number of entries for the Prime Minister's Better Public Buildings Awards have been rising year-on-year (67 in 2003, 137 in 2004).
Construction efficiency
* Sir John Egan's Rethinking Construction report of 1998 showed that construction labour has only 40 per cent to 60 per cent efficiency, about 10 per cent of materials are wasted and 30 per cent of construction requires rework.
* The industry has made progress in seeking change since the Egan report and the Government has been supporting several industry initiatives. But the pace of change is slow. To move further, there is growing concern that the construction and development industries need to make radical changes to the way projects are designed, procured and delivered.
* More efficient construction methods can increase the speed and efficiency of housing supply, achieve higher quality and better standards of what is built, and offer resource efficiency by reducing waste, increasing productivity and improving health and safety to increase the supply of environmentally sustainable and well designed housing.
The Design for Manufacture Competition
* On 26 September 2004 the Deputy Prime Minister announced that he would be launching a competition to construct a £60,000 home.
* Homes for All, the ODPM’s Five Year Plan, launched on 24 January 2005, stated that the competition would invite organisations to bid for the right to construct one or more new developments on sites owned by English Partnerships. By using public sector land to provide the sites, the competition can focus on improving construction efficiency, quality and design.
* The competition will provide up to 1,000 homes.
* The winners of the competition will be expected to abide by local planning requirements and provide the usual supporting on-site infrastructure.
* A minimum of 30 per cent of the housing units within the competition will be built to a target cost of £60,000 and the remainder will be larger and smaller units that should be built at an equivalent cost-efficiency.
* Around 30 per cent of the housing units within the competition will contribute to the Government’s First Time Buyers Initiative.
* There will be no requirement to build housing using particular construction supply, procurement, materials or delivery techniques. However, there will need to be evidence that the proposed approach can be replicated on other sites outside of the competition, providing efficiency gains.
* As a minimum, all homes must follow the principles of the Urban Design Compendium published by English Partnerships and the Housing Corporation in 2000. The competition brief will include a requirement to achieve English Partnerships’ policy standard of BREEAM EcoHomes 'Very Good', or an appropriate equivalent in the Code for Sustainable Buildings.
* The competition aims to stimulate fresh thinking that will help the industry with its research and development, and promote the integration of efficient construction methods into housing development in a way that will encourage others to follow.
* The competition will provide a showcase of how to build costeffectively across a range of housing types without sacrificing quality and sustainability standards. All short-listed entries will be asked to take part in a national exhibition, and the competition winners will be expected to engage fully in local and national discussion about their proposals and their wider significance to construction and design policies.
Expressions of interest
If you would like to be alerted to the formal start of the competition, which will be in the form of a Prior Information Notice placed in the Official Journal of the European Union and advertised in the media, please email: designformanufacture@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Publication date: 31 January 2005