august figures

UK August construction projects increased by 20%

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The value of new contracts awarded reached 5.8 billion based on a 3 month moving average, resulting in a 7% increase on the month and the highest recorded figure since March of this year.

The figures have been published in the latest addition of the Economic and Construction market review from Barbour ABI, and have come as a welcome boost for the industry in what is normally a slow month.

Residential construction performed strongly – bringing in 2.7 billion in the month. This helped the overall monthly construction figure gain a 20% increase on the month, up 15% from August 2016.

Commercial and retail building reached 785 million in August, a monthly increase of 47%.

London gained 20% of the UKs construction contract value, followed by the North West with 14%.

The number of construction projects awarded in August increased by 19.7% compared to July, and the value of residential projects in August was 2.7 billion, a year increase of 55.2%.

Commenting on the figures, Michael Dall, Lead Economist at Barbour ABI said “The construction sector can once again be thankful for the strong showing of the residential sector, which provided £1.8 billion more than any other sector in August, along with an increase of 55 per cent compared with August 2016.”

“It is encouraging to see the number of projects increasing steadily, particularly the larger projects from the commercial and retail sector. However a lack of investment in infrastructure across August and for the most part of 2017 is not encouraging, as we haven’t seen many major projects come to fruition, especially after it was highlighted as a Government priority earlier in the year.”

Uk Construction week coming next month

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Back in June we wrote a news article about this years UK Construction week, held in Birmingham from 10-12th October.

It is free to attend for trade visitors and consists of 9 shows: Build Show, Timber Expo, Civils Expo, Plant & Machinery Live, Energy 2017, Smart Buildings 2017, Surface & Materials Show (featuring Kitchens & Bathrooms Live), HVAC 2017 and Grand Designs Live.

The main stage speakers and seminars include welcomes and introductions from George Clark (Restoration Man), Steph McGovern (BBC Breakfast Business Presenter) and Tom Dyckhoff (broadcaster and historian on architecture, design and cities)

Offsite Construction will be a major theme this year. The industry has embraced the latest technologies that have enabled us to build quicker, more efficiently and at a quality not achievable before. One of the main aims of the event is to showcase innovation in the industry, and to that end the Innovation Trail will show visitors the latest products which are paving a new way of building that hasn’t been seen before.

There will also be some new, specialist awards granted which include Low Carbon Vehicles Awards, BIM Awards, Offsite Awards and the WAN Transport, Concrete in Architecture and Adaptive Reuse Awards. The UK’s best companies in the industry will also be recognised at the Construction Enquirer Awards on the opening night of the show.

Evening entertainment will include a casino night, dodgeball tournament and the popular Beer and Ale festival. The Beer Festival was a big hit with exhibitors and clients in 2016. With over 30 beers on offer and a selection of hot food available, live music and entertainment this area will be the perfect way to unwind after a busy day and a chance to network with clients and colleagues.

The Beer festival will be at full capacity both nights and open all day and promises to be the centre of festivities.

Since our last update, more information about the exhibitors have been announced:

Construction week will be the first public showing of Tufeco Modular Home.UK A perfect blend of companies have brought together a step change in large scale production eco development builds. Recycled glass composite build experts Tufeco have joined renowned Architects Grimshaw, SAM Architects and the Carbon Free Group to provide a truly unique solution. Set in beautiful man made woodland clusters and using all of the shared knowledge base and technology, the partnership delivers and builds digitally printed, flat-pack passive / power plus homes at a price point that competes head to head with the mainstream developers.

TRADA’s latest book, Cross-laminated timber: Design and performance, will be available on Stand 250 at Timber Expo from 10th to 12th October.

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) construction is increasingly being used for residential, commercial and public sector buildings. Offering a significant strength to weight ratio, improved installation speeds, reduced on-site waste and a high standard of airtightness, CLT also has the advantage of being a renewable resource.

The Modular and Portable Building Association (MPBA) will be hosting the Offsite Area at this year’s Build Show (part of the wider Construction Week).

New for this year, The Offsite Area will be the key hub for all things Offsite & Modular. Central to the Offsite Area will be the Offsite Theatre, which will feature an array of fantastic and influential speakers discussing everything Offsite, Modular and Volumetric.

The conference programme will run for the full 3 days with a number of different topics being discussed throughout. The content will be geared around the impact of Volumetric in Education, Residential and Healthcare. High quality educational presentations will be delivered on subjects such as Offsite Specification and training and skills shortages within the industry, many of the presentations will be CPD accredited to help you collect the hours!

In a unique communications partnership, the Chartered Institute of Building and ITN Productions are producing a news and current affairs-style programme which explores the opportunities, challenges and future of the UK construction industry.

‘Remastering the Future’ will bring to life the UK’s construction industry by looking at the knowledge, technology and skills driving the sector forward. The programme will explore the innovations that are taking the sector to a new level as well as the training and apprenticeships that are bringing new recruits to the construction landscapes. ‘Remastering the Future’ will also look at preserving old buildings and adapting them for future use, at a time when land is scarce and there are demands for building stock to be retained, we will look at how the construction industry has to respond with quality and ethical standards.

Tickets are still available! Go here to get yours

glass blocks

Glass blocks could soon see buildings generating their own power

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According to the energy harvesting journal, renewable energy experts from the University of Exeter are developing a pioneering new technique using glass blocks that could accelerate the widespread introduction of net-zero energy buildings through the latest Building Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV).

Simply put, they have created an innovative glass block that can be incorporated into a building and by turning the suns energy into electricity without the use of solar panels, can generate electricity.

It is thought that buildings consume more than forty percent of the electricity produced across the globe. This new technology would allow electricity to be produced at the site of use, whilst being seamlessly integrated into the building.

The blocks, called Solar Squared, are designed to fit seamlessly into either new buildings, or as part of renovations in existing properties. They are similar to existing glass blocks by allowing daylight to resonate around a property by replacing traditional bricks and mortar with transparent glass bricks. Crucially, however, the Solar Squared blocks have intelligent optics that focus the incoming solar radiation onto small solar cells, enhancing the overall energy generated by each solar cell. The electricity generated will then be available to power the building, be stored or used to charge electric vehicles.

Dr Hasan Baig, founder of Build Solar and Research Fellow from the University of Exeter’s Environment and Sustainability Institute said: “BIPV is a growing industry with a 16% annual growth rate. Setting up a company, which can cater to this growing market shall prove beneficial for the UK economy in the long term.We are aiming to build integrated, affordable, efficient and attractive solar technologies, which have the smallest impact on the local landscape. It’s an exciting venture and one that should capture the imagination of the construction industry, when looking to develop new office blocks and public buildings or infrastructure projects such as train stations and carparks,” said Professor Tapas Mallick, chief scientific advisor for Build Solar.

They hope that the blocks will be cheaper than conventional glass blocks, and can be easily used in conjunction with traditional building materials.

According to Solar Squared, they aim to build integrated, affordable, efficient, and attractive solar technologies as part of the building’s architecture, in places where energy demand is highest, whilst having minimal impact on the landscape and on quality of life. They are at present actively seeking sites to demonstrate their technology.

To read more about solar squared please go here

Source: Energy Harvesting Journal