How councils can use modular homes to speed up housebuilding

Innovations in housebuilding technology can help councils deliver their ambitious housing targets, says Rosie Toogood, CEO of Legal & General Modular Homes.

This article was sponsored by Legal & General, lead sponsor of the 2nd Housing & Regeneration Finance Summit.

The reality of the UK’s housing shortfall is bleak: current estimates indicate that England must build 340,000 homes per year until 2031 to meet demand.  

Overcoming our chronic housing shortage cannot be resolved by maintaining the status quo.  

Modernisation of the construction industry is vital if it is to overcome the growing challenges that the housing sector faces and helping to regenerating cities for the future. 

The construction industry needs to be pulled into the 21^st century and modular housing, through up-skilling and technology, is making the first steps towards this rapid and disruptive change.

2nd Housing & Regeneration Finance Summit
October 31, 2019, County Hall, London

A far cry from the “prefabs” of the 1950s, modules, such as those produced in Legal & General’s modular factory – one of the largest in Europe – are manufactured off-site.

This allows us to design and build homes in an innovative way, at the cutting edge of the industry, driving change. 

In modular manufacturing, we get down to a level of detail and robustness that traditional architects, structural engineers and mechanical and electrical engineering consultants do not normally go into, meaning housing building can be done with precision and at scale.  

Developing new skills and training which can support this emerging sector’s growth are fundamental to making modular manufacturing a mainstream option which can help tackle our housing crisis. 

To future proof the sector and to make a real impact on housing provision, there needs to be a holistic approach, a combination of attracting the right skills, alongside adoption of technological innovation. 

Together this will ensure we are continually improving and challenging our construction methods.

In 2018, Legal & General launched our Modular Academy, adjacent to our modular factory in Yorkshire.

The aim of the academy is to train and multi-skill our recruits in this new industry, bringing new skills and jobs to the modular housing sector. 

The Modular Academy is a structured programme which delivers both the skills and collaborative behaviours necessary to meet the demand of this growing industry. 

‘Modular Mastery’, the Legal & General Modular Academy programme, equips our factory team members with the skills they need. 

Upon completion of the programme, team members will achieve an NVQ which is externally accredited by a quality award winning body. 

Technology is another area which needs to be exploited to maximise the impact of modular manufacturing.

Technology has helped to revolutionised so many sectors from finance to automotive and it is time for the construction sector to do the same.

This is the only way that we will be able to meet demand for housing and other social infrastructure.

A recent example of investment into technology and innovation is Legal & General’s funding of Prism. 

Prism is aimed at accelerating the design and construction of high-quality modular-built homes. 

The app was developed by tech-led design practice Bryden Wood, building on extensive work undertaken by residential consultancy Cast and in collaboration with the Mayor of London, to bring together central and regional government, funders, developers and manufacturers and drive a step change in productivity and quality in homebuilding.

Prism allows architects, local authority planners, developers, as well as anyone who wants to be involved in this process, to quickly determine viable precision manufactured housing options for their site.

This accelerates the early design phase and allows designers to focus more on the quality of the built environment.

It is clear that strides are being made to modernise the construction industry. But it is only the beginning of the journey.

The automotive industry has taken 100 years to get where it is now. This means we have work to do.

In order to succeed we need to start investing in talent and technology now, for the future, and only then will we be able to keep disrupting the construction industry for good and make headway towards tackling the UK’s chronic under-supply of housing.

Also from L&G Collaboration – the key to sustainable regeneration by Kerrigan Proctor.