AUTHORITY BUIL DING& MA INT ENA NCE
SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS & PUBLIC BUILDINGS
DOORS, WINDOWS & HARDWARE
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION & TECHNOLOGY
Dr Anna Pagani, Senior Lecturer at King’s College London, discusses how a housebuilding moratorium could provide the homes we actually need
To fix the housing crisis, we need to solve the skills shortage, says David Lewis, Executive Director at L&Q
THE LEADING MAGAZINE FOR LOCAL AUTHORITY AND HOUSING ASSOCIATION SPECIFIERS
5 Comment
Confidence Boost for the Sector
6 News
Research into airtightness testing
Delivering Net Zero in Social Housing report – Procure Plus saves its clients £30m Housing Community Summit
8 Project Update
Award-winning housing development in Hemel Hempstead Rishi Sunak MP visits Karbon Homes’ new housing scheme Union Technical transforms flats in Kirkintilloch for Hanover Scotland
10 Industry Comment
Matthew Warburton, Policy Advisor at the Association of Retained Council Housing, discusses the implications of the Spending Review for councils
12 Shining a Light on Trade Careers L&Q’s Executive Director, David Lewis, highlights what the housing association is doing to create more construction skills apprenticeships
SPECIAL REPORTS
15 A moratorium on housebuilding
Dr Anna Pagani from King’s College London discusses how a housebuilding moratorium could provide the homes we actually need
18 Navigating the Building Safety Act
The benefits of timber and achieving building safety compliance
20 View From the Supply Chain
Magnet offers advice on delivering social housing kitchen refurbishment projects
21 Schools and the Heat Decarbonisation Challenge
The barriers and opportunities to accelerate decarbonisation in schools
24 Working in Live Environments Delivering successful retrofit projects in live environments
26 Air Quality and Wellbeing in Schools
Guidance on how to improve IAQ in schools through effective ventilation
Round-up
The importance of daylighting in education and healthcare facilities and how this can be achieved
Door Hardware for HMOs
Advice on specifying door hardware for houses of multiple occupancy
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In June, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a monumental £39bn for affordable housing, a potential ‘gamechanger’ for tackling the housing crisis, especially in cities like London Paul Dolan, Chief Executive of housing association Riverside, describes it as “ a historic and ground-breaking funding settlement for social landlords,” a desperately needed boost that “will give Riverside and the wider sector greater certainty over funding throughout the next decade”
There’s no doubt the funding will play a significant role in enabling social housing providers to deliver more, higher quality homes, and the certainty in rent policy announced through the introduction of a 10-year rent settlement should help attract further investment into the sector After years of uncertainty and underfunding, these measures are extremely welcome
The sector has campaigned strenuously for a long-term funding settlement to provide greater financial security, as Phil Andrew, Chief Executive at Orbit says, “to make strategic investments that balance our need to upgrade the homes of our existing customers, whilst building new high quality affordable homes for our communities”
As well as offering “ a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make a significant dent in the social housing challenge,” Mark Powell, Managing Director for EDAROTH, believes the funding “could unlock innovation and rapidly increase the build rate of new homes” too Exciting times for a sector with the appetite to build and deliver new homes to higher environmental standards using pioneering construction methods
The £13bn announced in the Spending Review for the Warm Homes Plan is also expected to have a significant impact in helping to address the energy efficiency of existing homes and reduce energy bills This is vital when you consider more than 11% of households (2 73 million people) were in fuel poverty last year, according to data from The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Another significant development is the creation of a new National Housing Bank, a subsidiary of Homes England Some of the £2 5bn in low-cost
“ After year s of uncer tainty and underfunding, these measures are extremely welcome.”
loans announced in the Spending Review will be deployed to support the construction of new social and affordable housing
However challenges still remain, not least when it comes to council budgets In the capital, the “modest overall increase to council funding means boroughs’ budgets still face an ‘extremely difficult’ outlook in the immediate term and ‘serious risks’ to financial stability”, warns London Councils Other challenges include tackling building safety, and damp and mould in existing homes, all of which requires significant investment and are major priorities for housing providers, with new legislation enforcing tougher action and potential low gradings from the Regulator for those who don’t comply
In addition, the UK has been facing a construction skills shortage for some years L&Q’s David Lewis says to “fix the housing crisis, we need to solve the skills shortage” Turn to page 12 to find out how the housing association, which employs 400 trade professionals, is addressing this challenge, creating new opportunities through construction trade apprenticeships
At the time of writing, government has just set an ambitious target ‘to deliver around 300,000 new social and affordable homes through the £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme’ and ‘at least 60% (180,000) of those homes will be for social rent’
A lot has changed in the last 12 months while I’ve been on maternity leave and the recent round of funding announcements and targets will provide a much needed, significant boost to the sector Undoubtedly challenges remain, but I’m looking forward to seeing the impact these important funding settlements have and the ambitious projects that will be delivered through them
Report explores heat pump deployment in social housing
Mitsubishi Electric and Sovereign Network Group (SNG) have launched a new report exploring the deployment of heat pumps in social housing
With the number of households spending more than 10% of their income on heating surging, the report trials the deployment of heat pumps in SNG’s properties and has found installing one can bring significant cost savings
The report found:
● Heat pumps can provide significant cost savings with one SNG resident saving around £700 per year on energy bills
● Heat pumps can be installed in as little as two days 40% quicker than the average installation time
● Contrary to what homeowners think, they don’t require a complete retrofit and can be installed alongside existing radiators and pipework
You can download a copy of the new report here www.rdr.link/lay001
Council takes first step to market key gateway site
Liverpool City Council has appointed global real estate advisory firm, CBRE, to prepare the recently acquired Great George Street site for the delivery of a mixed-use regeneration scheme CBRE will provide professional support in developing a business case to define the optimum vision and route to market for the key city centre brownfield gateway site CBRE has teamed up with Liverpoolbased architect firm, Brock Carmichael, to work on the design element of the business case, and will undertake early market and community engagement to inform the proposals
Researchers from Leeds Beckett University have found that a test used to measure the energy efficiency of UK homes may be flawed.
Airtightness ‘blower door’ tests, known as fan pressurisation tests, tell how leaky a home is and therefore how much heat is lost through cracks and gaps around windows, doors and floors and where services penetrate through walls, ceilings and floors
These tests help determine how energy-efficient our homes are and what EPC grade a home gets, as well as checking that it has sufficient ventilation to avoid damp and mould
The research identified that the test could overestimate air leakage by around 20% in semi-detached and terraced homes, because air is being forced into neighbouring homes, which the test doesn’t account for
Professor David Glew, Director of the Leeds Sustainability Institute at Leeds Beckett University says: “The blower door test is a fantastic tool to check how buildings perform, and we hope our research can help improve the test The inter-dwelling air exchange we have observed could be quite a serious issue for semi-detached and terraced homes, which may be being penalised as being too draughty, when in reality they are not, and so could be erroneously given a worse rated EPC
“Also, because the test says these homes are getting more fresh air than they are in
reality, there is a risk that they are being assessed as not needing any additional mechanical ventilation, and so they could end up being under ventilated, which might be causing damp and mould issues
“Our findings raise question marks around current airtightness testing protocols, which is especially problematic as there is so much emphasis on ventilation, energy efficiency and mould now The standards might need to be revised or adapted to account for this new finding, but we need to understand more about it by doing further tests in more homes It may be that this affects some house construction types more than others, and we haven’t even started looking at how this affects flats ”
Hundreds of thousands of fan pressurisation tests take place each year, most are undertaken to make sure new homes comply with Building Regulations, but more and more are used to measure air leakage in older homes before and after retrofits take place, and this new research has implications for millions of tests that have taken place over the last few decades in the UK, as well as those that have been undertaken in other countries
To learn more, the research article can be found here www rdr link/lay004
transactions managed over the year These programmes directly supported 113 people into work, while clients benefited from greater supply chain efficiencies and smarter use of catalogues and systems, resulting in significant savings on materials and delivery
Procure Plus has saved its clients £30m in the last year through its frameworks
Spending through Procure Plus frameworks surged to £232m in 24/25 a £24m increase on the previous year as more clients turned to the not-for-profit to deliver value for money This growth has been driven by a surge in Decent Homes type works, including kitchens, bathrooms, heating systems and roofing
Responsive repairs also remained a key area of activity, with over 4 1 million
An increased focus on tackling damp and mould issues has seen 6,603 ventilation measures being installed and the commissioning of 32,470 stock condition surveys, as landlords aim to gather detailed insights into their housing portfolios This demand also created jobs and upskilling opportunities for people previously distant from the labour market
Matt Jarratt, Operations Lead of Procure Plus, says: “We know our clients are facing increasing pressure to deliver more for less, while tackling complex issues like damp and mould and meeting Decent Homes standards
“Our latest figures reflect not just the savings we deliver, but the wider impact of our work Every framework is designed to maximise social value from helping people into work and addressing skills shortages, to improving systems and supply chains so clients get the best results from every pound they spend ”
NEC Contracts held its annual conference in June at One Great George Street in Westminster, bringing together over 200 construction and infrastructure professionals for a day focused on "Shaping the Future: Striving for Excellence, Innovation and Collaboration”
The event featured valuable panel discussions, presentations and interactive break-out sessions on a wide range of critical challenges and strategies, including climate resilience and achieving net zero, innovation, supply chain volatility, digitalisation, as well as attracting and retaining a future
workforce The one-day event also offered a first look of the upcoming NEC Digital, a new online drafting tool designed to enhance how users interact with NEC's collaborative contract portfolio, alongside the presentation of this year's Martin Barnes Awards
The Housing Community Summit Run over two days on the 8th and 9th September at the Exhibition Centre in Liverpool, the event is a collaboration between the National Housing Federation (NHF) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and provides an opportunity to debate the future of social housing
The conference sessions will cover a variety of key topics, from decoding the Spending Review, building at scale to meet local housing need, building safety, decarbonisation and the net zero challenge, to how to fund the future of social housing and delivering large-scale regeneration
For more information and details on how to register for the event here: www.rdr.link/lay002
New Building Safety Act CPD Daikin, a global leader in climate control solutions, has expanded its Continuing Professional Development (CPD) presentation series, with the addition of a new course that delves into the detail of the Building Safety Act
The new CPD module, ‘The Building Safety Act: What Does it Change for the Building Industry’, takes a closer look at the key developments and, in particular, how they will affect the HVAC aspects of a project It covers: the background to the changes; how to identify ‘high risk’ buildings; new roles and responsibilities; the Golden Thread; the new Gateways systems; and how to identify the right HVAC partner
The CPD material has been rigorously assessed by The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
To find out more or to book a CPD presentation, please visit www.rdr.link/lay003
Dacorum Borough Council has marked the completion of its award-winning Mountbatten View development in Hemel Hempstead Residents joined councillors, our housing team and representatives from our building partner Bugler Developments in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the site on St Albans Road, formerly known as Paradise Fields
The development was named Residential Project of the Year in the Herts and Beds Construction Excellence Awards It also celebrated winning gold in the Hertfordshire Building Control Awards in the Best New Housing Development category (10+ units)
New tenant Kim Spurgeon was at the opening event on Wednesday 4th June and said moving into Mountbatten View has changed her life Kim said: “It’s completely changed my way of living I’m in an adapted property and it means
I can do more around the flat for myself and get about more The flat is lovely with everything I need and the gardens are so peaceful and calm I wake up smiling every day ”
The 58 new apartments, in three new blocks have high levels of thermal insulation, with heating provided by communal air source heat pumps There is a landscaped community garden at the centre of the development, linking to an existing wildflower meadow and woodland walk The tree-lined parking courtyards have Electric Vehicle charging points All homes are available for social rent
Cllr Simy Dhyani, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Property Services comments: “I’m incredibly proud to see our double award-winning Mountbatten View development completed It’s been so lovely to meet some of the new residents and to hear how it’s changed
their lives to be living here This development is an important step forward in delivering high quality affordable homes for people in the borough ” Andy Bugler, CEO Bugler Group, says: ”The design and execution of these 58 new build affordable apartments is a credit to all involved and it comes as no surprise that the development has already received two industry awards with hopefully more to follow It was a pleasure to meet several of the new residents who I’m sure will enjoy many happy years in their new homes ” Image shows: Cllr Simy Dhyani, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Property Services cutting the ribbon joined by Leader of the Council, Cllr Sally Symington, new tenants, councillors, members of our Housing team and representatives from Bugler Developments
Rishi Sunak MP visited a new affordable housing scheme under construction in the North Yorkshire village of East Cowton, commending it as a vital project for ensuring that people can continue to live, work, and raise their families in the village
Mr Sunak was welcomed by Paul Fiddaman, Group Chief Executive of housing association behind the development, Karbon Homes, and representatives from Adderstone Living, the construction partner delivering the 68-home development
The site tour included a visit to the homes under construction, a discussion with Site Manager Peter Jackson, and the opportunity to meet several members of the local workforce Also in attendance were Cllr Elaine Simpson from East Cowton Parish Council and members of Karbon Homes’ development team
Magna Rise will include a mix of one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom homes 15 for affordable rent, seven for social rent, seven for shared ownership, and 39 available through Rent to Buy
All homes are being constructed to high environmental standards, using timber frame construction, and incorporating solar PV panels and air source heat pumps to improve energy efficiency and reduce running costs for residents
The development has the support of East Cowton Parish Council, with Chairman Councillor Elaine Simpson also joining the visit A Section 106 agreement ensures that the affordable and social rent homes are initially offered to people with a local connection to East Cowton
Mr Sunak said: "It’s fantastic to see this high quality, community-led
development taking shape here in East Cowton Projects like this are vital for ensuring that people can continue to live, work, and raise their families in the villages they love It was great to meet the team making it happen and to see firsthand how these new homes will make a real difference to the future of this area "
in Kirkintilloch transformed with award-winning £2.1m energy
Union Technical has completed a landmark retrofit project upgrading 35 flats at Kelvin Court, Kirkintilloch Delivered in partnership with Hanover Scotland Housing Association, Union Technical fully upgraded 35 flats for elderly and vulnerable residents with installations including a full roof upgrade, solar PV installation, cavity and external wall insulation, high heat retention storage heaters, triple glazed PVC-U windows, among other energy efficiency upgrades
The project has led to an estimated annual energy savings of 132,161 kWh, improving the flat EPC rating from D to B and reducing carbon emissions by 65 58 tonnes each year Additionally, tenants are benefiting from substantial financial savings, with the average energy cost per flat coming down from £539 to £268
Recognised for its successes, this project was named the winner of the
Matthew Warburton, Policy Advisor at the Association of Retained Council Housing (ARCH), discusses the Gover nment’s new homes target, the recent Spending Review and the potential to reinvigorate council housebuilding
In its 2024 Manifesto, Labour set a target of 1 5 million new homes over the current Parliament Shelter and others estimated that, to meet housing need, around 30% of these would need to be social rent, or 90,000 homes a year In a 2023 interview with Inside Housing, Matthew Pennycook, then Labour’s Housing lead, now Minister of State for Housing and Planning, said he was ‘supportive’ of the 90,000 a year ambition, although it would not be realistic for the first year of a new Government Chancellor Rachel Reeves, at Autumn Budget 2024, promised steps ‘to kickstart the biggest increase to social and affordable housing in a generation’
Last month’s Spending Review allocated £39bn over 10 years for a new Affordable Housing Programme nearly double the annual amount available since 2021 under the current AHP. The new AHP, says the Government, “will prioritise social rent but will also fund a mix of tenures including affordable rent and shared ownership”
Eamon Boylan, interim CEO of Homes England, told the Housing 2025 Conference, that social rent homes would be “front and centre” in the new AHP But is this all enough to deliver the 90,000 homes a year that are needed?
So far, the Government has been uncharacteristically reluctant to state how many affordable homes can be built with the money it has provided This may be a good sign A lot has changed since Labour set out its 1.5 million homes target in 2023 Construction costs have risen faster than general inflation, reflecting
shortages in both materials and key construction skills Interest rates have jumped in response to Trump tariffs and rising global tensions.
To commit to a specific target for affordable homes could lead to money being switched from social rent to shared ownership to meet the target if the economy does not improve Matters will be clearer when Homes England publishes its prospectus for the new AHP.
There is little doubt that, provided the land is found and planning permission obtained, housing associations will have little difficulty in expanding their AHPfunded contribution to supply, although the future of s106-funded homes is less certain But Labour’s rhetoric has consistently emphasised the revitalisation of council housebuilding, and Ministers are taking a close interest in the commitment and capacity of councils to take advantage of the new funding, now that the threat that new stock will be lost through Right to Buy has been substantially reduced
Financial priorities
Are councils ready to respond? In many cases, yes, but the overall position is likely to be uneven Over the last three years, financial priorities and managerial attention have shifted from building new homes to investing in the existing housing stock, unavoidably in many councils given the need to demonstrate compliance with the Decent Homes Standard, meet new building and fire safety standards, and prepare for the introduction of Awaab’s Law in October
“
Eamon Boylan, inter im CEO of Homes England, told the Housing 2025 Conference, that social rent homes would be “front and centre” in the new AHP . ”
This has put some HRAs under much more pressure than others and will continue to do so despite the Spending Review decision on a 10-year rent settlement at CPI + 1%, plus a yet-to-bedetermined allowance for convergence
These income increases will take several years to ease HRA deficits, in the meantime councils must make do
Faced with the choice between complying with new laws and responding to a low grading from the Regulator or planning new council homes on potentially unpopular sites, it is understandable if council leaderships decide that the first task is more urgent
Even more so in those districts which are about to undergo reorganisation The Government needs to consider a campaign to motivate councils to build new council homes, backed with a package of support to help those that might struggle to respond.
www.arch-housing.org.uk
Founded in 1949, heating controls manufacturer Drayton has developed some of the most recognisable products in the industry that are used every day across local authorities and housing associations This includes its range of valves, such as the best-selling TRV4 range, which was first launched over three decades ago, and the RT range
Drayton Auto-balancing TRV4 Classic
D r a y t o n T R V S : A p r o v e n
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set t i n gs Th er e i s al so a posi t i v e ‘ of f ’
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TRV4
The m ore prem ium opt ion in Drayt on ’ s TRV range is t he TRV4 W it h t he Classic and W hit e m odels Class 1 rat ed f or ef f iciency by t he European valve m anuf act urers associat ion, it is one of t he m ost energyef f icient TRVs available on t he m arket
The TRV4 also f eat ures a liquid sensor, non-st ick int ernals and a double gland seal t o prot ect against w at er leakage w it h a t op seal t hat allow s rem oval w it hout draining dow n t he syst em , sim ilar t o t he RT4 1 4 The TRV4 has a w ide t em perat ure range, all t he w ay dow n t o f rost up t o a m axim um t em perat ure of 30˚C, and also com es w it h a range-lim it ing pin like t he RT range
Aut o-balancing t echnology
To si m pl i f y syst em bal an ci n g, bot h t h e TR V 4 an d R T4 1 4
r an ge n ow i n cl u des an au t obal an ci n g m odel
Fit t ing t he aut o-balancing TRV4 t akes just a f ew m inut es, and once inst alled and set , w ill ensure t hat radiat ors perm anent ly receive t he correct f low rat e regardless of ot her
TRVs opening and closing or changes t o t he syst em This t echnology is proven t o save an average of 8 8% on energy cost s and ensure no cold spot s around t he propert y
Valve bodies
Th e 1 5m m v al v e body f r om Dr ay t on i s av ai l abl e i n bot h an gl ed, st r ai gh t an d cor n er an gl es, w h i l e a 1 0m m r edu cer body i s av ai l abl e f or m i cr obor e w i t h a bu l l et con n ect or Th e 1 5m m an gl ed body i s m ar ked w i t h a dou bl e h eaded ar r ow, w h i ch i n di cat es i t i s a bi -di r ect i on al body, m ean i n g t h e f l ow can go i n ei t h er di r ect i on an d t h i s al l ow s f or t h e h ead t o be m ou n t ed ei t h er v er t i cal l y or h or i zon t al l y on ei t h er t h e f l ow or r et u r n Lockshield valves are available eit her as separat es or in a pack, in st andard angled or st raight opt ions Lockshields w it h drain of f s are also available, including a t ail piece w it h drain of f int egrat ed int o t he m iddle of it
The t rust ed TRVs f or enhanced heat ing perf orm ance
F or 3 3 y ear s, t h e v al v e r an ge f r om
D r ay t on h as set t h e st an dar d f or r el i abi l i t y an d en er gy ef f i ci en cy an d con t i n u es t o be t h e f u t u r e-r eady ch oi ce f or h ou si n g associ at i on s
■ For more information on Drayton’s range of heating controls and thermostatic radiator valves, visit www.draytoncontrols.co.uk
S h i n i n g a l i g h t o n
t r a d e c a r e e r s
To fix the housing crisis, we need to solve the skills shortage, says L&Q’s Executive Director, David Lewis.
he housing and construction sector has weathered its fair share of storms Rising inflation, supply chain disruption, repairs backlogs and material shortages have all made the last few years challenging Chief among them is a shrinking workforce
At L&Q, one of the UK’s largest social housing providers, we ’ re proud to employ over 400 trades professionals These roles are vital not just for keeping homes in good repair, but for supporting the very fabric of our society From the schools where children learn, to the hospitals that care for us, and the homes we live in, none of it functions without skilled tradespeople
But many of these professionals are nearing retirement More than a third of people working in construction and the trades are over 50 Vacancies have reached record highs, especially for plumbers, carpenters and electricians
Worryingly, this is happening just as demand is surging Social landlords like us are managing ageing housing stock, delivering vital fire safety improvements, and working towards ambitious net zero targets We’re investing more than ever in repairs and maintenance, yet without the skilled people to do the work, we risk falling short
That’s why we ’ re putting a renewed focus on apprenticeships This summer alone, we ’ re welcoming 20 new recruits, with more to follow later this year
For us, this is a chance to build an experienced, motivated workforce with a
clear understanding of our sector, our values and the needs of residents By training people ourselves, we’ll develop operatives who already know our systems and can hit the ground running
Across the country, thousands of students are sitting their A levels, awaiting results that will shape the next stage of their lives University is the right path for some, but it’s not the only route to a stable and successful career
Apprenticeships have come a long way from the days of tea rounds and photocopying Now, trainees earn while they learn, gain real-world experience, and graduate with a recognised qualification Once qualified, they enjoy job security, a healthy work-life balance, and even the potential to build their own business After all, who isn’t looking for a good plumber?
Of course, creating these jobs is only part of the answer Opportunities need to be visible, supported and properly resourced That’s why, through our Made in Trade campaign, we ’ re shining a light on careers in the trades We’re sharing stories from our apprentices and visiting schools and colleges to show young people the real and lasting value of these roles
We’re also working to challenge outdated stereotypes Repairs and maintenance roles have traditionally been male-dominated, yet women bring the same skills and impact to the table and the
“
s i n t h e t ra d e s ”
toolbox We need to do more to encourage women into these careers and ensure the industry is open and inclusive for everyone
None of this can happen in isolation
Industry, education and government must work together to raise the profile of trades’ careers, attract young and diverse talent, and remove the barriers that hold people back That includes further government investment in apprenticeships, so that more people can master a trade and more employers have the support they need to train them When all of that comes together, everyone benefits
As L&Q invests in existing homes and services, the national housing shortage shows no sign of slowing If we ’ re serious about building and maintaining the homes people need, we must start with the people who make that possible
To solve this crisis, we need young people on board The future of our sector and of housing itself depends on it
Are we building homes for the sake of building? Dr Anna Pagani, Senior Lecturer at King’s College London, discusses how a housebuilding moratorium could provide the homes we actually need.
Th e sev er i t y of t h e U K ’ s h ou si n g cr i si s1 i s ack n ow l edged by m ost of t h e pol i t i cal spect r u m
How ev er, despi t e am bi t i ou s h ou sebu i l di n g t ar get s bei n g set by di f f er en t gov er n m en t s ov er t h e y ear s, t h e sh ar e of soci al h ou si n g a cr u ci al v eh i cl e f or good qu al i t y, af f or dabl e accom m odat i on h as n ear l y h al v ed ( f r om 3 1 % i n 1 97 9 t o 1 6% i n 2023 ) 2
Fu r t h er m or e, h ou sebu i l di n g h as ecol ogi cal con sequ en ces3 i t h ar m s bi odi ver si t y, i n cr eases em i ssi on s, an d m oves t h e U K f u r t h er aw ay f r om i t s car bon r edu ct i on com m i t m en t s
Th e r eal qu est i on , t h en , i s n ot w h et h er w e n eed m or e an d bet t er -qu al i t y af f or dabl e h om es, bu t w h et h er con t i n u ou s h ou sebu i l di n g i s a pat h t o ach i evi n g t h at goal i n a w ay t h at r em ai n s com pat i bl e w i t h i n ecol ogi cal l i m i t s Over w h el m i n g sci en t i f i c evi den ce says t h e an sw er i s n o
I f n ot t h r ou gh gr ow t h , t h en , h ow can w e
r espon d t o t h e h ou si n g cr i si s an d bet t er saf egu ar d t h e pl an et ?
M appi n g syst em i c i ssu es
To an sw er t h i s qu est i on , i n t h e f r am ew or k of a r esear ch pr oj ect on h ou si n g j u st i ce4 , w e i n vol ved Lon don -based En gl i sh h ou si n g associ at i on s i n u si n g syst em s t h i n ki n g t o l ook ben eat h t h e su r f ace of t h e h ou si n g cr i si s t h e ‘t i p of t h e i ceber g ’ t o expl or e t h e deeper pat t er n s, st r u ct u r es, an d bel i ef s t h at h ave sh aped i t over t i m e5
Ou r syst em m aps h el p vi su al i se t h e cou n t er i n t u i t i ve st r u ct u r es t h at u n der pi n t h e pr ovi si on of soci al r en t ed h om es par t i cu l ar l y t h e sect or ’ s r el i an ce on m ar ketr at e h ou si n g con st r u ct i on t o cr osssu bsi di se soci al h ou si n g Th i s cr eat es a cycl e w h er e est at e r edevel opm en t i s pr i or i t i sed as a w ay t o m ai n t ai n exi st i n g h om es, bu t del ays an d l i m i t ed r esou r ces i n cr ease depen den cy on bu i l di n g n ew h om es i n st ead Th e con sequ en ces i n cl u de a sh r i n ki n g su ppl y of good-qu al i t y soci al r en t ed h om es, t h e ph ysi cal an d em ot i on al di spl acem en t of r esi den t s, an d gr ow i n g pr essu r es on bot h st af f an d h ou si n g associ at i on f i n an ces
U sing t he syst em s m ap, w e present ed housing associat ions w it h a challenge: W hat if t here w as a building m orat orium across t he housing sect or? W hat w ould t he im pact on t he social housing syst em be?
A h ou sebu i l di n g m or at or i u m
M or at or i a ar e est abl i sh ed pl an n i n g t ool s u sed t o su spen d h ar m f u l act i vi t i es su ch as soi l seal i n g, i n f r ast r u ct u r e expan si on , an d f ossi l f u el ext r act i on
I n a w orkshop, t he housing associat ions discussed t he opport unit ies and obst acles t o a housebuilding m orat orium These included t he need t o ret hink t heir dependence on a cross-subsidy f inancial m odel of housing provision, t o address t he quant it y, qualit y, and adequacy of t he exist ing st ock, t o f act or project ions of populat ion grow t h int o housing st ock requirem ent s, t o consider t he geographical dist ribut ion of resident s and hom es, as w ell as t he st rengt hs and w eaknesses of exist ing archit ect ure and planning solut ions
B ased on t he w orkshop discussions, our
syst em m aps, and on secondary dat a available f rom report s and scient if ic publicat ions, our st udy proposed a list of key conclusions on w hat a m orat orium could pot ent ially do
1 ) A m or at or i u m cou l d ch al l en ge t h e n at u r e of t h e h ou si n g cr i si s Ou r f i n di n gs don ’ t qu est i on w h et h er t h er e i s a h ou si n g cr i si s, bu t h ow t h i s cr i si s h as been con cept u al i sed Su ppl y h as ou t paced dem an d acr oss En gl an d si n ce
1 9 9 6 6 , an d i t s con st r u ct i on h as a m ar gi n al ef f ect on h ou se pr i ces7
M ean w h i l e, r ecen t st u di es est i m at e t h at t h er e ar e 1 5 m i l l i on u n occu pi ed dw el l i n gs i n En gl an d8 i n cl u di n g v acan t an d secon d h om es Th ese ar e n ot con f i n ed t o
r em ot e ar eas on l y ; dat a9 f r om a r ecen t r epor t 1 0 h av e i den t i f i ed t h e Ci t y of L on don , Cam den , an d K en si n gt on an d Ch el sea am on g t h e l ocal au t h or i t i es con t ai n i n g ‘ gh ost en cl av es ’ ( at l east 25 % of pr oper t i es em pt y or l ar gel y u n occu pi ed) A l t oget h er, on l y abou t h al f of t h e bedr oom s i n En gl an d1 1 ar e u sed t o m eet h ou si n g n eeds, w i t h abou t 1 9 % of t h e h ou si n g st ock h av i n g m or e t h an t w o ex t r a bedr oom s r ai si n g cr i t i cal qu est i on s abou t t h e j u st di st r i bu t i on of space I n t h i s l an dscape, h ou si n g t ar get s ar e set , i n par t i ci pan t s ’ w or ds, ‘ ar bi t r ar i l y ’ , t o ach i ev e gr ow t h , r at h er t h an j u st i ce a goal m at er i al i sed t h r ou gh st r at egi es m ai n l y su ppor t i n g i n v est m en t -l ed con su m pt i on
“As global calls to halt the growth in constr uction gain momentum, there is an urgent need to question housebuilding targets and collectively redesign the relationship between housing needs and housing deliver y.”
2) A moratorium could prompt the implementation of innovative solutions
M an y n at i on al an d i n t er n at i on al exam pl es of pr ov i di n g h ou si n g w i t h i n t h e exi st i n g h ou si n g st ock al r eady exi st , an d r an ge f r om desi gn , pl an n i n g, an d m an agem en t A s f or em pt y h om es, a possi bl e sol u t i on i s t o exem pt h om eow n er s f r om pay i n g
Capi t al Gai n s Tax1 2 w h en sel l i n g f or soci al r en t , a Com m u n i t y R i gh t t o B u y 1 3 , an d st r on ger r egu l at i on s1 4 t o i den t i f y an d l i m i t t h e pr ol i f er at i on of em pt y h om es N ew m odel s of m u l t i gen er at i on al an d
i n t er gen er at i on al h ou si n g1 5 cou l d su ppor t a bet t er space r edi st r i bu t i on acr oss t h e w h ol e h ou si n g sect or
Furt herm ore, m aint aining rat her t han dem olishing t he exist ing housing st ock has been show n1 6 t o be socially, environm ent ally and econom ically bet t er A m orat orium w ould be a clear opport unit y t o reim agine t he role of t he built environm ent prof essional engaged in w hat M alt erre-B art hes1 7 calls “ unbuilding, reparat ive w ork”, such as urban m ining, de-spraw l1 8 , upcycling1 9 , along w it h new jobs accom m odat ing radical new w ays of w orking
B ey on d i n n ov at i v e w ay s t o t h i n k of h ow t o u se t h e exi st i n g h ou si n g st ock , i n n ov at i on w ou l d al so n eed t o h appen ar ou n d t h e bu si n ess m odel t h at h as u n der pi n n ed soci al h ou si n g pr ov i si on si n ce t h e 1 98 0s B r eak i n g t h e sel fper pet u at i n g cy cl e of i n v est m en t i n pr oper t y cou l d st ar t f r om l an d ow n er sh i p; per m an en t soci al cooper at i v es20, com m u n i t y l an d t r u st s21 ar e al r eady dem on st r at i n g h ow t o r et ai n r at h er t h an
capt u r e t h e soci al an d u se v al u e of l an d I t
w ou l d al so r equ i r e al t er n at i v e m easu r es of “ v al u e cr eat i on ” , accou n t i n g f or l on gt er m , cr oss-sect or al ben ef i t s of h ou si n g pr i or i t i si n g h eal t h an d w el l bei n g f or al l w i t h i n pl an et ar y bou n dar i es22
3 ) A moratorium would depend on and contribute to transformation across society
Hal t i n g con st r u ct i on i n an u n ch an ged par adi gm of u n qu est i on ed gr ow t h cou l d l ead t o sev er al n egat i v e con sequ en ces, i n cl u di n g t r an sf or m i n g of f i ces i n t o poorqu al i t y h om es ( per m i t t ed dev el opm en t r i gh t s) , di spl acem en t of r esi den t s t h r ou gh pr of i t -dr i v en r et r of i t ( eco-gen t r i f i cat i on ) , or t axes on ext r a spaces af f ect i n g t h e m ost v u l n er abl e r esi den t s ( bedr oom t ax)
A m or at or i u m w ou l d n eed t o be su ppor t ed by ch an ges i n t h e gr ow t hor i en t ed w or l dv i ew s an d n ar r at i v es23 t h at or ch est r at e h ou si n g m ar ket s an d, m or e
br oadl y, soci et y I n par al l el , as sh ow n by t h i s st u dy, i t cou l d su ppor t r ef l ect i on s on w h er e sy st em i c ch an ges ar e n eeded
I n t h i s con t ext , syst em s t h i n ki n g24 cou l d gu i de al l of u s i n qu est i on i n g assu m pt i on s
ar ou n d t h e cau ses an d con sequ en ces of con t i n u ou s con st r u ct i on , on i t s pu r pose an d ou t com e, an d on t h e con di t i on s of syst em i c t r an sf or m at i on n eeded t o st ar t bu i l di n g agai n 25
B e l ess scar ed of r adi cal ch an ge
A s gl obal cal l s t o h al t t h e gr ow t h i n con st r u ct i on 26 gai n m om en t u m , t h er e i s an u r gen t n eed t o qu est i on h ou sebu i l di n g
t ar get s an d col l ect i v el y r edesi gn t h e r el at i on sh i p bet w een h ou si n g n eeds an d h ou si n g del i v er y
Th i s pr ocess i s al r eady u n der w ay
F eedback f r om w or k sh op par t i ci pan t s r ev eal ed h ow sy st em s t h i n k i n g en cou r aged t h em t o ‘ di sr u pt h ow w e do t h i n gs ’ , ‘ r ef l ect on t h e r ecei v ed w i sdom
t h at dr i v es m u ch deci si on -m ak i n g ’ an d ‘ be l ess scar ed of r adi cal ch an ge ’ At t h e
sam e t i m e, su st ai n ed ef f or t i s n eeded t o con t r i bu t e t o an d su ppor t al t er n at i v e
m odel s t o t h e gr ow t h -dr i v en m ech an i sm s r el en t l essl y u n der m i n i n g
t h e pr ov i si on of h ou si n g f or al l , w i t h i n pl an et ar y bou n dar i es
1 w w w bbc co uk/ new s/ ar t icles/ cgkg54 nd5d5o
2 ht t ps:/ / r esear chbr ief ings f iles par liam ent uk/ docum ent s/ CB P-8963 / CB P-8963 pdf
3 ht t ps:/ / w w w sciencedir ect com / science/ ar t icle/ pii/ S0921 80092200224 5
4 w w w ucl ac uk/ bar t let t / r esear ch-pr oject s/ 2024 / nov/ just -t r ansit ion-t ow ar ds-housing-sust ainabilit y
5 ht t ps:/ / hqm hqnet w or k co uk/ deliver ing-social-housing-in-london-m apping-linked-challenges-f aced-by-housingassociat ions/
6 ht t ps:/ / discover y ucl ac uk/ id/ epr int / 1 0205555/ 1 / U CL M or at or ium Pagani-et al published pdf
7 ht t ps:/ / t hinkhouse or g uk/ sit e/ asset s/ f iles/ 1 3 80/ cache081 9b pdf
8 w w w ons gov uk/ peoplepopulat ionandcom m unit y/ housing/ bullet ins/ num ber of vacant andsecondhom esengland andw ales/ census2021
9 ht t ps:/ / f igshar e com / s/ 5201 9a9bf b6097 8ecd7 0
1 0 ht t ps:/ / w w w shef f ield ac uk/ ur ban-inst it ut e/ new s/ new -r epor t -published-low -use-em pt y-hom es-acr oss-uk
1 1 ht t ps:/ / w w w sciencedir ect com / science/ ar t icle/ pii/ S0921 800924 004 07 5
1 2 w w w shef f ield ac uk/ ur ban-inst it ut e/ new s/ new -r epor t -published-low -use-em pt y-hom es-acr oss-uk
1 3 ht t ps:/ / new econom ics or g/ uploads/ f iles/ Com m unit y-r ight -t o-buy-f inal-br ief ing pdf
1 4 ht t ps:/ / cent r allondonf or w ar d gov uk/ w pcont ent / uploads/ Shor t -Ter m -Let s-in-London-Repor t pdf
1 5 ht t ps:/ / ar chit ect ur eisclim at e net / pr act ice / m ehr -als-w ohnen/
1 6 w w w sciencedir ect com / science/ ar t icle/ pii/ S03 01 4 21 508004 7 09
1 7 w w w gsd har var d edu/ 2023 / 02/ a-m or at or ium -on-new -const r uct ion-beyond-t he-pr ovocat ion-a-call-f or -syst em icchange-f r om -access-t o-housing-t o-const r uct ion-pr ot ocols/
1 8 w w w f r ont ier sin or g/ jour nals/ sust ainabilit y/ ar t icles/ 1 0 3 3 89/ f r sus 2024 1 3 7 527 1 / f ull
1 9 ht t ps:/ / upcyclingt r ust nw eur ope eu/ about
20 w w w lilac coop
21 w w w com m unit ylandt r ust s or g uk
22 ht t ps:/ / doughnut econom ics or g/ about -doughnut -econom ics
23 w w w t aylorf rancis com / chapt ers/ edit / 1 0 4 324 / 9781 31 51 51 205-2/ housing-degrow t h-narrat ives-f rançois-schneider
24 ht t ps:/ / donellam eadow s or g/ ar chives/ lever age-point s-places-t o-int er vene-in-a-syst em /
25 w w w yout ube com / w at ch?v=09R R p f ZsVM
26 w w w char lot t em alt er r ebar t hes com / pr act ice/ r esear ch-pr act ice/ a-global-m or at or ium -on-new -const r uct ion/
R ef erence t o t he original st udy:
Pagani, A , M acm illan, A , Savini, F , Davies, M , Zim m erm ann, N ( 2025, Spring) W hat if t here w ere a m orat orium on new housebuilding? An explorat ory st udy w it h London-based housing associat ions B uilt Environm ent 51 ( 1 ) 73-94
This st udy w as suppor t ed by t he Sw iss Nat ional Science Foundat ion ( SNSF) Post doc M obilit y Fellow ship gr ant P 500P S 21 087 5
■ A copy of ‘What if there were a moratorium on new housebuilding? An exploratory study with London-based housing associations’ is available here https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10205555/1/UCL Moratorium Paganietal published.pdf
N a v i g a t i n g t h e B u i l d i n g
S a f e t y A c t
The introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022 has transformed the way buildings are planned, constructed and managed across the UK. As the most comprehensive reform of building safety legislation in a generation, it brings far-reaching implications across the entire construction industry. Andrew Orriss, CEO at the Structural Timber Association, sheds some light on what benefits building with timber hold and how that lines up with the new Building Safety Act.
On e of i t s key pr i n ci pl es i s accou n t abi l i t y t h r ou gh ou t t h e bu i l di n g l i f ecy cl e F or t h e f i r st t i m e, cl i en t s, desi gn er s, con t r act or s an d bu i l di n g ow n er s ar e r equ i r ed by l aw t o m an age bu i l di n g saf et y r i sk s f r om t h e ear l i est desi gn st ages t h r ou gh t o occu pat i on an d bey on d Th i s
i n cl u des pr odu ci n g saf et y case r epor t s, keepi n g cl ear r ecor ds of desi gn deci si on s an d m ai n t ai n i n g a “ gol den t h r ead” of i n f or m at i on , a di gi t al r ecor d sh ow i n g h ow saf et y h as been em bedded at ev er y pr oj ect st age F or l ocal au t h or i t i es act i n g
as dev el oper s, ow n er s or cl i en t s, t h i s r ai ses t h e bar su bst an t i al l y f or gov er n an ce an d com pl i an ce Anot her m ajor change is t he est ablishm ent of t he B uilding Saf et y Regulat or ( B SR ) , now part of t he Healt h and Saf et y Execut ive The B SR enf orces com pliance, oversees building cont rol and holds individuals and organisat ions t o account f or saf et y f ailures For local aut horit y building cont rol t eam s, t his creat es a new w orking dynam ic The B SR now leads approvals f or high-risk project s, w it h local aut horit ies support ing t he process
I n a m or e r egu l at ed an d accou n t abl e con st r u ct i on l an dscape, t i m ber m i gh t n ot seem t h e m ost obv i ou s ch oi ce at f i r st B u t w h en w el l u n der st ood an d pr oper l y i m pl em en t ed, st r u ct u r al t i m ber sy st em s don’ t j u st m eet saf et y an d com pl i an ce r equ i r em en t s, t h ey of t en exceed t h em
Ti m ber of f er s a com pel l i n g com bi n at i on of t r aceabi l i t y, per f or m an ce an d su st ai n abi l i t y t h at al i gn s cl osel y w i t h t h e ai m s of t h e B u i l di n g Saf et y A ct
W i t h cl ear t r aceabi l i t y f r om su st ai n abl y sou r ced w ood t o en gi n eer ed com pon en t s, t i m ber syst em s n at u r al l y su ppor t t h e
gol den t h r ead r equ i r em en t th e Sta gu i de t o b u i l di n g Saf et y an d r esou r ces su ch as
t h e 1 6 St eps t o fi r e Saf et y an d t h e p at t er n
b ook of f er cou n ci l s an d bu i l di n g con t r ol t eam s pr act i cal r ou t es t o com pl i an ce
B ey on d s a f et y , t i m ber del i v er s
i m por t a n t ben ef i t s :
Ca r bon s a v i n gs : en gi n eer ed t i m ber st or es car bon an d em i t s l ess du r i n g
m an u f act u r e t h an st eel or con cr et e
P r eci s i on m a n u f a ct u r e: of f si t e
f abr i cat i on en su r es t i gh t t ol er an ces, con si st en t qu al i t y an d r edu ced on si t e r i sk ,
w h i ch i s cr u ci al u n der t h e a ct
F i r e s a f et y : d et a i l ed gu i da n ce, t est i n g
a n d Sta’s p a t t er n b ook sh ow t h a t t i m ber
sol u t i on s ca n m eet r equ i r ed f i r e
r esi st a n ce st a n da r ds, su ppor t i n g sa f et y
ga t e a ppr ov a l s
m oder n en gi n eer ed t i m ber pr odu ct s
su ch as cr oss-l am i n at ed t i m ber ( clt) ,
st r u ct u r al i n su l at ed pan el s ( Si p s) an d adv an ced t i m ber f r am e sy st em s, ar e
m an u f act u r ed i n con t r ol l ed en v i r on m en t s
w i t h except i on al l ev el s of pr eci si on an d
qu al i t y assu r an ce th ese of f si t e m et h ods
n at u r al l y su ppor t t h e gol den t h r ead by en abl i n g t r aceabi l i t y, con si st en cy an d det ai l ed docu m en t at i on t h r ou gh ou t t h e bu i l d pr ocess f or l ocal au t h or i t i es ai m i n g t o dem on st r at e com pl i an ce, t h i s of f er s a
cl ear adv an t age ov er t r adi t i on al con st r u ct i on m et h ods
ti m ber i s m or e t h an j u st com pl i an t i t su ppor t s t h e u r gen t sh i f t t ow ar ds su st ai n abl e con st r u ct i on a s t h e on l y m aj or st r u ct u r al m at er i al t h at i s r en ew abl e, n at u r al l y l ow car bon an d capabl e of sequ est er i n g co₂, t i m ber pl ays a vi t al r ol e i n ach i evi n g n et zer o t ar get s m an y cou n ci l s h ave decl ar ed cl i m at e em er gen ci es an d ar e i n t egr at i n g l ow car bon pr ocu r em en t f r am ew or ks i n t o t h ei r capi t al pr ogr am m es ti m ber con st r u ct i on pr ovi des a cl ear pat h t o r edu ce em bodi ed car bon w i t h ou t com pr om i si n g on saf et y, per f or m an ce or cost
B es t pr a ct i ce r es ou r ces th e Sta an d i t s m em ber s con t i n u e t o l ead on best pr act i ce gu i dan ce an d r obu st f i r e saf et y pr ot ocol s f or t i m ber
con st r u ct i on th e Sta a ssu r e qu al i t y assu r an ce sch em e, 1 6 St eps t o f i r e Saf et y on ti m ber f r am e con st r u ct i on Si t es, an d f i r e Saf et y i n u se gu i dan ce al l pr ov i de cl ear, i n depen den t l y v al i dat ed pr ocesses f or desi gn i n g, del i v er i n g an d m ai n t ai n i n g f i r e-saf e t i m ber bu i l di n gs th ese
f r am ew or k s ar e r egu l ar l y u pdat ed i n l i n e w i t h r egu l at i on s, h el pi n g en su r e t i m ber
con st r u ct i on i s al w ay s del i v er ed t o t h e h i gh est st an dar d
“T h e S TA G u i d e t o B u i l d i n g
S a fe t y a n d r e s o u rc e s s u c h
a s t h e 1 6 S t e p s t o F i r e
S a fe t y a n d t h e Pa t t e r n B o o k
o ffe r c o u n c i l s a n d b u i l d i n g
c o n t ro l t e a m s p ra c t i c a l
ro u t e s t o c o m p l i a n c e . ”
m an y t i m ber sy st em s ar e n ow u sed as par t of h y br i d con st r u ct i on m odel s, com bi n i n g t i m ber w i t h ot h er m at er i al s t o bal an ce per f or m an ce an d com pl i an ce th i s f l exi bi l i t y en abl es pr oj ect t eam s t o m eet t h e r equ i r em en t s of t h e b u i l di n g
Saf et y a ct w i t h ou t com pr om i si n g on su st ai n abi l i t y or speed of del i v er y for local aut horit ies, t he m essage is clear the b uilding Saf et y act set s out a new w ay of w orking, one t hat is t ransparent , inf orm ed and root ed in saf et y b ut it also creat es space t o innovat e, im prove housing qualit y and em brace m at erials t hat support long-t erm sust ainabilit y goals W hen procured responsibly and delivered by com pet ent prof essionals, t im ber can be a key part of t hat f ut ure
th e St r u ct u r a l ti m ber a ssoci a t i on con t i n u es t o w or k cl osel y w i t h gov er n m en t , r egu l a t or s a n d t h e w i der i n du st r y t o en su r e ou r m em ber s l ea d t h e w a y i n sa f e, su st a i n a bl e a n d com pl i a n t con st r u ct i on W e pr ov i de t ech n i ca l gu i da n ce, cp d t r a i n i n g a n d a sea r ch a bl e di r ect or y of Sta a ssu r e-a ccr edi t ed m em ber s f or l oca l a u t h or i t i es seek i n g t r u st ed del i v er y pa r t n er s
Magnet tells LABM how flexible logistics, people-led delivery and long-term thinking offers the right combination for social housing kitchen refurbishments
When budgets are tight and when kitchens reach the end of their lifespan, the difference between an average upgrade and a truly cost-effective refurbishment comes down to strategy “A one-size-fits-all supply chain simply won’t cut it anymore, ” says Chris McManus, B2B Director at Magnet “we give housing providers, contractors and merchant partners several options to take supply direct from our Darlington factory, via a regional hub, or collection from one of our nationwide branches, so they can choose the route that saves them the most time and money ”
That flexibility is already paying off on a recent void property programme for a London borough, the contractor shifted to collecting kitchens from their nearest Magnet branch, shaving about five days off every turnaround and getting each home rent-ready, with a fit-for-purpose kitchen, almost immediately Meanwhile, Magnet’s bulk factory drops keep costs low and hub stores deliver a steady flow of product for planned maintenance “pick the model that fits the project, and suddenly kitchens arrive on site exactly when the fitters do,” Chris says “That’s the key to smarter planning ” Yet supply logistics are only half the battle Magnet’s projects division assigns a surveyor to oversee every scheme from first survey to
final sign-off, drawing on a team whose sole focus is social housing providers Using laptop-based CAD software, the surveyor designs the kitchen and incorporates the tenants’ needs, places orders, books timed deliveries and chases any remedials, freeing installers to do what they do best: fit The result, Chris says, is visibility: “when contract managers know precisely where each kitchen is in the pipeline, hidden costs and nasty surprises disappear ”
Long-term partners such as plus Dane in Merseyside have seen the benefits firsthand for more than a decade, Magnet has designed and supplied around 500 kitchens a year to plus Dane via its Aintree hub, keeping installation times controlled and disruption to residents to a minimum “Magnet consistently hit the sweet spot of price, quality and service,” says Lee franey, planned Maintenance Manager at plus Dane “Their team partners with us to create resident-focused specifications, then delivers promptly and reliably, keeping our fitters moving and our programme on track That consistency has been key to our refurbishment success, and we look forward to building on it ”
Delivering social value alongside financial value is equally non-negotiable for today’s procurement teams Magnet sets aside budget and colleague time for community projects wherever they’re working A donated kitchen helped rescue the Keith Thompson Centre in Keighley from closure, while a fully fitted kitchen at Butterwick hospice in Bishop Auckland, installed with the help of local apprentices, created a welcoming space for patients and invaluable hands-on experience for young people “when we leave a project, we want the community to be stronger than when we arrived,” Chris explains
“That lets landlords hit their social value targets without extra admin ”
Sustainability completes the smarter-refurb triangle Magnet’s cabinets have carried the fIrA Gold quality certification for over 30 years, use fSC-certified timber with up to 79% recycled content, and are built in factories powered by 100% renewable electricity Since 2016, operational carbon is down 75%, and every scrap of manufacturing waste is recycled sawdust becomes livestock bedding, chipboard off-cuts return as furniture “A refurb only pays if the kitchen lasts and the carbon maths stacks up, ” Chris says “we’ve done the homework so clients don’t inherit tomorrow’s retrofit headache ”
Chris calls this combination of flexible logistics, people-led delivery and long-term thinking a “B2B revolution ” By uniting Magnet projects, Commodore Kitchens and seven decades of contract know-how under one roof, the business can service everything from inner-city high-rises to rural voids without forcing landlords to compromise on price, quality or speed his closing advice to asset managers planning 2026 programmes is simple: engage early “Tell us your KpIs and stock profile up front, and we’ll design your supply chain around them,” Chris says “when the right kitchen lands on the doorstep first time, the numbers take care of themselves, and residents get a home they’re proud of ”
■ Find out more about Magnet Projects here www.rdr.link/lay006
D e c a r b o n i s i n g h e a t i n s c h o o l s w i l l p l a y
a k e y ro l e i n a c h i e
c
Decar bon i si n g h eat acr oss al l sect or s, i n cl u di n g edu cat i on , i s cen t r al t o t h e Gover n m en t ’ s
st r at egy t o m eet n et zer o I n
2023 , bu i l di n gs accou n t ed f or 20% of t ot al U K em i ssi on s P u bl i c sect or bu i l di n gs, i n cl u di n g sch ool s, r epr esen t ed 1 1 % of t h ese em i ssi on s, w i t h gas f or h eat i n g bei n g t h e dom i n an t con t r i bu t or 1
The condit ion of t he U K school est at e is also declining, cost ing an est im at ed £ 1 1 4 bn t o br ing buildings up t o a good st andar d of r epair Heat ing, vent ilat ion and air condit ioning syst em s r epr esent £ 2 1 bn of t he t ot al I n 2022/ 23 , m aint ained schools and academ ies in England spent ar ound £ 1 2bn on ener gy cost s w it h heat ing account ing f or 60% of ener gy use2
While som e progress has been m ade, f ollowing concerns t hat only 20% of England’s schools est at e will be net zero com pliant by 20503, it ’ s clear t hat act ion is needed and f ast However, t he scale of t he t ask can seem daunt ing In t he wider public sect or, t here are over 1 00,000 built asset s, about a t hird of which are educat ion and a large proport ion of which rely on gas boilers f or heat The built environm ent is also ext rem ely diverse in t erm s of building t ypes
To u n der st an d i n m or e dept h t h e ch al l en ges an d oppor t u n i t i es ar ou n d decar bon i si n g h eat i n sch ool s, B axi r ecen t l y com m i ssi on ed a su r vey of 1 00
sch ool est at es m an ager s an d 1 00 con su l t an t en gi n eer s an d h eat i n g
con t r act or s w i t h exper i en ce of sch ool pr oj ect s Th e r espon den t s w er e pr i m ar i l y t h ose w i t h exper i en ce of i n st al l i n g an d/ or u si n g h eat pu m ps
En cou r agi n gl y, t h e su r v ey r ev eal ed w i despr ead su ppor t f or decar bon i si n g h eat an d f or h eat pu m ps H ow ev er, per si st en t bar r i er s w er e i den t i f i ed, pr i m ar i l y con cer n i n g t ech n i cal di f f i cu l t y, en er gy i n f r ast r u ct u r e, f i n an ci n g, an d r i sk s L et ’ s con si der t h e obst acl es an d possi bl e sol u t i on s
Tech n i cal di f f i cu l t y
Tech n i cal di f f i cu l t y w as i den t i f i ed as t h e m ost pr om i n en t bar r i er t o depl oy m en t W i t h 3 6% an d 3 9% of sch ool est at es m an ager s an d con su l t an t en gi n eer s an d con t r act or s r espect i v el y i den t i f y i n g t h e ch al l en ge, t h er e m ay be a sk i l l s gap, w h i ch can st al l decar bon i sat i on pr oj ect s
H ol i st i c a n d ef f ect i v e deca r bon i sa t i on
r equ i r es speci f i c sk i l l s a n d ex per t i se a t a n i n di v i du a l , t ea m a n d or ga n i sa t i on a l l ev el M a n y pu bl i c sect or or ga n i sa t i on s do n ot h a v e t h i s ca pa ci t y a n d ca pa bi l i t y
A s a r esu l t , t h ey ca n n ot a l w a y s i den t i f y w h a t t h ey n eed t o do t o deca r bon i se or del i v er on i den t i f i ed n eeds
For t h i s r eason , su ppor t f r om t h e
h eat i n g i n du st r y w i l l be i n val u abl e i n
h el pi n g del i ver cl ean en er gy pr oj ect s
U si n g t h ei r exper i en ce an d exper t i se, h eat exper t s sh ou l d be abl e t o advi se sch ool est at es m an ager s on t h e di f f er en t desi gn opt i on s w h en i n st al l i n g h eat pu m ps an d ot h er l ow car bon opt i on s t o ach i eve opt i m al r esu l t s an d peak ef f i ci en cy
The im port ance of syst em m onit oring should also be em phasised as t his will help ensure t hat t he syst em cont inues t o perf orm ef f icient ly Having sight of t he carbon and ef f iciency savings has t he added advant age of helping t he local aut horit y or school est at e m anager just if y t he invest m ent
En er gy i n f r ast r u ct u r e
B ot h groups also agreed t hat exist ing elect rical capacit y, addit ional pow er requirem ent s and approval t o connect f rom t he Dist ribut ion Net w ork Operat or ( DNO)
“In 2022/23, maintained schools and academies in England spent around £1.2bn on energy costs with heating accounting for 60% of energy use.”
w ere a challenge, w it h 36% of consult ant engineers and cont ract ors out lining t his as a barrier t o decarbonisat ion
W h er e addi t i on al pow er i s r equ i r ed, a pr act i cal appr oach i s t o en su r e t h at appl i cat i on s t o t h e DNO ar e m ade at t h e ear l y st ages Th i s w i l l en abl e t h e el ect r i cal i n f r ast r u ct u r e su i t abi l i t y t o be assessed f or t h e i n cr eased el ect r i cal l oad r equ i r em en t s An y pot en t i al u pgr ade w or ks can t h en be pl an n ed i n advan ce t o avoi d possi bl e del ays an d keep t h e pr oj ect on t r ack
A m or e st r at egic policy r ecom m endat ion w ould be t o ut ilise Gr eat B r it ish ( GB ) Ener gy t o accent uat e syner gies bet w een school capacit y or pow er r equir em ent s and GB Ener gy clean ener gy pr oject s
Fi n an ci n g
I n evi t abl y, decar bon i si n g bu i l di n gs br i n gs a capi t al cost Low car bon h eat i n g can cost m or e t h an f ossi l f u el cou n t er f act u al s, bot h u p-f r on t an d over i t s l i f et i m e w i t h cu r r en t en er gy pr i ces
So w h at su ppor t i s avai l abl e t o st at e sch ool s?
Th e P u bl i c Sect or Decar bon i sat i on Sch em e pr ovi des gr an t s f or pu bl i c sect or or gan i sat i on s, i n cl u di n g sch ool s an d academ i es, t o f u n d h eat decar bon i sat i on an d en er gy ef f i ci en cy m easu r es
U p t o £ 3 8bn i s bei n g i n vest ed t h r ou gh t h e sch em e over t h e f i n an ci al year s 2020/ 21 t o 2027 / 28 t o pr ovi de gr an t s f or pu bl i c sect or bodi es, i n cl u di n g sch ool s an d
t h e edu cat i on sect or How ever, access t o t h i s f u n di n g i s st r et ch ed bet w een var i ou s sch ool i m pr ovem en t pr i or i t i es an d, w h i l e t h er e i s a Sect or Cap f or edu cat i on , i t i s com pet ed f or bet w een pu bl i c sect or or gan i sat i on s R i n g-f en ci n g speci f i c f u n di n g f or sch ool h eat i n g syst em decar bon i sat i on m i gh t pr ovi de t h e n ecessar y su ppor t t o accel er at e pr ogr ess
Our r esear ch f ound t hat gener ally, as t he school size incr eased, af f or dabilit y w as less f r equent ly r ecognised as a cor e challenge t o decar bonising heat by school est at es m anager s I t ’ s w or t h not ing, t her ef or e, t hat sm aller schools m ay need gr eat er f inancial suppor t f or heat ing pr oject s
Spar k gap
Th e U K ’ s en er gy pr i ci n g i s al so pl aci n g a per si st en t bar r i er i n f r on t of t h ose at t h e f or ef r on t of decar bon i si n g st at e sch ool s
I n M ar ch , t h e Gov er n m en t an n ou n ced GB
En er gy ’ s f i r st i n v est m en t act i v i t i es t o i n st al l r oof t op sol ar pow er i n sch ool s an d com pl em en t ar y decar bon i sat i on t ech n ol ogi es ( £ 8 0m f or sch ool s: £ 4 0m GB
En er gy, £ 4 0m Df E) Th i s i s a w el com e m ov e as u si n g t ech n ol ogi es su ch as sol ar pan el s an d bat t er i es al on gsi de h eat pu m ps w i l l h el p l ow er en er gy cost s
How ev er, addr essi n g t h e spar k gap w i l l be key t o dr i v e h eat pu m p depl oy m en t
Hybr i d h eat i n g sol u t i on s
How ever, gr an t su ppor t f or h ybr i d h eat pu m p sol u t i on s u n der t h e P u bl i c Sect or Decar bon i sat i on Sch em e ( P SDS) i s l i m i t ed, despi t e t h e st r on g backi n g f or t h e t ech n ol ogy P r ovi di n g gr eat er cl ar i f i cat i on over h ybr i d h eat i n g syst em gu i dan ce i n su ppor t sch em es cou l d be w h at i s n eeded t o set som e of t h e h ar der -t o-t r eat sch ool bu i l di n gs on a pat h w ay t o n et zer o
Net zer o r oadm ap
The st udy ident if ied pot ent ial solut ions t o accelerat ing heat decarbonisat ion in schools in t he f orm of hybrid heat pum p syst em s and pref abricat ed packaged solut ions Am ong t he survey respondent s, hybrid syst em s t hat com bine a heat pum p wit h gas condensing boilers are a popular solut ion, wit h a slight pref erence f or t his t echnology over a st andalone heat pum p syst em
U l t i m at el y, i f sch ool s ar e t o keep on t r ack f or 2050 n et zer o, h eat decar bon i sat i on n eeds t o accel er at e r api dl y i n t h ei r exi st i n g bu i l di n g st ock Th e h eat i n g i n du st r y h as a pi vot al r ol e t o pl ay i n expl ai n i n g t h e var i ou s opt i on s an d t ech n i qu es f or decar bon i si n g t h ei r h eat i n g syst em s an d t h e car bon , en er gy an d cost i m pact s of each Wor ki n g t oget h er t o r em ove t h e cu r r en t bl ocker s an d br eak dow n t h e com pl exi t i es, w e can h el p sch ool s t o pl ot t h ei r n et zer o r oadm ap an d pr ovi de t h em w i t h t h e
This could be at t ribut ed t o several f act ors, including cost s, int egrat ion wit h exist ing hydronic syst em s, reduced risk f act or, and t he short er inst allat ion t im ef ram es required t o inst all a hybrid solut ion versus convert ing t o a st andalone heat pum p syst em
Wo r k i n g i n l i v e e n v i r o n m e n t s
Retrofitting public buildings, particularly schools, hospitals, and civic assets, demands more than just construction expertise. It also requires precise planning of logistics, safety, and stakeholder coordination to ensure critical services continue uninterrupted Here, Gordon Clyne, Joint Managing Director at Morris & Spottiswood, explains why working in live environments adds layers of complexity, and how to ensure these projects are a success
In sch ool s, h ospi t al s, an d ot h er oper at i on al pu bl i c bu i l di n gs, an y con st r u ct i on w or k m u st coexi st w i t h
dai l y act i vi t i es W h et h er i t ’ s en su r i n g st u den t s can at t en d l esson s saf el y or en abl i n g h eal t h car e pr of essi on al s t o del i ver u n i n t er r u pt ed car e, t h e m ar gi n f or er r or i s n ar r ow
On e of t h e m ost essen t i al el em en t s of t h i s pr ocess i s ear l y en gagem en t Fr om t h e ou t set , pl an s sh ou l d be pu t i n m ot i on t o m ap ou t si t e access, w ast e m an agem en t , n oi se m i t i gat i on , an d oper at i on al ph asi n g w i t h f aci l i t y t eam s Th i s ear l y-st age coor di n at i on i sn ’ t a l u xu r y, i t ’ s a n ecessi t y
Det ai l ed pl an n i n g h el ps avoi d su r pr i ses For i n st an ce, i n h eal t h car e set t i n gs, i n t r u si ve su r veys m u st be car r i ed ou t u pf r on t t o l ocat e asbest os, agei n g M &E syst em s, or l egacy m at er i al s l i ke l eadbased pai n t s, al l of w h i ch can si gn i f i can t l y af f ect pr ogr am m e du r at i on an d cost i f di scover ed m i d-pr oj ect
Si m i l ar l y, i n edu cat i on al set t i n gs, w or ks of t en n eed t o be sch edu l ed ou t si de t each i n g h ou r s or du r i n g h ol i day w i n dow s, w i t h segr egat ed w or k zon es, vi su al si gn age, an d cl ear l y def i n ed saf et y r ou t es est abl i sh ed i n advan ce I n h ospi t al s, st r i ct
i n f ect i on pr even t i on an d con t r ol ( I P C) pr ot ocol s n ecessi t at e ph ysi cal bar r i er s, n egat i ve ai r pr essu r e zon es, an d of t en , speci al i st cl ean i n g r egi m es
P r ogr am m i n g con st r ai n t s
Li ve en vi r on m en t s i m pose u n i qu e pr ogr am m i n g con st r ai n t s Act i vi t i es su ch as n oi sy dem ol i t i on , du st -gen er at i n g w or ks, or ser vi ce di scon n ect i on s of t en m u st be l i m i t ed t o speci f i c t i m e sl ot s, som et i m es as n ar r ow as a f ew h ou r s a day I n on e pr oj ect f or a Gl asgow of f i ce di r ect l y ben eat h an occu pi ed f l oor, M or r i s
& Spot t i sw ood l i m i t ed h i gh -i m pact w or k t o ear l y m or n i n g w i n dow s bet w een 5–8 am I n pu bl i c bu i l di n gs, a si m i l ar l evel of r i gou r i s r equ i r ed, especi al l y i n spaces t h at ser ve vu l n er abl e popu l at i on s or del i ver essen t i al pu bl i c ser vi ces
Th i s ca l l s f or a ph a sed del i v er y a ppr oa ch R a t h er t h a n u n der t a k i n g
r et r of i t w or k s i n a l i n ea r f a sh i on , pr ogr a m m es m u st be br ok en dow n i n t o ca r ef u l l y sequ en ced m i cr o-pa ck a ges, a l i gn ed w i t h bu i l di n g u se sch edu l es a n d su ppor t ed by com pr eh en si v e com m u n i ca t i on w i t h a l l st a k eh ol der s
on e of t h e m ost ef f ect i ve w ays t o r edu ce di sr u pt i on i n l i ve en vi r on m en t s i s t h r ou gh m odu l ar an d of f si t e con st r u ct i on
t ech n i qu es p r ef abr i cat ed el em en t s, r an gi n g f r om ser vi ce r i ser s t o ‘ pl u g-an dpl ay ’ M Ep syst em s an d even en t i r e r oom pods, can be bu i l t of f si t e an d i n st al l ed r api dl y, m i n i m i si n g on si t e act i vi t y an d
r edu ci n g over al l pr ogr am m e r i sk
Su ch appr oach es ar e par t i cu l ar l y adv an t ageou s w h er e t h e en v i r on m en t al per f or m an ce of t h e bu i l di n g i s a f ocu s, as
t h ey n ot on l y cu t on -si t e w ast e an d
em i ssi on s bu t al so al i gn w el l w i t h ci r cu l ar econ om y pr i n ci pl es th i s w as ev i den t i n a
r ecen t M or r i s & Spot t i sw ood f i t -ou t pr oj ect t h at ach i ev ed a 9 3 k gco₂e/ m ² em bodi ed u pf r on t car bon , w h i ch w as com f or t abl y bel ow t h e 2025 t h r esh ol d set i n t h e u K n et Zer o car bon b u i l di n g
St an dar d, an d i s al r eady bel ow t h e 203 8 t ar get of 1 00k gco₂e/ m ² , i n 2025 , t h an k s i n l ar ge par t t o m odu l ar desi gn an d ci r cu l ar econ om y pr i n ci pl es
D y n am i c saf et y m an agem en t i n pu bl i c bu i l di n gs, saf et y i s par am ou n t li ve r et r of i t pr oj ect s dem an d dyn am i c
saf et y m an agem en t st r at egi es t h at evol ve w i t h t h e pr ogr am m e th i s i n cl u des con t i n u ou s r i sk assessm en t s, st akeh ol der en gagem en t sessi on s, an d r egu l ar u pdat es t o l ogi st i cs pl an s as si t e con di t i on s ch an ge heal t h car e en vi r on m en t s f u r t h er r ai se t h e bar a i r qu al i t y, st er i l e zon es, pat i en t m obi l i t y, an d m edi cal gas syst em s m u st al l be con si der ed dedi cat ed access r ou t es f or con t r act or s, i sol at i on of n oi sy w or ks, an d even bespoke st af f t r ai n i n g m ay be r equ i r ed t o en su r e h ospi t al f u n ct i on s ar e n ot com pr om i sed Ret r of i t pr oj ect s i n l i ve en vi r on m en t s ben ef i t i m m en sel y f r om ver t i cal l y i n t egr at ed t eam s W i t h i n -h ou se M &E, f l oor i n g, an d f i t -ou t capabi l i t i es, M or r i s & Spot t i sw ood exem pl i f i es h ow i n t er n al col l abor at i on r edu ces del ays, i m pr oves com m u n i cat i on , an d en su r es a si n gl e poi n t of accou n t abi l i t y
li vi n gst on b u i l di n g Ser vi ces, t h e gr ou p ’ s M &E di vi si on , pl ays a cr u ci al r ol e i n ear l y desi gn coor di n at i on , especi al l y vi t al w h en i n t egr at i n g en er gy-ef f i ci en t syst em s i n t o l egacy i n f r ast r u ct u r e th ei r pr oact i ve appr oach m ean s f ew er
su r pr i ses du r i n g i n st al l at i on an d m or e
st r eam l i n ed com m i ssi on i n g, h el pi n g cl i en t s ach i eve su st ai n abi l i t y t ar get s w h i l e m ai n t ai n i n g con t i n u i t y of ser vi ce
Su ch i n t egr at i on al so al l ow s f or r api d
pr obl em -sol vi n g W h et h er deal i n g w i t h
l at e-st age desi gn ch an ges or r espon di n g
t o u n expect ed di scover i es m i d-bu i l d, an al i gn ed t eam can adapt qu i ckl y, essen t i al i n t i m e-sen si t i ve r et r of i t en vi r on m en t s
R eal -w or l d dat a
Su st ai n abi l i t y i s n o l on ger opt i on al th e u K passed l egi sl at i on i n 2009 m an dat i n g a n et zer o em i ssi on s t ar get com par ed t o 1 990 l evel s Sch em es l i ke t h e p u bl i c
Sect or decar bon i sat i on Sch em e i n
En gl an d an d t h e p u bl i c Sect or heat decar bon at i on Fu n d su ppor t s en er gyef f i ci en t r et r of i t s, w i t h cl i en t s i n cr easi n gl y seeki n g par t n er s w h o can qu an t i f y an d del i ver m easu r abl e car bon savi n gs this begins w it h r eal-w or ld dat a halfhour ly consum pt ion, building m anagem ent syst em m et r ics, and post -occupancy evaluat ions ar m ed w it h t his insight , r et r of it t eam s can design t ar get ed int er vent ions t hat balance ener gy per f or m ance w it h cost and oper at ional pr act icalit y
Ret r of i t t i n g l i ve pu bl i c bu i l di n gs i s a ch al l en ge t h at si t s at t h e i n t er sect i on of l ogi st i cs, saf et y, per f or m an ce, an d t r u st Fr om pr i m ar y sch ool s t o acu t e h ospi t al s, su ccess h i n ges on t h e abi l i t y t o del i ver u pgr ades w i t h m i n i m al di sr u pt i on , w h i l e m axi m i si n g ef f i ci en cy, saf et y, an d l on gt er m su st ai n abi l i t y the key lies in ear ly collabor at ion, int egr at ed deliver y, and a deep r espect f or t he building’s daily f unct ion b y t r eat ing public buildings not just as const r uct ion sit es, but as living, br eat hing envir onm ent s, cont r act or s can cr eat e last ing t r ansf or m at ions, quiet ly, cleanly, and com pet ent ly Sim ilar ly, par t ner ing w it h a cont r act or t hat of f er s a f ull, t ur nkey solut ion f r om t he out set of a pr oject t o com plet ion, such as t he M or r is & Spot t isw ood gr oup, is cr ucial f or a sm oot h and ef f icient pr ocess, and in t ur n, a successf ul r esult
Aircool window ventilators for air intake as well as standard window Aircools for extract air were installed in all classrooms at Sunningdale School Image ©MatthewNicholPhotography
A i r q u a l i t y a n d w e l l b e i n g i n s c h o o l s
Indoor air quality is a primary concer n across the education sector, with clear links between poor ventilation and reduced concentration, increased illness, and as a result, higher absenteeism. For those delivering and maintaining school buildings that are energy-efficient and fit for purpose, ensuring effective ventilation is essential Huw Poppy, Business Operations Manager at Passivent, provides guidance on how this can be achieved.
Put t ing product s t o t he t est Nat ural and hybrid vent ilat ion syst em s of f er a low -energy, lowm aint enance solut ion t hat im prove air qualit y, support t herm al com f ort , and can cont ribut e t o t he overall sust ainabilit y t arget s of an educat ional building B ut perf orm ance and com pliance m ust go hand in hand and all product specif icat ions m ust m eet t he requirem ent s of B uilding B ullet in 1 01 ( B B 1 01 ) and B uilding B ullet in 93 ( B B 93) , w hich set out m inim um st andards f or indoor environm ent al condit ions and acoust ic perf orm ance in schools
P u t t i n g t h i s t h eor y i n t o pr act i ce i s an ot h er ch al l en ge bu t t w o r ecen t
P assi ven t pr oj ect s h i gh l i gh t h ow t ai l or ed ven t i l at i on st r at egi es can m eet t h e di f f er i n g n eeds of bot h m ai n st r eam an d speci al i st sch ool s
F r esh t h i n k i n g at Gr eat f i el ds
P r i m ar y Sch ool
L ocat ed i n t h e L on don B or ou gh of B ar k i n g an d D agen h am , Gr eat f i el ds
P r i m ar y Sch ool i s a n ew t h r ee-f or m en t r y sch ool t h at w i l l ev en t u al l y accom m odat e u p t o 6 3 0 pu pi l s Th e
£ 1 1 8 m dev el opm en t w as del i v er ed by m ai n con t r act or A u bu r n Gr ou p, w i t h
of f si t e con st r u ct i on par t n er N et Zer o
B u i l di n gs B y u t i l i si n g t h i s m oder n
“N a t u ra l a n d hy b r i d ve n t i l a t i o n s y s t e m s o ffe r a l owe n e rg y, l ow - ma i n t e n a n c e s o l u t i
n t h a t i m p rove a i r q u a l i t y, s u p p o r t t h e r ma l c o m fo r t , a n d c a n c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e ove ra l l s u s t a i n a b i l i t y t a rg e t s o f a n e d u c a t i o n a l b u i l d i n g . ”
m et h od of con st r u ct i on , di sr u pt i on i n
t h e l ocal ar ea w as m i n i m i sed, w h i ch
con t r i bu t ed t o m eet i n g su st ai n abi l i t y
t ar get s f or t h e pr oj ect
To f u r t h er su ppor t en er gy an d en vi r on m en t al goal s, P assi ven t pr ovi ded a n at u r al ven t i l at i on st r at egy acr oss t h e
sch ool u si n g i t s Hybr i d P l u s2 A i r cool
ven t i l at or s an d Hybr i d P l u s A i r st r act r oof ven t i l at i on t er m i n al s
Wor ki n g w i t h Cedar M ech an i cal an d El ect r i cal , P assi ven t ’ s 58 Hybr i d P l u s2
A i r cool w al l ven t i l at or s w er e each m ou n t ed beh i n d an ext er n al w eat h er
l ou vr e, t o ven t i l at e t h e cl assr oom s w i t h
f r esh ai r f r om ou t si de Th e t eam al so su ppl i ed sever al of i t s Hybr i d P l u s
A i r st r act r oof t er m i n al s f or ven t i l at i on of t h e sch ool ’ s m ai n h al l , pl u s t em per at u r e
an d CO₂ sen sor s f or each space al on g
w i t h a 3 5-zon e i C8 000 con t r ol l er t o
r egu l at e t h e i n t er n al en vi r on m en t Th e
w h ol e syst em w as l i n ked back t o t h e
B u i l di n g M an agem en t Syst em
th e h ybr i d u n i t s ar e con t r ol l ed by i n t el l i gen t syst em s t h at m on i t or co₂ an d t em per at u r e l evel s, del i ver i n g f r esh ai r on l y w h en n ecessar y th i s dem an d-l ed ven t i l at i on i s n ot on l y m or e en er gy ef f i ci en t an d cost -ef f ect i ve bu t al so su ppor t s com pl i an ce w i t h b b 1 01 , w h i ch ou t l i n es key st an dar ds f or ai r qu al i t y an d t h er m al com f or t i n sch ool s
W it h low m aint enance requirem ent s and quiet operat ion, t he syst em also helps creat e a calm and ef f ect ive learning environm ent com bined w it h t he benef it s of of f sit e const ruct ion, t he project show s how a sm art vent ilat ion st rat egy can enhance school design w hile support ing long-t erm sust ainabilit y and energy ef f iciency
A cal m an d com f or t abl e set t i n g at
Su n n i n gdal e Sch ool
Su n n i n gdal e Sch ool i n Su n der l an d i s a
SEn d f aci l i t y w h er e p assi v en t w or ked cl osel y w i t h Su n der l an d ci t y cou n ci l at t h e ear l y desi gn st age t o pr opose a n at u r al v en t i l at i on st r at egy t h at w ou l d cr eat e a su ppor t i v e en v i r on m en t f or pu pi l s w i t h m u l t i pl e l ear n i n g di f f i cu l t i es
M an y pu pi l s at t h e sch ool ar e h i gh l y sen si t i ve t o en vi r on m en t al ch an ges,
m aki n g con si st en t ai r qu al i t y, l ow n oi se l evel s, an d st abl e i n t er n al t em per at u r es essen t i al to m eet t h ese r equ i r em en t s, p assi ven t su ppl i ed i t s t h er m al acou st i c a i r cool w i n dow ven t i l at or s f or ai r i n t ake as w el l as st an dar d w i n dow a i r cool s f or
ext r act ai r as par t of a cr oss-ven t i l at i on st r at egy i n al l cl assr oom s th e com pan y ’ s
a i r scoop r oof ven t i l at i on t er m i n al s w er e al so u sed i n t h e m ai n h al l , an d t h e cor r i dor s w er e f i t t ed w i t h li t even t
a i r st r act r oof l i gh t ven t i l at or s w h i ch h el ped
t o m axi m i se t h e f l ow of n at u r al l i gh t as w el l as su ppor t i n g t h e over al l n at u r al ven t i l at i on st r at egy
M eet i n g r egu l at or y r equ i r em en t s w i t h pr act i cal sol u t i on s
a s ou t l i n ed i n b b 1 01 , al l n ew sch ool s m u st pr ovi de good i n door ai r qu al i t y, avoi d over h eat i n g, an d del i ver t h er m al com f or t t h r ou gh ou t t h e year how ever, t h ese
t ar get s ar e i n cr easi n gl y ch al l en gi n g as bu i l di n g en vel opes becom e m or e ai r t i gh t an d su m m er s gr ow w ar m er du e t o cl i m at e ch an ge W h i l st a cr oss-ven t i l at i on st r at egy m ay be su i t abl e i n som e sch ool s, a h ybr i d ven t i l at i on syst em can of f er a pr act i cal sol u t i on f or a si n gl e-si ded ven t i l at i on st r at egy, com bi n i n g passi ve ven t i l at i on w i t h l ow -en er gy m ech an i cal assi st an ce t o m ai n t ai n h eal t h y con di t i on s w h en n at u r al ai r f l ow al on e i s n ot su f f i ci en t at t h e sam e t i m e, b b 93 r equ i r es t h at ven t i l at i on syst em s do n ot com pr om i se t h e acou st i c per f or m an ce of t each i n g spaces th i s i s par t i cu l ar l y i m por t an t i n SEnd set t i n gs, w h er e n oi se sen si t i vi t y i s of t en a key i ssu e M an y n at u r al an d h ybr i d syst em s, l i ke t h ose su ppl i ed by p assi ven t , ar e speci f i cal l y en gi n eer ed t o m eet t h ese cr i t er i a, m aki n g t h em su i t abl e f or bot h m ai n st r eam an d speci al i st en vi r on m en t s i n order t o creat e t his im port ant balance bet w een educat ional perf orm ance and environm ent al responsibilit y, t he ef f ect ive execut ion of appropriat e vent ilat ion st rat egies has never been m ore im port ant how ever, by w orking w it h a know ledgeable supply chain part ner t hat can of f er t he m ost suit able t echnical advice, and help deliver a t ailor-m ade vent ilat ion st rat egy, t his learning curve can be signif icant ly reduced
Ariston launches the Andris Elite Wifi, a compact electric storage water heating unit ideal for domestic and light commercial use, including environments that require a higher level of safety, such as hospitals, schools and care homes Easy to install and maintain, it features a new intuitive LED interface and smart connectivity via the Ariston Net app for complete control and comfort
Featuring a sturdy titanium enamelled tank, copper heating element and faster reheat times, the unit is highly efficient with an ‘A’ class ErP rating across all models It also comes equipped with an anti-legionella system once a month the unit automatically raises the temperature of the water stored inside it to 65˚C, eliminating the risk of legionella bacteria developing and keeping the water healthy It houses an additional ABS safety package with antifreezing to ensure reliable heating even during colder months
■ For more information on Ariston’s Andris Elite Wifi electric storage water heater, visit www rdr link/lay011
installation
Two Tyneham 290HT 27kW air source heat pumps from Hamworthy Heating have been installed in cascade for underfloor heating in a new extension at a primary school in Cambridge To accurately meet the heating requirements of the new school extension and ensure an even distribution of heat, the new system includes two 290HT 27kW Tyneham heat pumps with natural refrigerant, configured in a hydraulic cascade set up The heat pumps are connected to a 500L buffer cylinder, which also features an electrical heating element, controlled by a BMS The buffer connections, Exogel anti-freeze valves and degassers were also supplied by Hamworthy Heating
Eco grants to champion climate action in Greater Manchester schools
Young people will be at the forefront of sustainability projects as 29 schools across Greater Manchester receive grants of up to £2,000 for climate and waste reduction initiatives The scheme, which launched in October 2024, aims to empower pupils to bring their eco-ideas to life and drive real change within their communities
Projects funded by the GMCA will focus on key environmental themes such as reducing waste and promoting reuse, encouraging sustainable lifestyles and climate education, and improving access to sustainable food while cutting food waste The 29 successful schools will now begin planning and delivering their initiatives over the next 12 months, giving pupils the opportunity to lead projects not only benefitting the environment but also supporting learning, building confidence, and promoting wellbeing
Local authorities must champion multi-purpose educational hubs as a cornerstone of regeneration efforts, according to a major new survey of senior construction professionals Undertaken by multidisciplinary consultancy Pick Everard, the survey took stock of developer, consultant and contractor concerns as the UK government commits £6 7bn in capital investment improvements in the sector across the current year
The survey revealed ‘increased local employment opportunities’ (62%) and ‘community engagement and collaboration’ (66%) as key benefits that educational facilities bring forward This reflects the call to arms to prioritise an interlink between education facilities and innercity regeneration efforts to drive long-term community outcomes
Li v i n g d a y l i g h t s
P a u l S m i t h , Te c h n i c a l C o m m i t t e e C h a i r o f T h e R o o f l i g h t A s s o c i a t i o n , d i s c u s s e s w h y
d a y l i g h t i n g i s a d e s i g n e s s e n t i a l a n d t h e b e n e f i t s o f i n c o r p o r a t i n g ro o f l i g h t s o n p ro j e c t s .
Local au t h or i t y l an dl or ds an d pr oper t y pw n er s ar e i n cr esi n gl y bei n g cal l ed u pon t o m eet ev erev ol v on g dem an ds, r an gi n g f r om u pdat es B u i l di n g Regu l at i on s an d n et zer o goal s, t o t ack l i n g agei n g bu i l di n g st ock , an d post -pan dem i c, i m pr ov i n g occu pan t w el l bei n g acr oss t h e bu i l di n g en v i r on m en t A s a r esu l t , bu i l di n g desi gn er s, speci f i er s an d st akeh ol der s ar e seek i n g m et h ods an d t ech n ol ogi es t o del i v er agai n st t h ese t ar get s an d am bi t i on s
A n ew W h i t e P aper en t i t l ed ‘Th e B en ef i t s of Roof l i gh t s f or t h e Dayl i gh t i n g of B u i l di n gs ’ , com m i ssi on ed by Th e Roof l i gh t Associ at i on an d pr epar ed by Em er i t u s P r of essor Joh n M ar dal j evi c of Lou gh bor ou gh U n i ver si t y, i n di cat es t h at n at u r al l i gh t an d r oof l i gh t s can be m ake a si gn i f i can t con t r i bu t i on
Th e st u dy w as com m i ssi on ed t o bet t er
u n der st an d t h e i m pact of day l i gh t i n g on h u m an h eal t h , occu pan t w el l bei n g, an d t h e ev er y day oper at i on of bu i l di n gs al li m por t an t f act or s i n t h e con t ex t of t h e cu r r en t U K con st r u ct i on an d r ef u r bi sh m en t m ar k et s an d w i t h pot en t i al f or l on g-t er m r ew ar d
B en ef i t s of r oof l i gh t s
Th e W h i t e P aper h i gh l i gh t s f i v e of t h e key ben ef i t s t o day l i gh t i n g an d r oof l i gh t s i n bu i l di n g desi gn :
1 Occu pan t s w i l l be con n ect ed t o t h e ou t si de an d n at u r al dyn am i c ch an ges of dayl i gh t i n si de t h e bu i l di n g Th i s i s essen t i al t o pr om ot e a h eal t h y 24 -h ou r ci r cadi an r h yt h m
2 Dayl i gh t h as been sh ow n t o en h an ce al er t n ess an d t h e con cen t r at i on of occu pan t s
3 Wel l dayl i t spaces ar e associ at ed w i t h i m pr oved st af f r et en t i on an d r edu ced absen t eei sm
4
Exposu r e t o su f f i ci en t l evel s of daylight is believed t o support t he long-term health and wellbeing of occupants
5 Good dayl i gh t i n g i n bu i l di n gs h as been sh ow n t o i n cr ease asset val u e an d space u t i l i sat i on
Dayl i gh t i n g i n com m er ci al bu i l di n gs
M ost n ot abl e i n t h e st u dy i s t h e con n ect i on bet w een dayl i gh t an d h u m an h eal t h , an d r edu ced depen den cy on el ect r i c l i gh t i n g
B ot h ar e si gn i f i can t l y ben ef i ci al f or com m er ci al bu i l di n g l an dl or ds, ow n er s an d m an ager s
Dayl i gh t an d h eal t h
‘The pr im ar y concer n in t he daylight ing of non-r esident ial buildings has gener ally been t o pr ovide illum inat ion suf f icient f or var ious t asks, invar iably supplem ent ed by ar t if icial light ing ’ How ever, in r ecent year s, f ocus has shif t ed t ow ar ds t he non-visual ef f ect s ( NVE) of daylight ing Per haps, t he best know n of t hese is t he im pact upon t he cir cadian r hyt hm t he daily cycle of day
and night and it s r ole in ‘ r egulat ing and m aint aining biochem ical, physiological, and behaviour al pr ocesses in hum an beings ’ I n addi t i on t o ‘ci r cadi an en t r ai n m en t ’ , t h er e i s evi den ce t o su ggest t h at good dayl i gh t pr ovi si on i n bu i l di n gs h as sever al ot h er posi t i ve ou t com es, i n cl u di n g: P r om ot i n g gen er al al er t n ess; i m pr ovi n g pr odu ct i vi t y of st af f ; i m pr oved m easu r es of academ i c at t ai n m en t i n w el l l i t com par ed t o poor l y l i t cl assr oom s; an d good dayl i gh t i n g h as even been i den t i f i ed as a f act or i n st af f r et en t i on W hile t he m echanism s underpinning t hese ef f ect s are not yet f ully underst ood, t here is suf f icient evidence f rom phot obiological research t o support t hese f indings I n f act , t he basis of recent guidelines and st andards f or t he daylight ing of buildings ( e g , t he W ELL St andard and EN 1 7037) ‘ w ere inf orm ed by t he healt h and w ell-being ef f ect s of illum inat ion in addit ion t o t he pot ent ial of energy saving ’
En er gy savi n g
Th e W h i t e P aper dem on st r at es en er gy
t h e r oof ar ea appor t i on ed f or r oof l i gh t s ‘For n on -r esi den t i al i n du st r i al / com m er ci al bu i l di n g t ypes, t h i s t ypi cal l y r equ i r es 1 0 –20% of t h e r oof ar ea ’
Layout is t hen a cr it ical design
consider at ion ‘ t o m axim ise t he daylight pot ent ial w it hin t he building ’ The m ost ef f ect ive layout balances int er nal r equir em ent s, like boost ing nat ur al light levels in deep-plan spaces, w it h pr act ical consider at ions, ext er nally, such as ot her ut ilit ies and phot ovolt aic panels on t he r oof ‘Designer s should consider daylight t o be an essent ial elem ent in building design because t he daylight ing per f or m ance is lar gely det er m ined by decisions m ade at t he ear ly design st age ’
I n vest n ow
savi n g i n t h e case st u dy Dayl i gh t P ot en t i al an d En er gy Savi n g, w h i ch u ses a 3 D m odel based on a t ypi cal r oof l i t
bu i l di n g pr ovi ded by Roof l i gh t Associ at i on m em ber, B r et t M ar t i n
Th e dat a r eveal s a t ypi cal r oof l i t
bu i l di n g h as con si der abl e pot en t i al t o r edu ce el ect r i c l i gh t i n g en er gy con su m pt i on by u si n g dayl i gh t ef f ect i vel y
Th e st u dy r ecom m en ds el ect r i c l i gh t i n g be
di m m ed, or even sw i t ch ed of f en t i r el y, i n
r espon se t o avai l abl e dayl i gh t t o r eal i se
si gn i f i can t savi n gs
Essent ial elem ent in building design
To t ake advan t age of dayl i gh t i n g, t h e
r epor t r ecom m en ds ‘B u i l di n g desi gn er s
sh ou l d con si der m axi m i si n g t h e u sef u l
l evel s of dayl i gh t w i t h i n t h ei r desi gn s, w h er e possi bl e ’ Gu i dan ce i s pr ovi ded on
Dayl i gh t i s a n at u r al r esou r ce To r ecogn i se i t s t r u e val u e, w e m u st u n der st an d i t s degr ee of avai l abi l i t y: h ow m u ch an d h ow of t en I l l u m i n at i on i s n ot r ou t i n el y m easu r ed i n bu i l di n gs, ot h er t h an f or con ser vat i on pu r poses e g , m u seu m s an d gal l er i es, so i t i s h ar dl y su r pr i si n g t h at t h e f u l l dayl i gh t i n g pot en t i al i n bu i l di n gs i s n ot r ecogn i sed, an d t h e ben ef i t s ar e of t en n ot ach i eved Th e Roof l i gh t Associ at i on h opes t h at w i t h t h e pu bl i cat i on of t h i s r epor t , pr ovi di n g a bet t er u n der st an di n g of t h e si gn i f i can t dayl i gh t i n g pot en t i al of r oof l i gh t s w i t h i n bu i l di n gs, st akeh ol der s w i l l i n vest i n r oof l i gh t s as a m u l t i f u n ct i on al bu i l di n g sol u t i on t h at su ppor t s su st ai n abi l i t y, h eal t h an d com pl i an ce goal s i n a r api dl y evol vi n g bu i l t en vi r on m en t
■ A copy of the white paper can be downloaded here www rdr link/lay015 ■ More information on The Rooflight Association here www.rdr.link/lay016
There are specific legislative requirements that must be rigorously upheld in shared living environments, for door hardware, this includes Building Regulations Approved Document Q
Rob Mottram, Technical Manager for ARRONE, a HOPPE Group brand, offers advice on managing hardware for multiple homes under one roof.
Cr eat i n g saf e, f u n ct i on al , an d com f or t abl e l i vi n g spaces i n
bu i l di n gs w i t h m u l t i pl e h om es
u n der on e r oof su ch as bl ocks of f l at s an d h ou ses i n m u l t i pl e
occu pat i on ( HM Os) r equ i r es a car ef u l bal an ce of pr i vacy, accessi bi l i t y, an d r egu l at or y com pl i an ce
Sh ar ed l i v i n g en v i r on m en t s m u st accou n t f or di v er se n eeds, en su r i n g
r esi den t s f eel secu r e i n t h ei r per son al space w h i l e bei n g abl e t o ev acu at e qu i ck l y i n an em er gen cy Th i s cr eat es a del i cat e bal an ce bet w een secu r i t y m easu r es an d r egu l at i on s
Th er e ar e al so speci f i c l egi sl at i ve r equ i r em en t s t h at m u st be r i gor ou sl y u ph el d i n sh ar ed l i vi n g en vi r on m en t s, su ch as f i r e saf et y r egu l at i on s u n der t h e Regu l at or y Ref or m ( Fi r e Saf et y) Or der 2005, an d t h e Equ al i t y Act 201 0, w h i ch m an dat es accessi bi l i t y f or al l r esi den t s
Th e Fi t n ess f or Habi t at i on Act 201 8 al so gi ves U K HM O t en an t s a r i gh t t o a saf e, secu r e r en t al pr oper t y
For door h ar dw ar e, t h i s m ean s adh er i n g t o best pr act i ce gu i dan ce an d
st an dar ds su ch as B u i l di n g Regu l at i on s A ppr oved Docu m en t Q on secu r i t y i n dw el l i n gs, w h i ch al so r equ i r es com pl i an ce w i t h PA S 24 an d A ppr oved
Docu m en t B r el at i n g t o f i r e saf et y, am on g ot h er s ‘ PA S 24 – En h an ced secu r i t y f or door set s an d w i n dow s ’ cover s h ow t o t est an d assess door set s an d w i n dow s i n t en ded t o r esi st at t ack f r om casu al or oppor t u n i st i c bu r gl ar s
Rel evan t st an dar ds i n cl u de B S 83 00-1 :201 8 on t h e desi gn of an accessi bl e an d i n cl u si ve bu i l t en vi r on m en t r el at i n g t o ext er n al ar eas su ch as st r eet s, par ks an d l an dscaped ar eas, an d B S 83 002:201 8 on desi gn i n g bu i l di n gs an d i n t er n al spaces so t h ey ar e
accessi bl e an d i n cl u si ve Th e B S EN 1 2209 st an dar d f or f i r e-r at ed l ocks an d l at ch es i s al so key Ef f ect i ve h ar dw ar e sol u t i on s, t ai l or ed t o m eet t h ese u n i qu e dem an ds, pl ay a key r ol e i n ach i evi n g a bal an ce an d i t ’ s i m por t an t t o r ecogn i se t h e com pl ex
ch al l en ges i n vol ved i n sel ect i n g an d m an agi n g h ar dw ar e f or su ch di ver se en vi r on m en t s
Fire doors must be equipped with selfclosing mechanisms and hardware that allows for quick exit in an emergency
e x t e r n a l d o o r s , mu s t p rov i d e a ‘ key l e s s e s c a p e ’ i f p a r t o f
t h e p r i ma r y o r s e c o n d a r y fi r e e s c a p e ro u t e .
B al an ci n g f i r e saf et y w i t h
f u n ct i on al i t y
F i r e saf et y i s a cr i t i cal con si der at i on i n an y
bu i l di n g w i t h m u l t i pl e occu pan t s, especi al l y i n m u l t i -occu pan cy l ocat i on s w h er e ev acu at i on r ou t es m u st r em ai n cl ear an d accessi bl e
As a r egulat or y r equir em ent in such set t ings, f ir e door s m ust be equipped w it h self -closing m echanism s and har dw ar e t hat allow s f or quick exit in an em er gency
Th i s i s w h er e em er gen cy exi t h ar dw ar e com es i n t o pl ay Su ch sol u t i on s en su r e door s can be open ed ef f or t l essl y du r i n g em er gen ci es w i t h ou t com pr om i si n g t h ei r i n t egr i t y as f i r e bar r i er s
All doors w it h locks, t ypically bedroom , porch and ext ernal doors, m ust provide a ‘keyless escape ’ if part of t he prim ary or secondary f ire escape rout e
Secu r i t y m eet s i n di vi du al pr i vacy F l at s ar e l ar gel y sel f -con t ai n ed, w i t h bat h r oom , k i t ch en an d l i v i n g spaces al l beh i n d t h e f r on t door H ow ev er, i n som e cou n ci l an d soci al h ou si n g pr ov i derow n ed f l at s, as w el l as H M Os, bat h r oom s ar e of t en sh ar ed, w i t h com m u n al l i v i n g an d k i t ch en ar eas an d cor r i dor s Th i s m ean s ev er y t h i n g m u st be easi l y accessi bl e w i t h h ar dw ar e r obu st en ou gh t o w i t h st an d f r equ en t u se M ak i n g a cl ear di st i n ct i on bet w een pr i v at e an d
com m u n al ar eas i s al so i m por t an t
M ast er key syst em s
M ast er key syst em s pr ovi de an i deal access con t r ol sol u t i on , of f er i n g t ai l or ed access l evel s f or r esi den t s, st af f, an d m ai n t en an ce per son n el
W i t h a si n gl e key, pr oper t y m an ager s can access al l i n di vi du al pr oper t i es an d ot h er ar eas w i t h ou t t h e n eed f or a bu l k y set of k ey s M ean w h i l e, r esi den t s h av e secu r e access t o t h ei r i n di v i du al spaces Th i s l ev el of con t r ol en h an ces secu r i t y, si m pl i f i es k ey m an agem en t , an d r edu ces t h e r i sk of u n au t h or i sed access
Ext er n al an d i n t er n al door l ocks
I n si t u at i on s w h er e r esi den t s n eed t o exi t bu t n ot r e-en t er a space, escape l ocks of f er a sm ar t sol u t i on Th ese devi ces al l ow a door t o be l ocked or u n l ocked f r om on e si de w h i l e pr even t i n g access f r om t h e ot h er a com m on r equ i r em en t i n sh ar ed bat h r oom s or u t i l i t y ar eas B S 8621 cr eat ed especi al l y f or escape l ocks –appl i es h er e I t speci f i es per f or m an ce r equ i r em en t s an d t est m et h ods f or a t h i ef r esi st an t m ech an i cal l y oper at ed si n gl epoi n t l ock assem bl y
An y sel f -l at ch i n g or l ocki n g devi ces ar e n ot advi sed, as t h e t en an t can easi l y be l ocked ou t of t h ei r r oom , m ean i n g l an dl or ds ar e m or e l i kel y t o get cal l -ou t s f or r e-en t r y
or f i n d dam age t o t h e door an d f r am e f r om f or ced open i n g
B edr oom s i n HM Os m ay h ou se i n di vi du al s u n f am i l i ar w i t h on e an ot h er, i n cr easi n g t h e n eed f or r el i abl e, du r abl e l ocks P VC-U an d com posi t e ext er n al door s u su al l y f eat u r e m u l t i -poi n t l ocki n g syst em s w i t h a t h u m b l ock i n si de an d key en t r y f r om ou t si de, agai n , of f er i n g t h e cor r ect l evel of pr ot ect i on
U lt im at ely, no t w o shared living environm ent s are t he sam e each building brings it s ow n set of challenges, shaped by layout , occupancy t ype, and t he specif ic needs of resident s
W h et h er i t 's a n ew bu i l d or a r ef u r bi sh m en t , door h ar dw ar e sh ou l d n ever be an af t er t h ou gh t I n st ead, i t m u st be con si der ed ear l y i n t h e desi gn st age t o en su r e i t su ppor t s t h e n at u r al f l ow of m ovem en t , en abl es appr opr i at e access, an d m eet s al l n ecessar y com pl i an ce r equ i r em en t s
I n r ef ur bishm ent pr oject s, conduct ing a t hor ough sit e sur vey and w her e appr opr iat e, gat her ing f eedback f r om st af f and occupant s can pr ovide valuable insight s int o how spaces ar e used and w hat adjust m ent s m ay be needed
Ta k i n g a t a i l or ed, con s i der ed a p p r oa ch en s u r es t h e h a r dw a r e n ot on l y p er f or m s r el i a bl y bu t con t r i bu t es t o a s a f er, m or e s ecu r e, a n d m or e i n cl u s i v e l i v i n g en v i r on m en t
A new UK National Foreword has been published alongside the revised version of the extended application (EXAP) standard EN 15269-2, following concerns raised within the industry about potentially unsafe design practices previously permitted under the standard Industry testing revealed that the addition of a threshold to a steel fire doorset previously allowed without further evidence under EN 15269-2 can compromise fire performance, particularly when used with certain core constructions commonly specified in the UK While this concern arose too late to influence the technical content of the revised standard, the UK voted against its publication due to these safety implications Despite this, the revised EN 15269-2 proceeded following broader European consensus, with only a limited amendment stating that thresholds should be constructed from fire-resistant material To address the resulting gap and guide industry best practice, BSI has now issued a UK National Foreword Although non-normative, it provides an explicit advisory that thresholds should only be included where supported by direct fire testing evidence to EN 1634-1 In line with this, ASSA ABLOY Door Group confirms that its Powershield range of steel fire doorsets meets the most rigorous fire testing requirements, including full compliance with EN 1634-1 This ensures that Powershield doors not only meet regulatory standards but also provides a high level of assurance in real fire conditions
Rutherglen multi-storey residents receive new fire doors
New, engineered timber fire doors have been supplied and installed by the CCG Group in Rutherglen, improving fire safety for 164 residences at Greenhill Court The contract was undertaken on behalf of South Lanarkshire Council The doorsets comprising of the door leaf as well as the surrounding frame for all flat entrances, common passageways and stores were fabricated by CCG’s in-house ‘Manufacturing’ division just two miles from the address at the company ’ s headquarters in Cambuslang Every door has been completed to an exacting specification thanks to semi-automated production processes, including robotically applied paint, resulting in a fully fire rated and BM Trada Q Mark-certified product that is proven to withstand a fire up to 60 minutes as well as the passage of smoke during an emergency
TORMAX Automatic Access works swimmingly Spennymoor Leisure Centre, County Durham, has recently undergone a significant refurbishment As part of that, TORMAX worked with NE&C Windows & Doors Ltd to automate two sets of single sliding doors Visitors are welcomed through the first automatic door directly into the newly revamped swimming pool reception, before going through the second sliding door into the pool area itself
The TORMAX iMotion 2202 A door drive is ideal for these busy access points that experience a wide range of visitors, including young families, the elderly and less-able, offering easily adapted control of holdopen times and opening speeds to allow for safe and easy passage for all pedestrians
Simon Roberts, MD for TORMAX says: “Our comprehensive range of advance door drives ensures a solution for almost any environment Although not required in this instance, we can offer swing and sliding door operators that are IP65-rated and are capable of withstanding continuous immersion and splash water ”
EJOT’s range of innovative PVC profiles can play a key role in minimising the risk of cracks developing around window and door frames in rendered external wall insulation (EWI) systems, thus reducing one of the most commonly reported issues by tenants
The fastening systems specialist has developed an extensive range of profiles and beads for EWI systems, also referred to as ETICS (external thermal insulation composite systems), which enable the creation of high quality façades with precise edges and optimum lifetime performance
Within this range are several Pro GAP window reveal beads manufactured in a combination of PVC and fibreglass mesh, which are designed to achieve an exact, aligned, and perpendicular plaster finish around windows and doors When used in an EWI system that also utilises EJOT ProLine profiles and beads for the base, corners and edges, plus its insulation anchors and mounting elements for postinstallation attachments, the end result is a thermally superior façade
A I a d o p t i o n i n
p r o p e r t y m a n a g e m e n t
Beyond the hype Emre Kazan, Co-founder and CPTO at Plentific, discusses the benefits of AI-driven property management
AI of f er s t r an sf or m at i v e ben ef i t s f or l ocal au t h or i t i es an d h ou si n g associ at i on s i n cl u di n g en h an ced oper at i on al ef f i ci en cy, au t om at i on of r ou t i n e t ask s, i m pr ov ed deci si on -m ak i n g t h r ou gh dat a an al y t i cs an d i n n ov at i v e r esi den t en gagem en t m odel s
As social landlords address t he com plexit ies of digit al t ransf orm at ion, AI is gaining m ainst ream prom inence, int ensif ying t he pressure t o act decisively W hilst AI of f ers signif icant opport unit ies t o opt im ise perf orm ance, it is not a panacea
Recen t act i on f r om t h e Regu l at or of Soci al Hou si n g h i gh l i gh t s t h e u r gen cy f or m oder n i si n g pr ocesses an d dat a m an agem en t Over t h e past t w o year s, t h e m ost com m on r eason s f or i n t er ven t i on h ave i n cl u ded h eal t h an d saf et y com pl i an ce f ai l u r es, f i r e saf et y br each es, i n adequ at e m an agem en t of dam p an d m ou l d r esu l t i n g i n Aw aab’s Law, w i despr ead i ssu es i n r epai r s an d m ai n t en an ce ser vi ces an d sh or t com i n gs i n dat a m an agem en t an d r ecor d-keepi n g
I n num erous inst ances, housing providers w ere unable t o provide up-t o-dat e inf orm at ion about propert y condit ions, saf et y cert if icat es, or out st anding w orks, t hereby exposing bot h resident s and organisat ions t o signif icant risk
Th e pr ogr essi on t ow ar ds A I an d au t om at i on m u st be cou pl ed w i t h sol i d di gi t al f ou n dat i on s an d com pr eh en si ve vi si bi l i t y acr oss com pl i an ce an d oper at i on al dat a
F or l ocal au t h or i t i es an d h ou si n g associ at i on s t h e A I r ev ol u t i on
r epr esen t s bot h an oppor t u n i t y an d an i m per at i v e A I of f er s si gn i f i can t pot en t i al f or soci al h ou si n g pr ov i der s t o t r an si t i on f r om r eact i v e ser v i ce m odel s t o m or e pr oact i v e an d pr edi ct i v e oper at i on s I t can assi st or gan i sat i on s i n m ak i n g m or e i n f or m ed deci si on s, au t om at e t ask s t h at w er e n ot possi bl e bef or e an d del i v er en h an ced ou t com es f or r esi den t s an d st af f al i k e Th e r eal ch al l en ge i s n ot deci di n g w h et h er t o adopt A I , i t ’ s h ow sw i f t l y an d ef f ect i v el y t h e essen t i al dat a an d sof t w ar e f ou n dat i on s can be bu i l t t o m ake A I t r u l y v al u abl e N on et h el ess, A I i s n ot a qu i ck f i x f or ev er y pr obl em I t w or k s best w h en pr ocesses ar e al r eady cl ear, dat a i s r el i abl e an d w or k f l ow s ar e di gi t i sed I f r ecor ds an d oper at i on al dat a
ar e scat t er ed acr oss P DF s, spr eadsh eet s an d em ai l s, i t becom es pr obl em at i c f or A I m odel s t o pr odu ce pr eci se an d con si st en t i n si gh t s A I y i el ds t h e best r esu l t s w h en i t h as access t o w el l -st r u ct u r ed, con t ext u al i sed dat a, r at h er t h an h av i n g t o di scer n m ean i n g f r om a di sor gan i sed assor t m en t of docu m en t s Fu r t h er m or e, AI ’ s h el p sh ou l d n ot be con f i n ed t o i n t er pr et i n g st at i c dat a, su m m ar i si n g docu m en t s, or su ggest i n g act i on s f or u ser s t o execu t e m an u al l y I f t h e obj ect i ve i s t o r each i n t el l i gen t au t om at i on ( I A) , t h e n ext best act i on s sh ou l d i deal l y be u n der t aken by t h e syst em s au t om at i cal l y, w h i ch n ecessi t at es syst em s capabl e of pr ogr am m at i c act i on I n t h i s con t ext , AI can f u n ct i on as a f or ce m u l t i pl i er f or exi st i n g au t om at i on t ool s, f aci l i t at i n g sol u t i on s t o pot en t i al au t om at i on ch al l en ges t h at w er e pr evi ou sl y i m possi bl e t o addr ess w i t h pr e-AI t ech n ol ogi es
First st eps w it h AI and quick w ins
AI is a pow erf ul t ool, but it 's not a one-sizef it s-all solut ion I t s suit abilit y depends on t he nat ure of t he problem , t he qualit y of available dat a and t he clarit y of desired out com es I n som e cases, t radit ional sof t w are logic or process redesign m ay deliver bet t er result s w it h less com plexit y I t 's im port ant t o assess each use case on it s ow n m erit s bef ore deciding w het her AI is t he right approach
Som e quick wins include aut om at ing st raight f orward adm inist rat ive t asks t hrough aut om at ion, deploying AI chat bot s t o handle com m on resident inquiries and leveraging AI or M achine Learning f or predict ive m aint enance t o ant icipat e issues bef ore t hey escalat e St art sm all, solve real problem s and scale f rom success AI adopt ion works best when it 's grounded in everyday im pact
Local aut horit ies and housing associat ions should m aint ain f ocus on t heir key goals and aim t o put t oget her syst em s t hat can help t hem t o achieve t hese goals M ost sof t w are solut ions are im plem ent ing AI t o im prove t heir product and social landlords can t ake advant age of t hese readily available capabilit ies rat her t han going int o green f ield AI im plem ent at ions
AI use-cases
Realist ic AI use-cases include predict ive m aint enance reducing em ergency repairs, opt im ised scheduling of repairs t o cut cost s and em issions, supply chain opt im isat ion, aut om at ed cust om er support via chat bot s and planning of capit al works program m es AI can also act as an int elligence layer acr oss siloed syst em s, br inging t oget her dat a f r om housing m anagem ent , CR M , asset m anagem ent and com pliance solut ions This can help social landlor ds t o m ake f ast er, bet t er decisions by exposing inef f iciencies and unlocking pat t er ns not visible in isolat ion
“Star t small, solve real problems and scale from success . AI adoption wor ks best w hen it's grounded in ever yday impact.”
For w ar d-t h i n ki n g or gan i sat i on s r ecogn i se t h e i m por t an ce of a st r u ct u r ed, h i ghqu al i t y dat a f ou n dat i on an d a w el lar ch i t ect ed sof t w ar e i n f r ast r u ct u r e as cr i t i cal f ou n dat i on s w i t h ou t w h i ch AI can n ot f u n ct i on r el i abl y, r each i t s f u l l pot en t i al , be t r u st ed t o su ppor t oper at i on al deci si on -m aki n g or del i ver con si st en t ou t com es at scal e
I n t he cont ext of digit alisat ion, AI can aut om at e docum ent handling, suppor t int elligent dat a ent r y and classif icat ion and im pr ove syst em int er oper abilit y, acceler at ing t he sect or ’ s t r ansit ion aw ay f r om m anual and f r agm ent ed pr ocesses
Furt her benef it s
AI helps local aut hor it y and housing st af f by aut om at ing r out ine t asks and r educing hum an er r or, f r eeing t hem t o f ocus on st r at egic pr ior it ies and, im por t ant ly, f ost er ing st r onger, m or e per sonal r elat ionships w it h r esident s an essent ial elem ent of t r ust and ser vice qualit y in housing Resident s benef it t hr ough quicker r esponse t im es, im pr oved ser vice qualit y, m or e per sonalised int er act ions and enhanced over all sat isf act ion
Tr an si t i on i n g t o an A I -pow er ed en t er pr i se n ecessi t at es an equ i v al en t l ev el of i n v est m en t i n pr ocess di gi t al i sat i on an d sy st em i n t egr at i on ar eas w h er e t h e i n du st r y h as pr ev i ou sl y f aced con si der abl e ch al l en ges
This is w here I nt elligent Aut om at ion ( I A) com es in I A denot es t he st rat egic
applicat ion of aut om at ion t echnologies, encom passing bot h t radit ional t ools like Robot ic P rocess Aut om at ion ( R PA) and w orkf low engines, as w ell as cont em porary AI -pow ered capabilit ies such as t hose in large language m odels ( LLM s) t o opt im ise processes, m inim ise m anual ef f ort and em pow er syst em s t o execut e int elligent act ions aut onom ously I t signif ies a m ove f rom disparat e aut om at ions t o m ore cohesive, decision-m aking syst em s
At P lent if ic, w e ar e pr oud t o suppor t m or e t han 1 6 m illion hom es on our plat f or m , w it h m any w ell-know n housing pr ovider s alr eady using our t echnology t o enhance t heir oper at ions We have st ar t ed t his jour ney w it h sever al local aut hor it y par t ner s and ar e eager t o shar e m or e insight s and r esult s as w e cont inue t o see t he im pact of AI acr oss t he indust r y
Connect ing local aut horit ies
P lent if ic is host ing local aut hor it ies f r om acr oss t he U K at an event in Oct ober at West m inst er explor ing how t echnology is connect ing com m unit ies and opt im ising pr oper t y oper at ions
P lent if ic is a t echnology leader w it h a m ission t o collabor at e w it h and digit ally t r ansf or m local gover nm ent and t he U K housing sect or, building com m unit ies w her e people can t hr ive w it h best -in-class r esident exper iences Connect ing local aut hor it ies w it h cont r act or s and r esident s, P lent if ic’saw ar d-w inning AI -pow er ed plat f or m or chest r at es pr oper t y oper at ions in r eal t im e and unlocks ef f iciencies
Par t ner s benef it f r om dat a-dr iven insight s enabling inf or m ed decision m aking, w it h enhanced visibilit y of per f or m ance, dr iving pr om pt act ion and t angible im pact s
F o r a l l t h e l a t e s t n e w s a n d v i e w s c h e c k o u t l a b m o n l i n e . c o . u k
L O C A L A U T H O R I T Y B U I L D I N G& M A I N T E N A N C E
L A B M ’s w e b s i t e o f f e r s a n e s s e n t i a l i n f o r m a t i o n r e s o u r c e f o r l o c a l a u t h o r i t y a n d h o u s i n g
a s s o c i a t i o n s p e c i f i e r s , a n d a n y o n e i n v o l v e d i n t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n , r e f u r b i s h m e n t a n d
m a i n t e n a n c e o f s o c i a l a n d a f f o r d a b l e h o u s i n g , s c h o o l s , h e a l t h c a r e f a c i l i t i e s
a n d p u b l i c s e c t o r b u i l d i n g s
O n t h e w e b s i t e y o u ’ l l f i n d d e t a i l s o n a l l t h e l a t e s t f u n d i n g a n d r e g u l a t o r y u p d a t e s , s e c t o r a n n o u n c e m e n t s , c o n t r a c t a w a r d s a n d i n d u s t r y e v e n t s We s h a r e i n s i g h t a n d o p i n i o n f r o m
c o m m e n t a t o r s a c r o s s t h e s u p p l y c h a i n , f e a t u r e i n - d e p t h p r o j e c t c a s e s t u d i e s a n d i n o u r
P r o d u c t s s e c t i o n , s h o w c a s e n e w p r o d u c t i n n o v a t i o n s , t e c h n o l o g i e s a n d c o n s t r u c t i o n s o l u t i o n s
D o n ’ t f o r g e t t o f o l l o w u s o n Tw i t t e r @ la b mm a g a n d o n L i n k e d I n a t
w w w. li nke d in. c o m/ c o mp a ny / lo c al -a u t ho r it y -b u il di ng - m ai nt e na nce f o r a l l t h e l a t e s t s t o r i e s
Image ©Richard O’Donoghue/AdobeStock
Neal Herbert, Managing Director of GTC, discusses digitalisation and the future of low carbon social housing
As t h e U K edges cl oser t o i t s n et zer o goal s, di gi t al t r an sf or m at i on i s em er gi n g as a cr u ci al en abl er i n t h e decar bon i sat i on of soci al h ou si n g Hou si n g associ at i on s an d l ocal
au t h or i t i es ar e at t h e cen t r e of t h i s sh i f t , t asked w i t h del i ver i n g af f or dabl e, su st ai n abl e, an d en er gy-ef f i ci en t h om es t h at m eet evol vi n g r egu l at or y st an dar ds an d r i si n g r esi den t expect at i on s
Di gi t al i sat i on i s n ow r esh api n g h ow h om es ar e desi gn ed, h eat ed, an d m an aged Th r ou gh i n t el l i gen t i n t egr at i on of t ech n ol ogi es an d dat a sy st em s, soci al h ou si n g pr ov i der s can t ake m ean i n gf u l st r i des t ow ar d a l ow car bon f u t u r e w h i l e en su r i n g r esi den t s ben ef i t f r om com f or t , af f or dabi l i t y, an d t r an spar en cy
The Fut ure Hom es St andard, along w it h broader net zero am bit ions, places increasing pressure on t he social housing sect or t o t ransit ion aw ay f rom carbonint ensive syst em s Digit alisat ion of f ers a pow erf ul t oolkit t o m eet t hese dem ands, unlocking sm art er, m ore ef f icient w ays t o build and operat e hom es
B y i n cor por at i n g dat a-l ed i n si gh t s, au t om at ed con t r ol sy st em s, an d r ealt i m e con n ect i v i t y, di gi t al sol u t i on s al l ow soci al h ou si n g r esi den t s t o opt i m i se en er gy u se an d su ppor t t h e w i der gr i d Th i s i s par t i cu l ar l y i m por t an t as h eat i n g t r adi t i on al l y t h e l ar gest con t r i bu t or t o dom est i c em i ssi on s u n der goes a f u n dam en t al t r an sf or m at i on
N et w or k ed s ol u t i on s
Low carbon heat ing syst em s such as Net w orked Ground Source Heat P um ps are now being paired w it h int elligent cont rols like t he Passiv Sm art Therm ost at , enabling m ore responsive and adapt able energy m anagem ent The result is a housing st ock t hat not only m eet s current com pliance t hresholds but also, is f ut ure proof ed against evolving regulat ory and environm ent al challenges
For local aut horit ies and housing associat ions delivering new-build or regenerat ion project s, Net worked Ground Source Heat Pum ps present a scalable, ef f icient , and low carbon solut ion
Net worked Ground Source Heat P um ps work by capt uring heat st ored in
t he ground and am plif ying it via a heat pum p t o provide consist ent space heat ing and hot wat er What dist inguishes t hese syst em s in t oday’s cont ext is t heir digit al capabilit y When connect ed wit h sm art t herm ost at s, Net worked Ground Source Heat P um ps enable individual resident s t o set personalised com f ort pref erences while t he syst em adjust s in real-t im e t o opt im ise energy use and cost
Th i s di gi t al i n t er f ace does m or e
t h an i m pr ov e u ser exper i en ce i t su ppor t s dem an d-si de f l exi bi l i t y, w h i ch al l ow s t h e h eat i n g l oad t o sh i f t i n
r espon se t o gr i d n eeds F or exam pl e, r esi den t s can be i n cen t i v i sed t o r edu ce con su m pt i on du r i n g peak t i m es, su ppor t i n g gr i d r esi l i en ce an d r edu ci n g t h e cost of el ect r i ci t y Th i s i s a key adv an t age f or l ocal au t h or i t i es l ook i n g t o m an age en er gy dem an ds acr oss
l ar ge por t f ol i os w h i l e del i v er i n g v al u e f or m on ey t o r esi den t s
D i gi t a l ecos y s t em
B y com bi n i n g Net w or ked Gr ou n d
Sou r ce Heat P u m ps w i t h i n t el l i gen t con t r ol s, h ou si n g associ at i on s an d l ocal
“ T h e c o nve rg e n c e o f d i g i t a l i s a t i o n a n d d e c a r b o n i s a t i o n
i s r e d e fi n i n g w h a t ’ s p o s s i b l e i n s o c i a l h o u s i n g . ”
au t h or i t i es can cr eat e a com pr eh en si ve di gi t al ecosyst em t h at del i ver s ben ef i t s acr oss t h e boar d:
● For Hou si n g P r ovi der s: Accel er at es t h e t r an si t i on t o l ow car bon , di gi t al l y en abl ed h ou si n g by i n t egr at i n g sm ar t con t r ol s w i t h Net w or ked Gr ou n d
Sou r ce Heat P u m ps Th i s al l ow s soci al h ou si n g pr ovi der s t o f u t u r e-pr oof t h ei r st ock, m eet decar bon i sat i on t ar get s, an d gai n val u abl e dat a i n si gh t s f or bet t er asset m an agem en t
● For Resident s: Sm art t herm ost at s give t enant s great er cont rol over t heir environm ent From scheduling heat ing t o m onit oring energy use, resident s can m ake inf orm ed decisions t hat reduce bills and enhance w ellbeing This level of t ransparency is part icularly valuable in t ackling f uel povert y allow ing resident s t o heat t heir hom es ef f icient ly w it hout sacrif icing com f ort
● For t he Grid: Elect r if icat ion of heat is a
cor ner st one of t he U K ’ s net zer o st r at egy As m or e hom es adopt elect r ic heat ing, dem and-side f lexibilit y becom es essent ial Digit alised syst em s m ake it possible f or housing associat ions t o suppor t gr id st abilit y t hr ough int elligent load shif t ing essent ially t ur ning hom es int o act ive par t icipant s in t he ener gy syst em
B u i l di n g r es i l i en ce Th e di gi t al t r an sf or m at i on of h eat i n g i n soci al h ou si n g i s n ot j u st a t ech n ol ogi cal u pgr ade i t i s a st r at egi c sh i f t t h at en abl es a j u st , i n cl u si ve t r an si t i on t o n et zer o B y adopt i n g f u t u r e-r eady syst em s t oday, h ou si n g associ at i on s an d l ocal au t h or i t i es can bu i l d r esi l i en ce i n t o t h ei r st ock, l ow er oper at i n g cost s, an d em pow er com m u n i t i es
This also posit ions t he public housing sect or as a leader in innovat ion As pressure m ount s on privat e developers t o
m eet sust ainabilit y st andards, social landlords can showcase scalable, replicable m odels f or low carbon living M oreover, by invest ing in int egrat ed digit al inf rast ruct ure now, providers can avoid cost ly ret rof it s in t he f ut ure and ensure t heir hom es rem ain com pliant , ef f icient , and desirable f or decades t o com e
Th e con ver gen ce of di gi t al i sat i on an d decar bon i sat i on i s r edef i n i n g w h at ’ s possi bl e i n soci al h ou si n g Th r ou gh t ech n ol ogi es l i ke Net w or ked Gr ou n d Sou r ce Heat P u m ps an d i n t el l i gen t con t r ol pl at f or m s, h ou si n g associ at i on s an d l ocal au t h or i t i es can del i ver h om es t h at ar e sm ar t , su st ai n abl e, an d su ppor t i ve of bot h r esi den t w el l bei n g an d n at i on al cl i m at e goal s
Now is t he t im e f or t he sect or t o em br ace t his t r ansf or m at ion lever aging innovat ion not just t o m eet r egulat ions, but t o lead t he w ay t ow ar d a cleaner, m or e equit able housing f ut ur e f or all
A I o r s m a r t t e c h n o l o g y —
w h a t ’s t h e d i f f e r e n c e ?
In the construction and earthmoving industries, smart technology and artificial intelligence (AI) play crucial roles across site management, but what differentiates the disciplines? Bart Vingerhoets, Senior Commercial Manager at Komatsu Smart Construction, offers his insight on the benefits and challenges of both disciplines, where to consider applying technology on site and how these innovations are transforming multiple sectors.
Sm ar t t ech n ol ogy i s t r an sf or m i n g
h ow con st r u ct i on pr oj ect s ar e pl an n ed, m an aged, an d execu t ed Fr om dr on es an d w ear abl es t o advan ced sen sor s, t h ese t ool s gi ve t eam s gr eat er con t r ol an d vi si bi l i t y on t h e gr ou n d I n bot h con st r u ct i on an d ear t h m ovi n g, sm ar t syst em s su ppor t each st age of a pr oj ect Tech n ol ogy su ch as sen sor s on si t e st r u ct u r es h ave t h e abi l i t y t o m on i t or con di t i on s r em ot el y, f l ag saf et y con cer n s ear l y an d t r ack m at er i al u se as w or k pr ogr esses B y m on i t or i n g m u l t i pl e st ages of a con st r u ct i on si t e, m an ager s ar e en abl ed t o w or k pr oact i vel y i n st ead of r eact i vel y r edu ci n g er r or s, i m pr ovi n g qu al i t y an d avoi di n g u n n ecessar y r e-w or k
At i t s cor e, sm ar t t ech n ol ogy h el ps t eam s w or k m or e ef f i ci en t l y, m ake bet t er deci si on s, an d del i v er st r on ger pr oj ect ou t com es F or exam pl e, K om at su ’ s Sm ar t Con st r u ct i on Dash boar d cr eat es a di gi t al v er si on of t h e j ob si t e, sh ow i n g l i v e dat a on m at er i al s, m easu r em en t s an d pot en t i al i ssu es
Th ese f eat u r es el i m i n at e t h e possi bi l i t y of ov er -di ggi n g, an d i n cor r ect m at er i al m ov em en t t o r edu ce t h e
am ou n t of t i m e r equ i r ed on si t e Team s can r espon d qu i ck l y, sol v e pr obl em s as t h ey ar i se, an d m ai n t ai n pr ogr ess w i t h ou t u n n ecessar y del ay s
I n cor por at i n g AI t ech n ol ogy
AI i s con si der ed a ‘ con cept ’ an d i s m ost com m on l y associ at ed w i t h au t on om ou s equ i pm en t , gi vi n g m ach i n es t h e per cei ved abi l i t y t o l ear n , pr obl em sol ve an d au t om at e t h e ear t h m ovi n g pr ocess based on m ach i n e l ear n i n g
In 2025, AI t echnology across European const ruct ion sit es is in play, but not wit h t he t ype of equipm ent m any cust om ers expect An exam ple of AI in t he f ield is via Sm art Const ruct ion’s Edge product , a hardware solut ion t hat advances t he process of drone surveying by lowering t echnical com plexit y The t ool uses a cust om -built AI algorit hm t o aut om at ically rem ove buildings, equipm ent and veget at ion f rom t he 3D point cloud it processes f rom t he drone f oot age, delivering a clear, accurat e, 3D represent at ion of t he sit e
W h en u pl oaded t o Sm ar t Con st r u ct i on Dash boar d, t h e u ser i s pr ovi ded a di r ect w ay of cal cu l at i n g j ob si t e pr ogr ess
qu i ckl y an d i den t i f yi n g an y ch al l en ges f r om a bi r ds-eye-vi ew per spect i ve
Adopt i n g sm ar t t ech n ol ogy an d AI I n 2025 and beyond, w e can expect t he adopt ion of sm ar t t echnology and t he use of AI on const r uct ion sit es t o cont inue t o r ise as m or e cost -ef f ect ive opt ions hit t he m ar ket I n f act , t he global AI in const r uct ion m ar ket w as est im at ed at £ 1 3 bn in 2023 and is pr oject ed t o r each £ 9 1 bn by 203 01 K om at su Sm ar t Con st r u ct i on r ecen t l y an n ou n ced t h at i t s Rem ot e sol u t i on w i l l n ow be av ai l abl e as a st an dar d w i t h al l pu r ch ases of K om at su -br an ded gu i dan ce an d con t r ol sy st em s, r ecogn i si n g t h e br an d's on goi n g ef f or t s t o pr i or i t i se i n t er oper abi l i t y an d ease of di gi t al t r an sf or m at i on
1 ht t ps:/ / w w w businessw ir e com / new s/ hom e/ 2024 1 21 93 68089/ en/ Ar t if icial-I nt elligence-AI -inConst r uct ion-Global-Repor t -2024 -M ar ket -t o-Reach%24 1 2 1 -B illion-by-203 0---How -B I M -B uildingI nf or m at ion-M odeling-I nt egr at ion-Expands-Scope--Resear chAndM ar ket s com ■
Field First platform launched for next generation of field service excellence
Totalmobile, a leader in field service management (FSM) technology, has announced the launch of Field First, said to be a first-of-its-kind platform dedicated entirely to the needs of field service organisations Designed to address the complexity of modern field operations, the solution enables organisations to plan smarter, optimise service, operate more efficiently, and deliver better customer outcomes, while making work and the lives of field workers better
Bringing together a suite of vertically tailored solutions, the platform offers proactive asset management, dynamic scheduling, mobile workforce enablement, smarter rostering, lone worker protection, streamlined job management and real-time field intelligence capabilities Its modular design is underpinned by a series of core innovation principles: Artificial Intelligence, UX, SaaS, Integration, LowCode/No-Code, Security, and Data, guiding every aspect of the platform’s design, ensuring flexibility, scale, and ease of use
The new platform is tailored to meet the needs of diverse sectors, including housing, emergency services, health and social care, infrastructure, government services, and facilities management It
offers best-practice solutions that accelerate deployment, reduce complexity, and drive fast, visible return on investment
With advanced AI and automation at its core, it delivers data-driven decision making and operational foresight From integrating siloed systems to improving response times and service delivery, the platform helps organisations achieve long-term performance gains
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