Modular, off-site manufacturing, MMC (modern methods of construction), precision engineering. Whatever you want to call it (as long as it’s not prefab), after years of talking the talk, it finally appears to be having an impact.
It was October 2016 when the now seminal government-commissioned review into the UK construction sector by Cast’s Mark Farmer, “Modernise or Die”, was published.
Since then, more and more big-name players have looked to off-site construction in various forms, with Berkeley, Swan Housing, Legal & General, Laing O’Rourke and Stanhope all setting up their own factories.
One more discreet developer, however, has quietly been getting on with the job – and now has a few records to shout about. Vision Modular Systems, based in a 170,000 sq ft factory in Bedford, works as a contractor building other developers’ schemes. Repeat business comes from the likes of Greystar and Pocket. It also has a development arm, Tide Construction, which acquires sites, gains planning and does forward funding deals.
Modules take just two working weeks from start to finish, on a moving production line that isn’t far from what Henry Ford envisaged for cars, with capacity for around 2,000 modules per year.
With major projects in Croydon, Holloway and Ealing all under construction, and further schemes to come, capacity is obviously an issue. With that in mind, Vision is set to open a new factory in South Wales to sustain its continued growth.
The new plant, which will be a similar size to the Bedford site, will employ more than 200 people. Homes built there will be put on the back of trucks and delivered to development sites along the M4.
How does it work?
Invented by Vision chairman John Fleming and developed over the past two decades, the manufacturing process uses a controlled assembly line environment.
A steel frame forms the structure of the modules, which have a concrete base. This gives each module weight and structural solidity – some weigh as much as 25 tonnes.
Walls are installed, sanded and plastered, and internal finishes, mechanical and electrical installations, windows, external insulation and some external finishes are applied.
A student housing unit takes the form of a single module, with a one-bedroom apartment forming two modules.
During this process, more than 80% of the waste created is recycled – an impossibility on a traditional building site.
Investment opportunity
Each module comes with a 60-year guarantee, to reassure customers of the long-term investment opportunities presented by modular construction.
Vision works with around 300 suppliers, providing 5,000 products. Between 40 and 45 modules are constructed each week, which will double when the new factory comes into operation.
What will be the world’s tallest modular building is currently under construction in Croydon. Work started on the 546-home scheme earlier this year. Forward funded by US-based Greystar, the £150m tower will be constructed from 1,500 modules and is set for completion in Q1 2020.
A 24-month build programme for a 44-storey tower may seem far-fetched, but it is not.
In Wembley, Vision took just 12 months from planning consent to completion to build 580 student beds across 29 storeys. It currently holds the record for the tallest modular student housing building in Europe, and the second-tallest modular building in the world.
A one-year build – rather than a two- or even three-year build – obviously has its advantages, not least the extra income in rent.
WATCH: Time lapse video of Apex House, Wembley
SOURCE: YouTube | Vision Modular Systems
Additional capacity
Something Vision’s Fleming is keen to point out is the benefit of the modular factories to places such as Bedford and South Wales. Modular factories bring consistent employment. Similar jobs on traditional building sites across the capital might mean long commutes across London, where living costs are more expensive.
The factory setting also means the environment is much safer and comfortable to work in. In addition, modular factories “bring a much more consistent and quality product”, says Fleming.
He adds that if modular factories were closer to London, employers would probably be taking labourers from other construction sites, meaning there wouldn’t be any additional capacity.
Factories double up as R&D sites too, enabling the modular product to be constantly refined.
Fleming says: “We are continually developing the product. If you stop, you are out of the game. Just five years ago I would have been hesitant to say we could build 20 storeys with modular; now we are building 44 storeys.”
Understanding
Mike De’ath, partner at HTA, the firm of architects behind many Vision schemes – including Croydon, Highbury 2 and White City – says: “We have developed a way of understanding their product and designing for it. We are not limited by the way Vision creates its modules. We have even done triangular modules and an oval-form building.
“Student accommodation works very well but the flexibility of the Vision system allows us to do larger units, and increasingly we are now looking at build-to-rent apartments, up to three bedrooms. It’s a continuously improving delivery model.”
The most recent scheme is Greystar and PSP’s student project, Chapter White City. Snagging is almost complete, with students set to arrive in September. De’ath adds: “You would never know it is modular, and that’s important for the occupants, the operator, and the locals looking at it from the outside.”
Greystar has delivered a number of schemes with Vision and Tide, including in White City, Highbury and Lewisham.
The US build-to-rent and multifamily specialist entered the UK market in 2013 and has an ambitious target to deliver 10,000 rental apartments in the next four years, while doubling the size of its Chapter student accommodation portfolio.
Student portfolio
Mark Allnutt, senior managing director of Greystar UK, said: “We have added close to 1,000 units to our student portfolio in partnership with Vision and Tide and we now have a further 550 multifamily apartments under construction in Croydon. We are very impressed by modular and the accelerated construction and delivery programme it brings.
“Modular will, without a doubt, play a central role in the future of construction and I’m pleased that Greystar is benefiting from being an early adopter. For us it ticks a lot of boxes – it delivers a high-quality product, at speed, in a safe and controlled environment.”
Within the sectors where Vision operates – residential, student and hotels – around 400 tall buildings of 20 storeys or more are in the pipeline, according to EG’s Radius Data Exchange, and more than 100 are currently under construction. In short, the opportunity for modular developers is huge.
Although the overall number of towers that are being applied for has dropped in recent years, there is still a healthy pipeline of schemes being submitted.
Fleming sees the opportunity towers bring to his business. “Modular construction is definitely suitable for around 90% of those buildings in the pipeline,” he says.
“Obviously the capacity isn’t there to do all of them, but we very much welcome towers and will try to do as many as we can.”
The shorter construction process is made possible because the modules are constructed before they are needed. For instance, while the core of its Croydon project is still yet to get above ground level, the modules are already coming off the production line.
Vision can install them quicker than they can be built, with 11 per day currently being installed at Holloway Road. Modules are lined up at the factory ready and waiting. Certainty in the planning process is therefore vital, with delays and setbacks eating in to the construction timeline.
Getting the wider public on side – as well as local authorities – by illustrating the extent of progression from the days of prefabs is now the wider goal, to fuel expansion.
The construction industry clearly has many hurdles to overcome, with numerous pain points. Tightening margins for contractors and squeezed viability for developers means the sector is ripe for disruption, aided by technology.
A construction and skills crisis (to go alongside a housing crisis) has meant the GLA and national government backing off-site manufacturing for housebuilding.
It may not be a cost saving in construction terms (yet), but the added benefits are clear. This is clearly a sector fuelled for growth.
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