Design Principles

Assignment 2

Introduction
Dear Sir I, being the Architectural Technologist working for ABC design team, who are currently working on the development of your nursing home project, have produced this report on factors that affect selection of materials, systems and technological advances within the construction industry. The emphasis of this report is on sustainability, environmental impact and possible systems that can be implemented to reduce both post construction costs and environmental damage.

Selection of Materials
This first part of the report takes a look at the important factors that need to be considered for the selection of materials for the residential building and the effects these factors can have on the design, aesthetics and the construction process.

Brief
This basically comes down to what your (Client) requirements and preferences are for the project. Some clients may require their project to be made from sustainable or locally sourced materials. From viewing the plans of the residential home, the following are your preferred materials.
y y y y y

External brickwork finish External rendering at a high level Aluminium windows Artificial roof slates Louvre doors

Obviously as you are to be the owner operator you have concerns over future maintenance and running costs, therefore I must point out that the external rendering at high level would increase maintenance, as this would require a finish to be reapplied on a regular basis and the height its at would increase the cost to carry out this work. Maybe a complete external finish of brickwork should be considered, as this would not require maintenance as often to keep the aesthetic finish it produces. The design and aesthetics of the project is your choice, but there maybe local planning issues regarding the building blending in with neighbouring buildings, these will need to be looked into at the planning stage.

HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

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Cost
As an owner operator of this particular project, the cost implications are not only during construction and up to completion of the construction stage, but the long term post construction costs also need to be considered. Simply put:
y y y

Initial purchase cost of the building Initial purchase cost of systems installed On going Maintenance and Running costs of the building

When considering the cost and specification of materials and systems to be used with this project, long term maintenance and the running cost need to be at the forefront of any decision that is made. Also the specification of the materials chosen will have an impact on sustainability and the reduced energy used for low running costs will have a positive environmental effect. For example a high initial cost for installing solar panels or PV panels will be offset by a reduction in energy used and therefore lower long term running cost. A complete external finish of brickwork may take longer during construction, therefore having a higher labour cost than say cladding or rendering, but the brick finish would require a lot less maintenance, thus reducing overall long term cost.

Availability
This can affect the construction process and increase the duration and cost during the construction stage. There maybe a specific material required as per the Clients brief, but the material has a long lead time. This basically means that the time between the materials being ordered and arriving on site is lengthy, and delays construction thereby increasing the cost. For example if a timber frame construction where to be used for the residential home, which would be a sustainable option, the pre-fabricated panels or frames may have a long lead in time, this may be because:
y y y y y

Low stock levels High demand Current trends Possibly Imported Off-site Fabrication

Imported materials may also cost more due to the cost of delivery or even the exchange rate. If the value of the pound falls, then the price of the material may go up as a result.
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Compatibility
This generally concerns materials.
y

Are material sizes compatible with each other? i.e. The height of walls with regards to sizes of a sheet of plasterboard Are the different types of materials tolerant with each other? i.e. Some materials cant come into contact with each other due to a chemical reaction

Buildability
This generally asks, how easy is the project is to build. So, considering the nursing home how does the design and systems chosen, aid construction? Is the method of construction chosen, easier to build, which in turn may mean its construction is quicker and sometimes cheaper? Good buildability would be a project where less skill is required to erect the structure once on site, therefore reducing labour costs. The risk for human error is reduced due to the reduction in skill required. For example with the roof of the residential home:
y

Traditional Roof

More skill is involved, therefore more mistakes are made, and more accidents occur, therefore it takes longer so costs are higher.
y

Modern Trussed Rafter Roof

As this is prefabricated off site, therefore less skill is involved, less mistakes, fewer accidents are made; its quicker and therefore cheaper. As we can see the Modern Trussed Rafter roof has better buildability.

HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

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Durability
This concerns the life of the building and of the materials and the maintenance lifespan. The initial purchase cost of certain materials or systems may be higher than others but these may well have reduced maintenance and repair costs over a long term period. Select materials that require little maintenance (painting, retreatment, waterproofing) or whose maintenance will have minimal environmental impact. For example, the initial purchase cost of a certain type of heating boiler may be more than a standard boiler, but the long term cost to repair, including parts and labour may be a lot less. Durability is also about choosing the appropriate materials for the buildings use. With the residential building there may occasions where wheelchairs or serving trolleys cause slight damage to the internal walls, so a possible stronger option than dry lining may need to be considered. But if the project was a detention centre then obviously vandal proof materials would be required in certain areas. Design can also be durable, a building with a durable style or timeless architecture is more likely to realise a longer life. This, I feel is another reason to opt for complete external brick finish, as time has shown that this finish is more timeless than most.

Legislation
Is there any legislation governing what materials can be used? Are there any issues as to the external finish of the building, there may be a provision that the building should blend in with the existing buildings.

Planning
Is the area a conservation area, which may have a restriction on specific materials that can be used? If refurbishment or demolition was part of the project, then whether or not a building was listed would be of importance at this point.

HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

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Assignment 2

Health & Safety

Health and safety plays a huge part in the construction industry, and as shown the Government/HSE are continuingly trying to reduce the amount of accidents and injuries that occur each year. But with limited resources the HSE can only monitor a small percentage of workplaces and so the emphasis is placed largely on employers to ensure that all Health & Safety issues in their workplace are installed, monitored and reviewed. The following are general activities carried out on most construction sites which pose a risk to Health & Safety.

y y y y y

Means of Access Storage, Use and Distribution of Materials Control and Disposal of Waste Working at Height Manual Handling

There is guidance on how to carry out the above activities in order to comply with Health & Safety law. With regards to substances that are hazardous to health, there is a set of regulations specifically introduced to control these. The COSHH Regulations or Control of Substances Hazardous to Health regulations does have an effect in construction, either by limiting the use of or possibly prohibiting the use of certain substances. The same can be said of Working at Height, in years gone by, ladders may have been used for carrying out certain activities at a high level, this may well now require scaffolding or some sort of scissor lift. With Manual Handling, there are limits as to how much someone should carry manually before the weight requires lifting gear of some sort

Environmental
The EU and the UK place the environmental impact the construction industry has upon our planet as a high priority. The EU Commission has established a voluntary scheme in which products are assessed under criteria including emissions to water and atmosphere, associated toxins and fitness for purpose. Successful products receive the Eco label daisy logo. Also the BRE has produced The Green Guide to Housing Specification Writing where materials are assessed on a variety of factors given a rating of A, B or C depending upon there performance. A few ways that your project may be environmentally responsible are as follows:
y y

High energy efficient design(High levels of insulation, high performance windows) Use renewable energy(Passive solar heating, solar water heating and photo voltaic)
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HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

Design Principles

Assignment 2

Gray water (Water from sinks, showers or clothes can be used for irrigation in some areas)

y y

Recycle waste(Make provisions for storage and processing of recyclable materials) Design landscapes to absorb rain water run off(storm water) rather than carrying it off in storm sewers Choose materials with low embodied energy Choose low maintenance building materials Install high efficiency equipment(Heating, cooling, lighting and appliances

y y y

There is also a green hierarchy which must also be used when considering environmental designs, which has disposal at the bottom of the list and must only be used as a last resort if other options are less environmentally friendly.
y y y y y

Reduce Reuse Recycle Recover Energy Disposal

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Paul Jones

June 2010

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Services
Virtually all buildings require services to make them a viable work or living space. The most common services required in modern buildings are;
y y y y

Electricity Drainage Gas Water

Electrical supply
The residential scheme would require a main incoming 400v 3-phase supply terminated into an isolator which supplies a 3-phase distribution board, which would be situated in a mains room or cupboard. 230v single phase distribution boards controlling different areas of the building would then be supplied from the 3-phase board, with the calculated loads of the 230v distribution boards being balanced accordingly across the 3-phase board. Some large air conditioning units may require a 3-phase supply. The 230v would supply all lighting, and power for general electrical appliances as well as heating, ventilation and hot water systems.

Drainage
A totally separate system for drainage would be suitable for the residential scheme, due to any possible contaminated water being emitted into the surface water sewer if another system was in place. The possibility of graywater could be looked at: the water from the many sinks, showers or washing machines (graywater) can be recycled for irrigation in some areas. A totally separate system utilises two separate sewers one for waste water and another for surface water. These sewers never mix as surface water is fed directly to outfalls such as rivers without treatment, and all waste is fed to treatment works. Advantages are a smaller amount of waste treatment is required. Disadvantages are possible contamination of water courses through wrong connections, and no facility to contain spills is possible. Appendix A shows a simple diagram of a totally separate system Sustainable drainage systems or S.U.D.S is a system that aims to replicate the natural drainage of a site before development.(CIRIA Suds Manual) SUDS can be a more sustainable than conventional methods of drainage, as they mitigate adverse effects of storm water run off on the environment. One simple way this could be incorporated into either of the two schemes is the use of pervious surfaces, possibly in a car park, as shown in Appendix B
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HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

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Assignment 2

Gas Supply
Residential Building For the primary heating and hot water system, I would recommend a condensing boiler incorporated into an indirect system. This type of boiler offers an annual average efficiency of 85% compared with about 70% for a standard type, depending on the make and model. (Harrison 2000) This reduction in energy used, also has a positive environmental effect. Though the initial purchase cost may be more expensive. This system would be a centralised larger version of a domestic system, installed in a boiler room and vented externally. This system would also incorporate heating radiators.

Water supply
Mains cold water is supplied to the building under pressure via a pipe network fed by reservoirs and water towers fed through a treatment plant. These plants filter and treat the water to bring it up to drinking quality. This would obviously be required for both developments Cold water supply:
y

The Indirect System In this system drinking quality water is normally only available at the sink generally located in the kitchen of a dwelling. The rest of the system is supplied by a cistern usually located in the roof space. This system is the more expensive option as the is more pipe work involved, however there is a reduced risk of back siphoning and a large quantity of water is always held in reserve. Appendix C shows a diagram of this type of system.

Hot water supply: Due to the number of residents and the number of bathrooms and water outlets within the residential building, I recommend the Indirect System of Hot Water Supply, with multiple cold water feeds and a number of cold water storage tanks fitted in the loft space, provided as back up. This system would offer protection to the elderly residents from, scalding due to reduced pressure, and the possibility of drawing scalding water directly from the boiler. As there are a lot of bathrooms that would contain showers, the need for multiple rising mains is justified.
y

HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

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Indirect system This system incorporates an indirect cylinder, so called because the primary hot water from the boiler exchanges its heat indirectly through a heat exchanger to the hot water supply, there being no connection between the water from the boiler and the hot water supply. This not only reduces scale formation but also protects against the possibility of scalding. This system is more expensive than a direct system but requires less maintenance, and also reduces the possibility of a drop in pressure when using other sanitary equipment. Appendix D shows a diagram of this type of system

Design Principles

Assignment 2

Finance
Every construction project brings with it financial implications, this section aims to show the various options available for sourcing and funding, with an emphasis on whole life costing for the project. Whole life costing is The systematic consideration of all relevant costs and revenues associated with the ownership of an asset This includes future maintenance, replacement and general running costs as well as the initial construction cost and installation of systems cost. As an example, operational expenditure can be between 5-10 times as much as capital cost for a typical building over a 30 year period. Therefore the following points need to be considered during design to help with the whole life costing of a project:
y y y y y y

Is it to be retained, refurbished or sold Is an initial higher cost justified over long term running or maintenance costs(materials or systems) Is the building to be adaptable/alternative design(Framed or load bearing structure) Alternative specifications(Timber or plastic windows) Simpler shape/Outline is generally a lower unit cost Entrance halls, corridors can be regarded as dead space(non-profitable)

As you are to be the owner operator of the finished building and you have concerns about the environmental impact and sustainability both during and post construction, whole life costing should play an important role during the design of this project. The different ways of funding a project can be categorised as either; Debt or Equity. Equity This is the less likely of the two, and is where funds are generated by the sale of an asset, the sale of part of a company (the selling of shares). Debt More common within construction, funding this way has many different options;
y

Bank Loans

HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

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These are usually secured against an asset of the company. Depending upon the type of loan, rates can be fixed or fluctuate with interest rates, but are normally for a fixed period of up to 3 years on a short term loan. The short term loan normally funds a construction project prior to the selling off of the finished project, or is then replaced with a long term loan such as a mortgage. Loans secured against assets will normally charge lower interest than those which are not as there is less risk to the lender.

Design Principles

Assignment 2

Mortgage

These are normally repaid over a 25 year period, where a deed is signed by the purchaser granting rights over the property to the lender should the borrower default on the mortgage. They can be used by companies but are normally secured against an asset such as land or buildings. Loans secured against assets will normally charge lower interest than those which are not as there is less risk to the lender.
y

Credit Card

This is a more flexible option than a loan as it provides a cash flow to use as and when required, rather than giving you a lump sum of money. An amount agreed has to be repaid monthly or charges are incurred. These generally have higher interest rates than loans.
y

Overdraught

Again, this offers a ready cash flow where by you can withdraw as and when you like up to an agreed limit. A monthly charge on the amount overdrawn is incurred and interest rates are generally higher than with loans and mortgages.
y

Trade Credit

This is similar to a credit card, but is solely for wholesalers and builders merchants where by contractors may purchase materials on credit and agree with the merchants to repay so much back on a monthly basis.
y

Private Finance Incentives (PFIs)

This method of funding is ideal for a client who does not wish to raise the funds for a capital asset. In this system the client agrees favourable terms with private investors/contractors to complete the construction of the project. The client then agrees to lease the building off the investors/contractors over a long period of time usually 30 years. During this time the client pays rent for the use of the building and it is maintained by the contractors whom built it. Once the lease has expired the client will the have the option to purchase the building. This method of project financing is becoming more and more popular particularly with the government in the building of schools and hospitals.
y

Grants

HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

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All finances mentioned up to this point have to be repaid with some form of interest or reward for investment. Grants which do not have to be repaid by the receiver are available for specific purposes or in certain areas, from sources such as the EU, the UK and Local government as well as other organisations. Grants are normally awarded for projects or the use of systems and materials in projects that have sustainability in mind, the following are examples where funding is generally available and may be an option for your project:

Design Principles

Assignment 2

y y y y y y

The reclamation and reuse of brown field sites is a core component of the UK Sustainable Development Strategy(www.sustainablebuild.co.uk) Solar Panels Home Insulation Double glazing Solar PV feed in tariff(Financial benefit of putting energy back into the national grid) Environmentally friendly materials -Aggregate blocks (high recycled content) -Wood fibre insulation boards -Thermalite blocks from pulverised ash -Wood fibre clad walling systems

Waste Materials
Every year the construction industry produces approximately 2.45 tonnes of waste for every person living in the UK, this type of site waste is harmful to the environment (www.netregs.gov.uk). To help with this problem Defra has now introduced Site Waste Management Plans (SWMP), which are now a legal requirement in England for construction projects begun after 6th April 2008, worth over 300,000. Too often disposal is the only option looked at, but this should be a last resort if other options are less environmentally friendly. However, now more than ever environmental aspects and the way we deal with waste material are being looked into. Ideally, waste should be thought about at the design stage of a project as the following green/waste hierarchy will show: There are four options other than disposal that should be considered for environmentally safe waste disposal:
y y y y

Reduce Reuse Recycle Recover Energy

Reduce This option is also called waste minimisation, prior planning is essential for this to be effective methods include
y Design for low waste y Using longer lasting products, build for durability y Use less material in manufacturing and/or building y Design with reusing and recycling in mind This can be incorporated into the original design of the building by designing the building to be adaptable and minimising the requirement for over ordering through good site management.

HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

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Reuse Reuse is the efficient use of waste products without the need for further processing. The kinds of items that can be easily reused are Whole timbers such as rafters, floorboards and doors Complete roofing tiles/slates Bricks especially those used in buildings of pre 1940 construction due to the use of hydraulic limed mortars making for easy reclamation and reuse. y Steel girders and rolled steel joists can be reused if removed with care y Also antique items such as fireplaces, wooden beams and sanitary ware can be removed and reused prior to demolition. This can be incorporated into the original design of a building by using materials that can be easily reused as shown above.
y y y

Recycle The recycling of products is where the reclaimed materials are remanufactured for a new use. It must be noted that this requires using more energy as processes are involved. Here are some examples of reclaimed materials and there new uses
y y y y

Concrete can be crushed to be used as an aggregate or for hard core Masonry can also be crushed for use as hard core Metals steel and aluminium can easily be recycled at low cost Timber various methods including the manufacture of chipboard

This can be incorporated into the original design of a building by ensuring that any materials unable to be reused are suitable for recycling where possible. Also just coming into use in the UK is something called OSD (Orientated strand board) which is now being used in timber frame construction, which is a possible method of construction for the residential building with sustainability in mind. The panels sandwich a layer of insulation or foam, the wooden panels are made of waste timber that has been compacted together. Recover Energy This option would typically involve the incineration of materials with heat recovery being the outcome. This can be done with separated materials such as timber, plastic and rubber or with mixed waste received by municipal incinerators. The heat produced can be used in district heating schemes. This can be incorporated into the original design of a building by using as many non-toxic substances that may be incinerated when reuse or recycling is not possible or viable.

HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

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Disposal On 16 July 2005 the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations and the List of Wastes (England) Regulations come into force replacing the Special Waste Regulations. Hazardous Waste is often used in the UK to generally describe waste which contains hazardous substance(s) in a quantity liable to cause death, injury or impairment to living beings, pollution of waters, or an unacceptable impact on the environment if it is not properly treated, handled or disposed of (www.envocare.co.uk). Many everyday products such as fluorescent tubes, TVs, computer monitors and even some paints and batteries are now classed as hazardous waste. To dispose of hazardous wastes you must comply with the Hazardous Waste Regulations or possibly face a fine of up to 5,000 and or 2 years in prison. Before any waste leaves your premises, you must notify your regulator (Environmental Agency) and fill in parts A and B of a consignment note. When hazardous waste from a domestic property is moved separately to a central collection point, such as a household waste recycling centre, the regulations apply from the central collection point. You may also want to ask a waste management contractor to notify and dispose of the waste for you, though you will be responsible for ensuring the information about the waste is correct.

Energy Saving Options

As you have a concern for sustainability and the environment and therefore in keeping post construction costs down. As well as supporting the current government legislations on environment safety, I have incorporated the following energy saving options into the report: Option 1 An option for energy, sustainability and the environment is photo voltaic panels or B.I.P.V. (Building Integrated Photovoltaics) these semi-transparent thin-film panels can substitute building materials for example glass, and generate electricity, therefore reducing electricity bills. They have virtually no maintenance or servicing, no emissions or noise and require no fuelling, and are also aesthetically pleasing. This type of system helps protect the environment and reduce global warming by using renewable energy. (Building Engineer 2001) This option would not only reduce post construction energy costs and help with whole life costing as part of the residential building faade, but also supports sustainability and the governments drive on environment safety. Appendix E shows an example of this option. Option 2 For the main lighting within the building, high energy efficient fluorescent units and energy saving lamps would be installed, which would contribute to energy conservation. Any small offices, store rooms and toilets within the building could utilise sensor controlled lighting, which minimises the chance of lights being left on, whilst rooms are left vacant, and therefore reducing energy costs.

HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

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Option 3 The earth is a massive storage device that absorbs around 47% of the suns energy, on average a house sits on 10 times the amount of heat it needs, which is constantly being renewed by the suns rays. A company called Geoscience who works with Britspace have developed a system called EarthEnergy to harness this power by absorbing energy from the earth and transferring it into the house using highly efficient heat pumps. By installing this system around 75% of the heating energy will be provided by the renewable energy stored in the ground. This energy saving is not only great for the whole life costing of your project but also supports the current governments target to produce 10% of electricity from renewable sources by 2010 and at the same time reduce CO2 emissions by 20%. Option 4 Thermal Insulation is probably the most common method of reducing energy costs within construction. It is a passive product, as once it is installed it works efficiently, quietly and continually, there are many reasons why using a high specification of cavity wall insulation would be beneficial to your proposed development:
y y y

to comply with mandatory legislation i.e. Building Regulations for the conservation of fuel and power to reduce heat loss/heat gain to reduce running/energy costs

Appendix F shows a case study of how high performance insulation was used to achieve high standards of thermal integrity for the building, and therefore reduce post construction energy costs and impact on the whole life costing of the development. Option 5 Solar thermal panel systems or solar hot water systems convert the sun's energy into hot water. The water is then used for washing, bathing, etc. Up to one third of your hot water can be supplied by a solar thermal system which also has the added advantage of reducing Carbon Dioxide emissions. Although this type of solar hot water system does not heat the water used for central heating, as the residential building houses many residents with many bathrooms, the saving on the heating of water will be well worth the initial installation cost and will benefit whole life costing. Also, a grant is most likely to be available to help with this cost as this system supports the current UK governments legislation on environment safety. These systems can also be used for heating swimming pools. An example of a Solar Panel system is in Appendix G

HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

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Benefits of Software Apps

In recent years there have been many technological advances made in the world of construction, most of which have benefited the changing face of the industry. Two of the main advances increasingly being used in todays industry are Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) and the Software Applications. The 1st part of this section will look at the benefits of using Software Applications in construction.

The London 2012 Olympic Games big build is almost half way through now, still with two years till completion, and after reading a project report from 2008 about it, I can understand even more why the use of the internet and IT software continues to change and benefit the construction industry. Throughout both design and construction phases of the project, huge amounts of documentation will have been generated. A word processing application will be in use for many different documents. With a staff requirement estimate of around 20,000 people across the site over the life cycle of the project, documents such as job advertisements and CVs, contracts of employment are needed. With the media attention, press notices will be needed. As will tendering documents, Health & Safety files, Quality procedure documents etc. Although on a smaller scale, the use of this type of application will undoubtedly be of benefit to your project. The use of spreadsheets would be vast for the amount of design calculations involved; a few examples will be heat loss calculations, surveying calculations, structural calculations, and earthwork calculations. The Olympic stadium, weighing 11,000t is estimated to be one of the lightest in the world (NCE 2008), in the design stage many calculations using many spreadsheet formulas may have been used to eventually reach this figure. Databases will be used for storing massive amounts of data, many of them with contact details that can quickly and easily be filtered and extracted when required. They will have databases for the likes of design consultants, local and service authorities as well as subcontractors. The ODA in 2008 had already placed 2bn worth of work with 650 companies. (NCE 2008) The details of these companies would be stored on a database. A word processing mail merge facility could have been used to send letters about staff training schedules for these companies. The internet obviously plays a major role, as does an intranet, for communication and exchange of information by individual companies with offices spread throughout the UK. Also, an extranet can benefit groups of companies working on a particular project. As shown by Morrison and Nuttall, demolition companies on the Olympic project that got together to demonstrate a commitment to deliver by finding ways to solve problems. (NCE 2008)

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Paul Jones

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Personal computers have helped bring design efficiency, by simplifying building geometry and minimizing waste by designing for standard ceiling heights and building dimensions, therefore avoiding waste. An application that has been part of this efficiency is CAD. Computer Aided Design (CAD) has largely superseded manual drawings in construction for many reasons, the development of computers and electronic communications has changed the way that drawings can be produced. Complex drawings can be prepared as shown in Appendix H that would be difficult or even impossible to create manually. Some advantages of CAD include the following:
y

The size of manually produced drawings is limited by the size of the drawing board and the ability of the draughts person. There is no limit to the size of CAD drawings. The computer can transform basic information to generate alternative views, particularly 3D images based on 2D plans and elevations. Drawings can be stored and retrieved conveniently without the need for large, filing cabinets. Repetitive elements such as columns or window reveals can be copied from a standard library of elements and quickly duplicated.

Some case studies that have benefited from Software Apps at various stages Aquatic centre (Planning Stage) This arena is visually, the most dramatic, with a wave like roof that has two seating wings either side that have a capacity of 15,000, with a core 2,500-seat centre, giving the Aquatics centre in total a capacity of 17,500. The design of the Aquatics centre has changed numerous times mainly due to a cost issue. The total cost of the project has multiplied more than threefold. This has lead to changes at the Planning stage. The original plan was for the two seating wings either side to be a permanent part of the structure, but the design has now been changed and these are now temporary and will be removed after the games, leaving a 2,500 capacity Aquatics centre that will be continued to be in use to full capacity. These two wings will also have the flexibility to be fitted back in, if an event requires it. The use of CAD at this stage in planning is that changes in design are easier to make.

HNC Construction

Paul Jones

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Page Moss housing office (Design Stage) This is a project that my employer Knowsley Housing Trust is currently involved with. KHT is redeveloping a Housing Office in Page Moss, Huyton. The building has recently been purchased from the local authority and KHT are in the process of redeveloping it to suit their needs. When the project is at Design stage CAD can be beneficial as you can use a program such as CATO (Computer Aided Take Off) which will analyse the CAD drawings and produce a full take off and bills of quantities. Take offs and bills of quantities have traditionally been done by hand by Quantity Surveyors and add time to the process, using CATO, which only works with CAD drawings, shortens the time required for this stage of the process significantly.

Olympic village (Construction) The Olympic Village is currently in the construction stage and will accommodate athletes and officials during the London 2012 Games. After the Games the Village will provide 2,818 new homes for east London, 1,379 of which will be affordable. After the games has finished, the Olympic village will have another construction stage to go through as the conversion into affordable homes begins. When changes are made on site to items such as internal walls, the drawings can be altered easily using CAD, rather than the draughtsman spending a lot of time making the revisions. Any variations and significant changes to design can be billed by using CAD and the bolt on of CATO programs. When under construction stage the drawings can be easier to transfer across site on a portable storage device rather than carrying lots of drawings on paper. These original drawings can then easily be recalled, used and altered to help convert the Olympic apartments into homes to suit the new occupants of east London.

HNC Construction

Paul Jones

June 2010

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Benefits of MMC
In general terms, (MMC) modern methods of construction mean basically the manufacture of house or building parts off site in a specialist factory that are then assembled on site. Some examples of the wide and varied range of schemes using modern methods of construction include:
y y y y y

Timber Frame Light Steel Frame Thin Joint Block work Timber Stick-build Timber Panel Systems A construction company called Denne were actually the first in the country to use the technique of on site fabrication and assembly of light steel frame. Back in 2003, they constructed a 4.5m nursing home in Buckinghamshire using thin-joint block work, which was the largest building in the UK constructed using this system at the time. www.denneconstruction.co.uk/modern-methods.html I feel the use of MMC can greatly benefit the residential building in the following ways:

y y y y y y y y

Increase the speed of construction Reduce overall cost due to less skilled labour required Increase energy efficiency Reduce the on-site construction time Quick and efficient to use Improve quality Improve environmental and sustainable performance Increase time savings

A simple example of how MMC can benefit your development is by using a modern trussed rafter roof. As this is prefabricated off site and there is less skill is involved, fewer mistakes are made, fewer accidents happen, therefore is quicker and cheaper than a traditional labour intensive roof.

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Paul Jones

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Kingframe Architectural Facade System

(http://www.mmcalliance.org/case_studies.htm )

As a case study I have included in Appendix I an excellent example of how MMC could benefit the residential building considerably. It shows how Kingspan have developed a complete through wall system that includes a steel frame through to an external faade carrier system. This type of MMC building has many benefits including, reduced construction speed/ cost, reduced labour numbers and skills, weather proof building envelope achieved quicker, no wet trades required, zero waste means no skips required and many more. I feel this is an excellent example of how construction as a whole has benefited from MMC. From increased energy efficiency and improved environmental and sustainable performance, to improved quality and a reduction in construction time. These benefits along with the many benefits of software applications can and will benefit the design and construction process of your residential development.

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Paul Jones

June 2010

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