Commendation for best innovative technology
Speaks volumes
There are few better examples of how to solve the provision of affordable homes for key workers in London and elsewhere than this high-quality low-cost housing scheme in Stockwell, where a four-storey block of eight flats rose from the ground in just four days, and was fully finished with all the services working and the site cleared and landscaped in less than four months – instead of what could have been 18 months by traditional construction.
This was achieved by using the BUMA system of volumetric construction, which is another way of saying modular construction, such as the Yorkon system used for MoHo (see the previous article on pages 76-78). Both are off-site manufacturing systems, the difference being that volumetric construction may involve the production of separate modular components in controlled factory conditions, which are then transported to the site and assembled. Or the modules can come completely clad and roofed, with fully fitted kitchens and bathrooms, all services, and everything finished down to the flooring, plaster and paint.
This is what happened at Stockwell, where these eight flats for Hyde Housing Association were manufactured and assembled in the BUMA factory in Krakow, Poland, and brought by lorries to the site, where the modules were craned onto prepared concretestrip foundations and bolted together with galvanised-steel fixing plates. The communal entrance and staircases leading to all the flats were manufactured as four modules – one for each floor.
Despite the distances involved in transporting the volumetric units all the way from Poland – and with skilled Polish workers to erect them – the total construction cost including all fitting-out was £700,000 in September 2004, which is an average of £87,500 per apartment, excluding the cost of the land. That was for four one-bedroom flats of 546 sq ft and four two-bedroom flats of 704 sq ft. No wonder the ODPM showed interest. Keith Hill, Minister for Planning at the time, was taken up in a cradle by the tower crane and formally fixed the last of the 845 bolts that hold the building together.
Hyde Housing Association says the BUMA system of volumetric construction is at least 12 per cent cheaper than traditional new build, and anything from 20 to 30 per cent less than equivalent modular systems. Given that the apartments were built in a quarter of the time taken by traditional construction, and that they can be unbolted, transported to another site and re-erected, this seems to offer a way of dealing with the present housing shortage while allowing the prospect of re-using the homes elsewhere later if things get better.
These flats have high-quality fittings, smooth plaster finishes, solid floors, and good standards of sound insulation and energy efficiency. The façades are neatly detailed, with aluminium cladding panels, a proprietary render, external balconies and sliding sunscreens of slatted timber. There is nothing temporary about the construction, which has a life of 60 years, and its versatility is shown by the prototype made by BUMA in 2000 being demounted and re-erected eight times before becoming a permanent family home outside Krakow.
HomeBuilder: HYDE HOUSING ASSOCIATION
Leegate House, Burnt Ash Road, Lee Green, London SE12 8RR
Tel 020 8297 1500 Fax 020 8297 3800
Contact: Charlie Adams, Chief Executive
Email: Charlie.adams@hyde-housing.co.uk
Website: www.hyde-housing.co.uk
Architects: PCKO ARCHITECTS
Middlesex House, 130 College Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 1BQ
Tel 020 8611 1444 Fax 020 8426 0851
Contact: Andrew Ogorzalek, Director
Email: mail@pcko.co.uk
Website: www.pcko.co.uk
Photography: PAULINE LORD (020 7609 4439)