It’s widely acknowledged that the UK is in the grip of a housing crisis. In England alone, the government says that up to 340,000 homes need to be built per year to tackle the issue. A core belief is that to have any chance of success, the whole of the construction industry needs to come together, collaborate and provide innovative solutions. That approach is one which architect Bill Dunster OBE firmly believes in and he turned to Build Aviator to help make his vision a reality.
Bill’s latest project, LivShare, not only provides energy efficient, affordable, multiple occupancy housing, it also helps to stem the skills gap, with elements of the project built in collaboration with sixth form students in Essex. With space for up to 8 people, the homes exceed building regulations, are highly insulated and have the potential of no net annual energy bills.
These properties are designed to be purchased “off the shelf” with all component parts provided as a kit for offsite assembly, however, this presents a challenge. Most homes are priced based on previous projects, so delivering an accurate cost for developers needed an innovative solution and that’s where Build Aviator came in.
Bill commented: ‘The biggest problem, particularly when you’re dealing with environmental innovation, is that you can only really price using precedent. If there isn’t a precedent, because we are doing things in a different way, then it gets priced badly. Normally what then happens is the renewable energy systems get removed as a cost saving, when in fact it’s a vital component of many projects.”
Working with the Build Aviator team Bill Dunster was able to input his specifications into the estimating system and create a full bill of materials which was split out line by line, along with labour costs.
Not only doesBuild Aviator’s estimating service provide an accurate cost, it also saves time. As all information is streamlined and in one place, project planning is much easier, meaning construction can start sooner.
Bill added: “Imagine writing down the thousands of components that go into a building and then pricing and delivering it – we’re talking months of man time saved. How we see the world moving forward now is very comprehensive, fully priced components which fit together to solve construction problems. We thought Build Aviator was the first serious attempt to sort this out. There is complete clarity, all the components are compatible, the parts fit together and the cost is defined.”
The first property from the LivShare project, went on display at Futurebuild in March 2019. Once complete it will be located at the YMCA in Southend. For more information visit: www.jewson.co.uk/buildaviator
