Off-Site Construction
One of Britain’s first modular build to rent schemes on site in Greenwich
Modular construction is now underway in a Shropshire factory to create an award-winning development of 249 homes for rent in south London.
Essential Living, a developer and operator of homes for rent, has announced an exclusive partnership with Elements Europe, a modular specialist, to deliver its Creekside Wharf scheme in Greenwich.
It is one of the first build to rent schemes being built this way and each module can be completed within seven days.
Elements has more than a decade’s experience creating hotels, housing for sale and purpose built student housing. From the 200,000sq ft Telford- based factory, Elements will send 632 modules to Creekside Wharf - at a rate of 20 a week - from February 2017.
The steel-framed modules will fit around the scheme’s concrete core. This gives the project lateral stability while the stacked modules carry its weight back to the ground - exactly the same as a conventional office block.
Elements uses traditional construction methods in a controlled factory environment where 60 per cent of the total work is carried out. It will halve the time spent on site to 32 weeks.
Offsite construction brings a number of benefits for build to rent operators. Developments can be finished more quickly since modules can be completed while works begin onsite. This means rent can be collected earlier.
Enhanced energy efficiency and the ability to refurbish buildings more easily also make off-site construction attractive.
At 23 storeys tall, Creekside Wharf will also be one of the tallest modular buildings in the UK. The Assael Architecture project will also be the first in the country to cater for families, with buggy storage, acoustic noise insulation and an on-site nursery for parents with young children.
Creekside Wharf recently won best Housing Project at the Sunday Times British Home Awards and Project Award for a Private Rental Sector Development at the Housing Design Awards.
Essential Living’s first completed scheme opens on 1st September in Islington. The 118-home Vantage Point, above Archway Tube station, offers one of the best views in London. Residents will have access to a shared penthouse lounge, barbeque area and communal gym and library.
Roy Theakston, Construction Director at Essential Living, said: “We’re pleased to be able to appoint Elements, veterans of the modular world, on what promises to be an innovative scheme in Greenwich. Having the potential to collect rent six months earlier than a traditional build is appealing. This is achievable because you can commence work on the modules off site at the same time as constructing the traditional concrete core on site - which the steel-framed modules then plug into.
“We’re creating a portfolio of 5,000 rental homes across London and the South East. Modular may well play a role in some of our future schemes, but it’s important to stress that we remain committed to working with traditional contractors who will continue to play a key role in delivering our projects.”
Simon Underwood, Managing Director at Elements Europe, said: “Elements Europe is delighted to have been appointed by Essential Living to deliver Creekside Wharf. We have developed an industry-leading solution for Essential Living and the build to rent sector bringing together many years of experience.
“Modular solutions have been used for many years throughout the hotel and student accommodation sectors and our entry into the build to rent market is just a natural progression, bringing homes forward sooner, reducing capital construction costs, and improving the quality and safety of delivery.”
Russell Pedley, Director of Assael Architecture, said: “It’s great to see Essential Living push forward with modular construction for what promises to be a forward-thinking project in Greenwich. Offsite methods are ideally suited to build to rent, offering faster delivery, higher energy efficiency and complementing a longer term outlook not constrained by the absorption rates of build for sale.”
ESSENTIAL LIVING
TEL: 0800 211 8468 31
WWW.ESSENTIALLIVING.CO.UK
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