Housing Industry leaders gather at STEAMhouse to hear results of research into Future Homes Standard
Birmingham City University Centre for Future Homes’ team has completed four-year research in partnership with Midland Heart, which is already informing policymakers and practice in how to deliver climate change measures at scale and avoid unintended consequences.
Industry leaders and policymakers heard a summary of the research before taking part in a STEAM challenge to draw out the key findings and highlight the gaps that need to be addressed in preparation of the Future Homes Standard rollout.
‘Project 80’ is a landmark housing initiative in the UK designed to test and analyse how compliance with the Future Homes Standard may be achieved using traditional housing. This innovative pilot project demonstrates how homes can be built today to meet tomorrow’s regulations as well as understanding the lived-in experience of residents.
By building homes achieving an 80% reduction in carbon emissions, compared to current regulations, Project 80, will give policymakers confidence that intended targets as part of the Future Home Standards targets can, with judicious design and collaborative working by all participants, be achieved.
The project showed how a fabric-first approach with good airtightness and high performing insulation, works with masonry to create resilient homes built to las 150 years.
The team oversaw the design, build, commissioning, handover, and occupation phases of the project.
Data was continuously collected by sensors and interviews were conducted with housing association residents. This enabled the research team to understand how occupants live and interact in their all-electric new homes incorporating heat pumps.
Commenting Mike Leonard, Visiting Professor explained, “Our team are very grateful for the support of Midland Heart, the supply chain and other partners who have made this groundbreaking research possible.
It is a fantastic example of how to deliver success through extensive collaboration and by putting the home occupiers at the centre of the journey.”
Additionally, delegates were briefed on interim results elicited from the Keepmoat Gedling Green project, consisting of 33 homes, built to the Future Homes Standard, for owner occupiers and private rental.
Links to the Project 80 Final report and the Keepmoat interim report can be found at www.centreforfuturehomes.org
PRESS INFORMATION
Release date: 17 June 2024
Get Britain Building” to drive economic growth
As the General Election approaches The Building Alliance, the BMF (Builders Merchants Federation), and the Federation of Master Builders are calling on the next government to Get Britain Building to help kick start the economy. The headline asks for the next government are to:
• Kick start new homes delivery
• Deliver Retrofit of existing homes at scale
• Invest in the UK building products industry, decarbonised energy, and training and skills
The “Get Britain Building” campaign’s message to the next government is that investing in UK construction and in particular new home building and retrofit, will help drive the economic recovery the country badly needs as construction affords a strong multiplier effect driven by UK produced goods and skilled labour.
Construction output has suffered over the last twelve months, with a 50% fall in new house starts, a reduction in home renovation and improvement projects, as well as a slowdown in commercial and infrastructure projects. As inflation reduces and with interest rates likely to fall this is the time to change gear and back the UK building products and a construction industry, which is ready to act at pace and provide the economic stimulus the country so badly needs.
A loss of skilled tradespeople, however, remains a particular concern. Construction has a rapidly ageing workforce, with close to a million workers due to retire over the next ten years.
The trade bodies behind the Get Britain Building collectively represent an industry worth over £45 billion pounds and employing over 200,000 people.
The Get Britain Building campaign sets out 10 primary recommendations for the next Government to urgently consider. It offers a blueprint for long term sustainable growth that would deliver the future proofed homes we need using British made building products and skilled labour to support the transition to net zero in the built environment.
The detailed recommendations can downloaded at www.getbritainbuilding.org
Commenting on the opportunity to kick start the economy, Mike Leonard, CEO of the Building Alliance said:
“Now is time for change, our economy needs an urgent boost and long-term investment to support British building products manufacturers, build new homes and retrofit our existing building stock. The industry is poised and ready to transform the economic outlook for the country, creating well paid skilled employment and delivering high quality new homes, retrofitting existing buildings and creating a resilient built environment.”
John Newcomb, CEO of the BMF said:
“We need fresh impetus from the next government to speed up the building of new homes where they are most needed. If we are to get anywhere near the current 300,000 homes a year target, government must encourage small firms to build affordable homes in their locality. With the right materials, local builders can also provide the backbone of a properly funded nationwide retrofit programme to improve the thermal and energy performance of existing homes. With the national launch of our building materials sector awareness campaign this autumn, we look forward to showing ministers in the new government how building products manufacturers are making a material difference to the built environment of this country.”
Brian Berry, CEO of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) said:
“ The General Election is a pivotal moment for the UK economy. The next government needs to focus on boosting economic growth which will be dependent on having a ready supply of new homes to increase labour mobility. We are building too few homes and failing to upgrade the ones we have to ensure they will meet the needs of future generations. Now is the opportunity for the main political parties to show ambition and spell out how they will ensure the UK’s economic success in the coming years.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
The Building Alliance, the BMF (Builders Merchants Federation) and the Federation of Master Builders represent a large cross-section of the construction industry including manufacturers, merchants’ distributors and the smaller companies who are a massive 99.6% of the industry and whose voice is seldom heard or understood.
For further information visit: www.getbritainbuilding.co.uk
Press contact: Mike Leonard – 07778 842831 - mike@buildingalliance.co.uk
Edited press release (July 12, 2023)
BRAND-NEW PORTAL LAUNCHED TO PROMOTE BUILDING SAFETY
A brand-new website portal has been launched to promote buildingsafety and thermal efficiency.
The free-to-use Recognised Construction Details Portal will help architects, builders, designers and energy assessors to comply with building and fire regulations.
The portal has been developed by the Building Alliance in partnership with the Aircrete Products Association, the Concrete Block Association and the Brick Development Association (BDA), with technical support from Studio Partington Architects. It will be officially launched on Monday July 17.
Patrick Lewis, Technical Manager at the BDA, explained: “The horrific Grenfell Tower fire tragedy graphically illustrated how important it is to have stringent fire and safely regulations in place. It is also vital that key players in the construction industry are aware of all the changes and updates to these regulations. Our new portal does exactly that, as well as explaining the enhanced fabric performance of building materials.
“More specifically, the portal looks at the introduction of Part L 2021 and the changes to Part B of the Building Regulations with a suite of independently assessed and certified thermal junction detail and information.”
Mike Leonard, CEO of the Building Alliance said. “We are confident that this ground-breaking and informative portal will prove invaluable to energy assessors, architects, builders and regulators and will be of greatest value to the SME businesses who do not have access to the technical resources enjoyed by larger companies.
“With climate change and building safety dominating a busy period of change for the construction industry, the introduction of the new Fire Detailing Guide for buildings under 11m will prove vital information to designers, constructors, building control and other professionals.
“With the fantastic support of architects Studio Partington, and with advice from energy assessors, great care has been taken to ensure that the thermal and fire details do not clash with Robust Details which covers acoustics. Buildability is also a key issue, so the help of members of the Association of Brickwork Contractors ensures the details work in practice.”
Building Alliance Community Interest Company works with leading manufacturers and other professionals, to ensure the best possible regulatory and trading conditions to deliver a high quality, sustainable and resilient built environment.
Meanwhile the new portal has been praised by other building industry stakeholders.
“We are really pleased to see the finished version of this ground-breaking website and we are sure that designers and Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) assessors alike will find it a valuable tool in providing cost effective, sustainable solutions for masonry construction. The ease at which designers can get to psi values with practical construction details and checklist for the detail will be a great asset in closing the design v construction gap,” said Cliff Fudge, the chair of the Aircrete Products Association (APA) Technical Committee.
Eve Livett, the CEO of the Association of Brickwork Contractors, commented: “We are delighted to have been involved with the development of the Fire Detailing Guide. Input from ABC Brickwork Contractors strengthens the practicality of the details, which is imperative to a productive programme and the overall safety of a building. It is great to see designers, specifiers and builders all working together at this stage to support a robust Golden Thread of information, which is crucial for the supply chain and the Construction Industry.”
Owen Gallagher, Group Production Controller of Plasmor Ltd, added: “After 18 months of hard work, we are excited to be offering to the Masonry Industry a comprehensive collection of Thermal Bridging Details to enhance the technical performance of masonry-built dwellings on our route towards the Future Homes Standard of 2025.
“We are delivering a comprehensive suite of details on insulation and blockwork to promote the future of masonry construction. The future is exciting as this is a great resource to be utilised by many: Developers, architects, SAP Assessors, energy consultants, building engineers and building control”.
The Recognised Construction Details Portal can be found at:
https://www.recognisedconstructiondetails.co.uk