The realities of building, building, building

From Richard Hyams, Founder and Director of astudio

The UK has ambitious building targets – including 300,000 new homes every year by 2035, a £100m commitment to 29 infrastructure projects that will “get Britain  moving” and a £1bn pledge towards 50 new school build programmes starting in 2021. These are projects that play a vital role in reviving an economy dramatically  affected by COVID-19 economy, with renewed economic growth in May largely supported by an 8.2% increase in output in the construction sector, as building sites the  UK once again picked up tools.

Clearly, the sector has a vital role to play in our recovery from the pandemic, but it will not be enough to simply ‘build, build, build’ as the UK Government has pledged. It  will be vital to build back better, with a workforce fit for the future, redoubled efforts towards sustainability, a digitally-powered approach and closer examination of  where we build.

Investing in people

The effects of COVID-19 have brought into sharp focus the ways the construction sector will have to embrace new techniques and innovations. And one of the most  important means by which to achieve this is through investment in its people. In fact, the government’s new job creation scheme alongside the Construction Talent  Retention Programme are testament to the importance of this. By upskilling existing teams in innovative approaches, such as off-site modular construction, digital  technology and low-carbon schemes, we can ensure our workforce is prepared to build for Britain’s future.

Apprenticeships should be central to this effort. In practice, as a skilled worker produces one part of a modular structure, for example, they can be shadowed by  apprentices, completing a mock-up of their own at an adjacent station. Once apprentices have learned through practice and acquired the relevant skill, they can then join  main team working on the floor, effectively growing a skilled workforce and driving employment in the sector.

Driving sustainability

The Government’s Summer Statement committed £3bn to improving the energy efficiency of existing homes and public sector buildings. But with our built environment  accounting for 40% of carbon emissions in the UK, there is a clear need to rethink current practices in order to meet the UK’s commitment to net-zero emissions by  2050.

Already, a plethora of innovations exist to help build sustainability into the construction industry – innovations which must be deployed at scale across the sector. Prioritising adaptive reuse and adopting innovative materials, such as smart glass and cross-laminated timber, are some examples. For instance, astudio’s recent 70  Wilson Street project included the refurbishment of an out-dated office block, which was adapted to create a highly efficient structure including motion-activated  systems to improve energy use and lower emissions.

A further exciting development is living wall technology – a method where building exteriors are skinned with algae compounds to sequester existing carbon compounds  and generate biofuels and can create greener, future-proof buildings for the decades to come. astudio has been developing this new technology with Brunel University  through production of façade prototypes. Also manufacturing one of the UK's first algae machines with Sustainable Now Technologies, we believe it is this kind of forward thinking and eagerness to consider new advances that can position architects at the forefront of pioneering new approaches to improving sustainability.

Turning to technology

Alongside innovative new materials and techniques, a digital approach must be at the heart of Britain’s efforts to ‘build, build, build’, not only to enhance sustainability  efforts, but also social inclusion.

Tools from real-time rendering to VR and AI software are increasingly being used to make the design process more intuitive and accessible, aiding collaboration between  designers and contractors at all stages of the project, whilst also driving improvements to the sustainability of our buildings. For example, parametric-enabled tools like  Grasshopper can be used to test designs in real-time, assess the financial and environmental cost of materials and analyse how it will interact with environmental factors  to achieve outcomes such as better energy efficiency. For instance, leveraging these digital tools throughout the design process, rather than addressing environmental  factors such as solar exposure later in the project cycle, was crucial in determining the design of astudio’s Eastwick and Sweetwater, Olympic park housing project.

Furthermore, digital capabilities can increasingly make the building process more socially inclusive. For example, project teams can use wearable Virtual Reality  headsets and visualisation plugins such as Enscape to vastly improve the consultation process, allowing local residents to experience an immersive walkthrough of a  building or a public space before foundations have even been laid.

But where to build?

The UK Government has committed to deliver 180,000 affordable homes over the next 8 years, in addition to the further 300,000 homes required annually. But the  question remains to where exactly the industry will ‘build, build, build’.

As well as developing existing brownfield sites, we must also look to the greenbelt. Far from the rolling green hills we might imagine, much of the greenbelt is made up of  disused sites without value, which could provide much-needed locations for affordable housing projects.

For instance, recent research from Knight Frank identified that land of 15% of public sector-owned car parks could be turned into residential redevelopments, delivering  110,000 homes. Not only would turning disused car parks and similar sites into residential areas help to close the gap between the supply and demand for housing –  estimated to be as many as 1 million homes – it will also also bring new environmental and social benefits to communities.

The UK’s current planning system was effectively established in 1947 and, arguably, fails to take into account the complex problems we face now. Without rethinking  strict planning barriers, and reclaiming disused brownfield sites across the greenbelt, we will continue to fall short of delivering the affordable homes that the UK  requires.

A new era

A pledge to ‘build, build, build’ is testament to the importance of construction for a recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. But this seminal moment in our history  should also be a catalyst for change in the sector.

There is a clear need to commit to new solutions in planning, design and construction, taking more sustainable approaches, leveraging technology and investing both in  buildings and people – to deliver the projects we need not only to recover financially from Covid-19, but for the decades to follow.