armstrong ceiling tiles

Armstong Ceiling Tiles

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Following on from our recent social media post about using the above tiles, we are going to provide more information on the materials that we used.

The tile used on this particular office refit job for Hackwood homes were Armstrong Puretone Regular ceiling tiles in a 24mm grid system.

Armstrong provide ceilings for commercial spaces and the home and are a global leader in the design and manufacture of innovative commercial and residential ceiling, wall and suspension system solutions.

Their ceilings have acoustical properties and that means they can help control sound and noise within a room and room to room. They have ceilings that also address fire and seismic concerns too.

They offer 25 mineral ceiling solutions in grid sizes 15mm 24mm and 24/35mm with varying levels of acoustics. There are ceiling panels, canopies, vertical baffles and open cell & mesh.

They offer the broadest range of textures, sizes and shapes, with key performance features to enhance the design of any space. Mineral ceilings provide solutions for every acoustical need from high sound absorption to high sound attenuation or a balance of both.

Have a browse of their website here:

https://www.armstrongceilings.com

armstrong ceiling tiles

 

 

new homes

New home permissions hit the highest on record

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According to the latest Housing Pipeline report from the Home Builders Federation, the number of  planning permissions granted in the year to June 2017 is the highest seen since 2006. 

Permission for  321,982 new homes was granted during the 12 month period, up form 278,652 the previous year. However, the data also indicated that there has been a “slight cooling” in residential development in the second quarter of the year, with the number homes approved falling 14% from the first quarter yet the figure is still up 13% on the year before.

Demand for the help to buy scheme is continuing to boost numbers. More than 200,000 people live in new build homes thanks to  help to buy.  However, with the scheme supposedly coming to an end in 2021, house builders are seeking assurances as to if it will continue past this date to determine investment decisions.

Stewart Baseley, HBF’s executive chairman, was positive about the impact of the help to buy scheme. He said that ‘the help to buy scheme hasn’t just helped 200,000 people buy a home, it has helped them to build a new home which is, in turn, boosting supply and generating huge benefits for communities, councils and the Exchequer.

‘Ultimately if people can buy, builders can build and confidence in demand is crucial to future build rates.  The figures show that if demand for new homes remains strong and the planning system processes applications efficiently, further increased in build rates can be delivered in the coming years.’

However, the planning system itself is still laborious, meaning that it could take 3-4 years for most of these to reach completion. Whilst housing supply is up 52% in the past three years there are still not enough homes to adequately cater for our population and the planning system remains one of the major constraints on supply. Speeding up the rate at which builders get onto sites, and ensuring Local Authorities abide by their responsibilities and allocate sites that meet their local housing needs are key requirements if the house building industry is to deliver much needed housing.

Baseley also stated that ‘These record planning permission figures are a clear indication that house builders are committed to increasing housing output. We’ve seen 50% growth in output over the last three years and these figures indicate that progress can continue. We need to see confirmation from government as to the future of the very successful Help to Buy scheme post 2021. We also need to see the proposals to improve the planning system outlined in the White Paper moved forward and implemented.’

solecco solar

New Solar roof tiles to be launched

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Solecco Solar are getting ready to launch their new solar roof tile solution at UK Construction Week this month, as well as their new website www.soleccosolar.com

The new, innovative technology company supplies and installs unique, sustainable solar roof tiles for developers and homeowners with aesthetics and renewable energy at the top of their design agenda.

The roofing tiles attract energy even when its cloudy, reducing annual operational bills significantly. They are also an excellent architectural consideration. The tiles combine minimalistic, sleek aesthetics with outstanding performance.

The solution is integrated into roofing via a unique interlocking method, with tiles fitting seamlessly on up to 98% of roof surface area. The zero-glass system has a low carbon footprint and is an eco-asset which drives energy efficiency and protects against rising electricity costs.

As well as exhibiting and launching the brand at Construction Week UK’s Energy 2017, Solecco Solar is showcasing at London Build 2017 on 25 – 26 October. Solecco is also shortlisted for Product of the Year Award at both the London Construction Awards and National Energy Efficiency Awards 2017.

James Birch, Development Director said: “The exhibition is the ideal opportunity for us to showcase Solecco Solar Tiles to a diverse audience of industry professionals. The event connects us to potential customers who are, in the current construction climate, actively seeking an aesthetic and renewable energy solution to enhance their sustainable approach to development.”

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

helmet credentials

Storing credentials in your helmet!

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A Croydon civil engineering contractor have developed a pioneering new hard hat which contains their qualifications and credentials.

Scanning the QR (quick response) code with a smart phone gives access to personnel files with proof of identity, training history, medical details and emergency next-of-kin contract details.

Civil engineering and utilities specialist Blu-3 (UK) believes that the quick response (QR) code-based identification system, developed with Olive Media, improves site safety.

Access to data is restricted to those who have downloaded the bespoke Blu-3 app, but those with the app can access a company-wide database of employees and subcontractors.

Sarah Persad of Blu-3, who has led the development of the system, said: “This really is a breakthrough solution for ensuring staff are appropriately trained and certified for the roles they carry out on a site. Previously, if an employee was observed carrying out hot works one day and then driving a forward tipping dumper the following, the observer (potentially a client or site manager) could only assume that he or she had the appropriate training for both roles. They can now simply scan the worker’s hat and check that the appropriate training and accreditations are in place, resulting in real time, quick and easy competence checks.”

She added: “The beauty of the system is that the complete training record of a worker is held alongside their medical and emergency contact details, which is in full compliance with current data protection requirements. This system enables us to ensure that our ‘boots on the ground’ are competent to do the task and we know exactly who is on site, which is particularly critical in today’s security conscious environment.”

Preconstruction director Lee Lawrence added: “The training identification system stores records of an employee’s training history from CSCS and First Aider to Asbestos Awareness, Confined Space Training and PPE Awareness.
“We are continuing to develop the system adding more capability to support managers and supervisors on site and will be rolling the app out across its sites in the UK and Europe. We’re excited by the potential of the technology and know that it increases a contractor’s ability to manage its workers and maximise its health and safety awareness – a key must for all responsible companies.”

Source: The Construction Index

healthy towns

New builds could now become part of ‘healthy towns’

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NHS England is proposing 10 new healthy towns, with 76,00 new homes, where residents can win cinema tickets, low cost gym membership and money off their shopping bills if they hit their exercise targets, under plans by the NHS to promote healthy living.  

Bikes, running tracks on pavements and community gyms could also become perks of a house sale to encourage residents to become more active.

Citiesmode, an urban planning company who have beat stiff competition to begin designing one of the towns in Runcorn, are offering an urban obstacle course linking public gym equipment and sprinting tracks as well as free bikes, a community kitchen and universal wifi to help access healthy apps and virtual access to GP services.

Simon Stevens, NHS England Chief Executive said that “the much-needed push to kick-start affordable housing across England creates a golden opportunity for the NHS to help promote health and keep people independent.

As these new neighbourhoods and towns are built, we’ll kick ourselves if in ten years time we look back having missed the opportunity to ‘design out’ the obesogenic environment, and ‘design in’ health and wellbeing.

We want children to have places where they want to play with friends and can safely walk or cycle to school – rather than just exercising their fingers on video games.

We want to see neighbourhoods and adaptable home designs that make it easier for older people to continue to live independently wherever possible.

And we want new ways of providing new types of digitally-enabled local health services that share physical infrastructure and staff with schools and community groups.”

The first 10 sites have now been chosen and are:

Whitehill and Bordon, Hampshire – 3,350 new homes on a former army barracks. A new care campus will co-locate ‘care-ready homes’ specially designed to be adaptable to the needs of people with long term conditions with a nurse-led treatment centre, pharmacy and integrated care hub.

Cranbrook, Devon – 8,000 new residential units. Data suggests that Cranbrook has three times the national average of 0-4 year olds and will look at how prevention and healthy lifestyles can be taught in schools from a young age.

Darlington – 2,500 residential units across three linked sites in the Eastern Growth Zone. Darlington is developing a ‘virtual care home’ offer where a group of homes with shared facilities are configured to link directly into a digital care hub, avoiding institutionalisation in nursing homes.

Barking Riverside – 10,800 residential units on London’s largest brownfield site.

Whyndyke Farm in Fylde, Lancashire – 1,400 residential units.

Halton Lea, Runcorn – 800 residential units.

Bicester, Oxon – 393 houses in the Elmsbrook project, part of 1300 new homes planned.

Northstowe, Cambridgeshire – 10,000 homes on former military land.

Ebbsfleet Garden City, Kent – up to 15,000 new homes in the first garden city for 100 years.

Barton Park, Oxford – 885 residential units.

According to the NHS, options to be tested at some of these sites include fast food-free zones near schools, designing safe and appealing green spaces, building dementia-friendly streets and ensuring people can access new GP services using digital technology. The developments will reflect the needs of their local populations when working up their plans. Design questions being asked include: Why are children happy to walk all day round a theme park but often get bored on every-day journeys?  Could adventure areas be designed into streets to encourage walking and play? And for the aging population, how far away are we from a town where more older people live independently and safely in their own home, backed by better technology and social support?

The key facts presented by the NHS include:

Britain loses over 130 million working days to ill-health each year.

19% of children aged 10-11 were obese and a further 14 per cent were overweight in 2014/15.  The figures for 4-5 year olds were 9% obese and 13% overweight. In other words, the proportion of children who are obese doubles during primary school – from one in ten five year olds, to one in five eleven year olds.

Today only 21% of children play outdoors, compared to 71% of their parents when they were children, Design Council figures show.

A Design Council guide also estimates that a quarter of British adults now walk for less than nine minutes a day.

Physical inactivity is a direct factor in 1 in 6 deaths, and has an overall economic impact of £7.4 billion.

The Building Research Establishment has published a report on the cost of poor quality housing to the NHS. It estimates that the 3.5m homes in England that have serious hazards such as damp and pests has led to health problems that cost the NHS at least £1.4bn every year.

Professor Kevin Fenton from Public Health England stated that “Some of the UK’s most pressing health challenges – such as obesity, mental health issues, physical inactivity and the needs of an ageing population – can all be influenced by the quality of our built and natural environment.

The considerate design of spaces and places is critical to promote good health. This innovative programme will inform our thinking and planning of everyday environments to improve health for generations to come.”

gender pay gap

Can construction lead the way in closing the gender pay gap?

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According to a new survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) nearly half of construction workers predict the pay gap between male and female employees will be less than 15% by April 2018.

With the national average pay gap recorded at 18.1% in 2016, today’s findings suggest the construction sector could lead the way in closing the gap, if the employees’ predictions are correct. Indeed, more than one in ten respondents (12%) think that there will be no gender pay gap at all by April 2018, which marks the end of the UK Government’s mandatory gender pay reporting period. However, this positive sentiment is markedly absent in the nation’s capital, with Londoners in the construction sector predicting an average pay gap of 21%.

Sean Tompkins, RICS Chief Executive Officer says that although it’s great to see the sector expects the gender pay gap to be lower than the national average, today’s findings highlight that achieving gender equality in the construction sector requires significant commitment from organisations.

Encouragingly, there is a collective agreement from over a third of both men and women across the industry that companies are not doing enough to attract females into the sector. The findings reveal that it is primarily the responsibility of individual organisations, to invest in schemes and nuture more inclusive cultures that support women to hold more senior roles in the construction industry.

People often tackle diversity from the perspective that it is an issue to be addressed. RICS believes it should be approached from the other way round; diversity and an inclusive culture where you feel entirely comfortable being yourself in the workplace. This must be embedded as part of your business strategy and DNA because you simply cannot afford to not have a diverse workforce today and for the future. Increasingly, clients will expect it and to win the war for talent, you will need a diversity of visible role models.

In addition to tackling gender stereotyping and investing in training to upskill female colleagues, our findings confirm that flexible working is key, with over a third of women identifying more flexible hours as a means to encourage them to stay in the sector. RICS’s Inclusion and Diversity conference last month focused on the importance of building a diverse workforce and some of the steps that businesses can take. We also set up the RICS Inclusive Employer Quality Mark (IEQM) to set an example to organisations within our industry and have already seen 150 organisations sign up and learn from each other since its launch in June 2015.

leasehold

Leasehold ban for new builds

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The government this week announced plans to ban leasehold on future new-build homes, and cut ground rents on new flats to as low as zero.  Flats can be continued to be sold as leasehold, but ground rents will be restricted.

New legislation will close legal loopholes to protect buyers, some of whom have faced repossession orders after failing to keep up with the ground rent. The government will also change the rules on help-to-buy equity loans so that the scheme “can only be used to support new build houses on acceptable terms”.

Traditionally, houses have been sold as freehold, and the buyer has complete control over their property. When a house is sold as leasehold, the buyer is effectively only a tenant with a very long term rental, with the ground the home is built on remaining in the hands of the freeholder. The home buyer has to pay an annual “ground rent” to the freeholder, and has to ask the freeholder for consent if they want to make any changes to the property, such as building a conservatory or changing the windows.  Ground rents can double every decade, crippling home owners and in some cases making a property impossible to sell.

About 21% of private housing in England is owned by leaseholders, with 30% of those properties houses rather than flats, according to figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government. A recent government report also found that 4million private homes in England, or one in five, are leasehold.

The proposals are subject to an 8 week consultation.

human free

A human free construction site?

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In a recently published paper entitled Innovation 2050 – A digital Future for the Infrastructure Industry – Balfour Beatty have predicted that the construction site of 2050 will be human-free.

Robots will work in teams to build complex structures using dynamic new materials. Elements of the build will self-assemble. Drones flying overhead will scan the site constantly, inspecting the work and using the data collected to predict and solve problems before they arise, sending instructions to robotic cranes and diggers and automated builders with no need for human involvement. The role of the human overseer will be to remotely manage multiple projects simultaneously, accessing 3D and 4D visuals and data from the on-site machines, ensuring the build is proceeding to specification. The very few people accessing the site itself will wear robotically enhanced exoskeletons and will use neural-control technology to move and control machinery and other robots on site.

They also noted 10 predictions for 2050:

1. The industry will become increasingly focused on innovation and both contractors and customers will become less risk-averse.

2. The shape and offer of the infrastructure industry will change significantly, with new business models, products and services.

3. Infrastructure will move on from concrete and steel to include new materials which respond to their surroundings.

4. New jobs and industries will be created – and some will disappear, especially low or zero skill roles and those relying on repetition of tasks.

5. Thinking only about design and construction will become an outdated concept as infrastructure becomes multi-functional.

6. Robots will become more prevalent in construction.

7. Construction will get faster, using 3D and 4D printing, and self-transforming objects which self-assemble.

8. New, disruptive ideas will emerge, for making mass transit faster, safer and less damaging to the environment.

9. We will increasingly use wearable technology such as exoskeletons.

10. Direct neural control over devices and vehicles will be accessible to the industry.

They continue by stating that the infrastructure and construction industry is at a crossroads. It faces a number of existing and emerging challenges. By contrast with other industries, which have successfully harnessed technological advances to improve and reshape their products and services, the infrastructure sector has not yet embraced the full potential of the latest techniques and tools. Indeed, it remains surprisingly low-tech, with relatively low levels of automation. Meanwhile, productivity in the global infrastructure sector is among the worst of any industry, having remained static at 1% for the past 20 years. Profit margins are often wafer thin, and the industry is facing a critical skills shortage in many countries, due in part to its ‘old-fashioned’ image.

They conclude that no one knows for certain where the Digital Revolution will take us, but it holds massive potential to transform both the industry and the built environment. The infrastructure and construction industry has not yet seen the same rate of transformation as some other industries, but that is beginning to change – and the change will be both significant and unstoppable. “Big data” will facilitate more evidence-based decisions and a better understanding of the customer, while technologies currently in their infancy will mature and new technologies will enable us to deliver faster, better and safer. The rapid pace of digital change is only set to increase. It will redefine infrastructure and construction and the industry will need to anticipate that change and adapt quickly, becoming more innovative and less risk-averse, in response. We must be ready to embrace new technologies, new business models, and new possibilities and ideas as they emerge. But we must be prepared to balance the benefits with the risks.

They also believe that the infrastructure industry must modernise in order to secure its own future. Those companies at the forefront of the digital revolution, which integrate new technologies most effectively, updating their business capabilities and their offer, will reap the biggest rewards.

A copy of the full report can be seen here

Its well worth a read!