Can Tithing Make You Rich?

Can Tithing Make You Rich?

When people speak about tithing it is divisive.  Some are for and  some are against  and usually, they’re both screaming at each other!

Most people would say it’s a con, a hoax, a joke etc. They say it’s no longer relevant and yet that wasn’t the case for me. When I was started tithing my life was in shambles.  In desperation, I went to God for an answer. Sometime later the answer came back  “start tithing.”

I’d like to say that I immediately took action, that I whipped out my checkbook and wrote my first check immediately.That I repented for my inactions. Nope.

I ignored the “answer” for some time. But after a while, I did start tithing. I did it as an experiment. I started tithing on unemployment checks and after some time I was tithing on a six-figure income.

The Benefits of Tithing

Now keep in mind I’m not going to tell you that if you tithe these things are going to happen:

  • Your debts are going to be paid.
  • Your mortgage is going to be forgiven.
  • Your car is going to transform into a brand new BMW.
  • The boss won’t be able to sleep until he gives you a raise.
  • The CEO of the company you’re working for will see your name and face in a dream, seek you out, and promote you to a position you have don’t the skills or experience for.

Not at all.

I will say that there are great benefits to tithing that cannot be ignored. But let’s start from a Biblical point of view…and no I don’t mean  Malachi 3:10!

1. The Bible

When the Bible speaks about the tithe it uses the Hebrew word “maaser”(pronounced mah-as-ayr‘). It’s used 32 times in the Old Testament.  (Note: English is read left to right, Hebrew is read right to left.) The Hebrew language is a language of root words. Prefixes and suffixes are added to build on the meaning of the root word. So in this word, the first letter mem (מ) conveys this meaning:

Changing a verb into the noun of that word:

For example: adding mem “to preach”  (verb) turns it into  “preacher” (noun).

Now taking away mem (מ)  from “maaser” we’re left with  “aser”  which means rich.

So another way of interpreting this is:

The “rich” is in the tithe.

or with “maaser”:

“The one tithing becomes rich.”

Whoa! Crazy, isn’t it?

2. State of the Plate

Let’ss look at some other other numbers: According to the landmark State of the Plate research – a multi-year research that documented the giving habits of thousands of givers –  Tithers were more financially stable than their counterparts:

According to the author:

“People that follow biblical principles of giving also are much more likely to be wiser and more careful in their spending”¦It is important in preaching and teaching on finances and generosity to help people realize that generosity leads to greater financial freedom and stability, while not giving frequently leads to greater indebtedness and financial bondage.”

Could it be possible that King Solomon – one of the wealthiest men who lived had a point when he said,  “Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10 NKJV)  or  “There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself.” (Proverbs 11:24-25 NKJV)?

3. Chantel Ray

But there are even greater case studies about tithing. Before Chantel Ray. was a multi-million dollar real estate entrepreneur, she was a youth pastor making $9/hr.  She was also using credit cards to survive. After several years of this she was $10,000 in debt and her cards were maxed out. One day she heard about tithing. Like many of us she said, “Yeah right! I can’t do this right now. Maybe when I start making some money.” But after months of fighting things continued to get worse and she took the leap of faith. Her first tithe check was $30. The next day she received a refund check of $300. She continued to tithe and a close family member felt led to pay off her debt. She continued to tithe and within a few months, she got a better paying job.  She continued to tithe, in fact, she increased the amount. She began a new career in real estate, was the best salesperson, and eventually started her own firm.

4. John D. Rockefeller

But let’s look at another case study: John D. Rockefeller!  Before John D. Rockefeller became the richest American ever. Before his wealth was 1.5% to 2% of the U.S’s GDP  (his personal wealth $1.4 billion; the US GDP $92 billion). Before his philanthropy equated to  hundreds of millions of dollars (billion adjusted for inflation) he learned how to give at an early age. His giving began with his first job as a clerk at age 16, when he gave 6% of his earnings to charity. By the time he was twenty, his giving exceeded 10% percent of his income. Much of it going to church-related activities. Rockefeller, a devout Christian, was always under the belief his success was divinely inspired. He said, quite emphatically:

“God gave me my money.”

Why did God single him out for stupendous wealth? He believed it was because he was a good steward. In his seventies he said:

“It has seemed as if I was favored and got increase because the Lord knew I was going to turn it around and give it back.”

Conclusion

I do know this: no matter what I say the debate will always continue. There are always going to be people for tithing and people against tithing. I can live with that. But tithing helped change my life and I hope that one day you can “experiment” with it and see what happens to you. What have your experiences been with tithing?

Has Nigeria Become the World’s Junk Yard of Abandoned and Failed Mega Projects worth Billions?

Dim1, N. U., Okorocha2, K. A., & Okoduwa3 V. O.

The Nigerian construction industry is mostly concerned with the development and provision of projects such as roads, bridges, railways, residential  and commercial real estates, and the  maintenance necessary for the socio-economic developments contributes immensely to the Nigerian economic growth (Bureau of Statistics, 2015). Butcher and demmers (2003) described projects as an idea which begins and ends by filling a need. However, a project fails when its idea ends without meeting the needs and expectations of its stakeholders.

Nigeria Has Become the World’s Junk – Yard of Abandoned and Failed Projects worth Billions of Naira!

Hanachor (2013), revealed that projects form part of the basis for assessing a country’s development. However,  a damming  report from the Abandoned Projects Audit Commission which was set up by the Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011 revealed that 11,886 federal government projects were abandoned in the past 40 years across Nigerian  (Abimbola, 2012). This confirmed the assertion by Osemenan (1987) “that Nigeria has become the world’s junk –yard of abandoned and failed projects worth billions of naira”.

Abandoned projects including building and other civil engineering infrastructure development projects now litter  the  whole of Nigeria.

Physical projects do not only provide the means of making life more meaningful for members of the community where the projects are located, successful  projects also  result in  empowerment and collective action towards self improvement (Hanachor, 2013).  

This Issue of Abandonment Has Been Left Without Adequate Attention for Too Long, and Is Now Having a Multiplier Effect on the Construction Industry in Particular and the Nigeria’s National Economy as a Whole. (Kotngora, 1993)

PROJECT FAILURE

Project Failure might mean a different thing to different stakeholders. A project that seemed successful to one stakeholder may be a total failure to another (Toor and Ogunlana, 2008). Some stakeholders, more especially the project users and some private owners, think of failed projects as a situation where a completed building project collapsed, a situation where by a completed dam project stopped working after few days of completion, or a completed road project that broke down after few months of completion. Other experienced stakeholders, such as engineers  and  architects  conform to the iron triangle by Atkinson (1999) which states that the most strategically important measures of project failure are “time overrun”, “cost overrun”, and “poor quality”.

Turner (1993) noted that a project fails when the project specifications are not delivered within budget and on time;   the project fails to achieve its stated business purpose; the project did not meet the pre-stated objectives; the project fails to satisfy the needs of the project team and supporters; and the project fails to satisfy the need of the users and other stakeholders. Lim and Mohamed (1999) cited in Toor and Ogunlana (2009) clarified that there are two possible view points to project failure namely; the macro-level and the micro-level. They further explained that the macro view point reviews  if the original objectives and concepts of the project was met. Usually the end users and the project beneficiaries are the ones looking at the project failure from the macro view point, where as the project design team, the consultants, contractors, and suppliers review projects from a micro view point focusing on  time of delivery, budget, and poor quality.  

In the early 1990s, the failure as well as the success of any project was determined by the project duration, monetary cost, and the performance of the project (Idrus, Sodangi, and Husin, 2011). Belout and Gauvrean (2004), also confirmed that the project management triangle based on schedule, cost, and technical performance is the most useful in determining the failure of a project. Moreover, a project is considered as an achievement of specific objectives, which involves series of activities and tasks which consume resources, are completed within specifications, and have a definite start and end time (Muns and Bjeirmi 1996, cited in Toor and Ogunlana, 2009). Reiss (1993) in his suggestion stated that a project is a human activity that achieves a clear objective against a time scale. Wright (1997) taking the view of clients, suggested that time and budget are the only two important parameters of a project which determines if a project is successful or failed. Nevertheless, many other writers such as Turner, Morris and Hough, wateridge, dewit, McCoy, Pinto and Slevin, saarinen and Ballantine all cited in Atkinson (1999), agreed that cost, time, and quality are all success as well as failure criteria of a project, and are not to be used   exclusively.

FACTORS OF PROJECT FAILURE

Cookie-Davies (2002) stated the difference between the success criteria and the failure factors. He   stated that failure factors are those which contributed towards the failure of a project while success criteria are the measures by which the failure of a project will be judged. The factors constituting the failure criteria are commonly referred to as the key performance indicators (KPIs).  

Time   and Cost Overrun

The time factor of project failure cannot be discussed without mentioning cost. This is because the time spent on construction projects has a cost attached to it. Al-Khali and Al-Ghafly, (1999); Aibinu and Jagboro, (2002) confirmed that time overrun in construction projects do not only result in cost overrun and poor quality but also result in greater disputes, abandonment and protracted litigation by the project parties. Therefore, focus on reducing the Time overrun helps to reduce resource spent on heavy litigation processes in the construction industry (Phua and Rowlinson, 2003). Most times, the time overrun of a project does not allow resultant system and benefits of the project to be taking into consideration (Atkinson, 1999). Once a project exceeds the contract time, it does not matter anymore if the project was finally abandoned or completed at the same cost and quality specified on the original contract document, the project has failed. Furthermore, Assaf and Al-Hejji, (2006) noted that time overrun means loss of owner’s revenue due to unavailability of the commercial facilities on time, and contractors may also suffers from higher over heads, material and labour costs.

Poor quality/Technical Performance

The word “Performance” has a different meaning which depends on the context it is being used and it  can also be referred to as quality. Performance can be generally defined as effectiveness (doing the right thing), and efficiency (doing it right) (Idrus and Sodangi, 2010). Based on this definition of performance, at the project level, it simply means that a completed project  meets fulfilled the stakeholder  requirements in the business case.

CAUSES OF PROJECT FAILURE

A lot of research studies have investigated the reasons for project failures, and why projects continue to be described as failing despite improved  management. Odeh and Baltaineh, 2002; Arain and   Law, 2003; Abdul-Rahman et al., 2006; Sambasivan and Soon, 2007; all cited in Toor and Ogunlana, 2008, pointed out the major causes of project failures as Inadequate procurement method; poor funding and availability of resources; descripancies between design and construction; lack of project management practices; and communication lapses

The contract/procurement method

A result obtained from two construction projects which were done by the same  contractor but using different procurement methods showed that rework, on the design part which occurs when the activities and materials order are different from those specified on the original contract document, makes it difficult for the project to finish on the expected time (Idrus, Sodangi, and Husin, 2011). This is as a result of non-collaboration and integration between the design team, contractor, and tier suppliers. The rework on the design portion has a huge impact on  project failure leading to the time overrun.  The traditional method of procurement has inadequate  flexibility  required  to facilitate late changes to  the project design once the design phase of the construction project has been concluded.

Nigerian most widely used procurement method is the traditional method of procurement (design-bid-construct) which has been confirmed to be less effective to successfully delivery of a construction project (Dim and Ezeabasili, 2015). And, the world bank country procurement assessment report (2000) cited in Anigbogu and Shwarka, (2011) reported that about 50% of projects in Nigeria are dead even before they commence because they were designed to fail.

The way the construction projects are contracted, in addition to the way the contracts are delivered, contributes to the causes of projects failure. Particularly, among the methods of project contracting is lump-sum or a fixed-price contracting method, in which the contractor agrees to deliver a construction project at a fixed price. The fixed-price contract can be low-bid or not however, once the contract cost has been agreed upon the contract award, it cannot be changed. And, contractors are expected to honor and deliver the contract agreement, failure to do so can result  in a  breach of contract which can result in the contractor being  prosecuted.  

Awarding a contract to an unqualified personnel also contributes to project failures. When a contractor places more emphasis on money and the mobilization fee after a construction project has been initiated instead of getting the right workforce and skilled professionals that will execute the project. Instead the workforce chosen will often not be base on competence and required skills rather it will be based on availability. Moreover, poor strategy and planning by contractors who have overloaded with work  also contributed to one of the causes of project failure.

Poor funding/Budget Planning

A lot of public projects in the Nigerian construction industry failed as a result inadequate funding, and the difference between the national annual budget and the budget actual released. Most of the Nigerian public projects are signed  even before the actual release of the national budget. The difference in budget of the contracted project and the actual budget release can get the contracted company stuck as a result of inflation of prices, scarcity of construction material at the time of the budget release and mobilization to site. Also  un-planned scope of work which can be as a result of the contractor working on another contract when he is called back  to  mobilization to start work. Moreover, poor budget planning is a regular mistake made by some contractors by not undertaking feasibility assessments  before starting the design. The construction project should be planned according to the available resources and not according to the unrealistic expectations a  client has in mind.

Discrepancies  Between the Design and Construction

Limited  collaboration between the contractors, engineers, and the architect results in discrepancies between the project designs and construction on site, and further leads to rework. Changes on a project designs, and changing to the scope of work in the middle of construction processes on site can be dangerous, and can lead to time overrun, increase in cost, and most of all can lead to abandonment. Moreover, many cases have been seen where the designs from the architects are not buildable  on site, while   In some cases, most contractors are unable to adequately specify the scope of work for the construction processes on site. Therefore any default on the design by the architect can be an opportunity for the contractor to make more money which might cause the project duration to exceed the time specified on the contract document.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This research starts with a general reasoning or theory which says that the major cases of project failure in the Nigerian construction industry are defined based on time overrun and cost overrun. The findings from the data analysis will help on the decision to accept the theory or not. The research data was collected from the progress report for the month ending of October, 2015 published by the Nigeria of Federal Ministry of works on thirty-nine on-going highway construction projects at the South-South geopolitical zone. The table 1 below shows the information on the data collected which comprises of the project title, contract Number, project description, the contractor that was awarded the projects, the date of project commencement, date of completion and the extended date if any. The scheduled time for each project was specified as follows: project commencement date labeled as “a”,   project completion date labeled as “b”, and the extended date labeled as “c”.

Table 1: The analyzed data on the highway project at the South-South zone in Nigeria.
Table 1: The analyzed data on the highway project at the South-South zone in Nigeria.

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DATA ANALYSIS

The data analysis was done with the use of Microsoft excel. The analysis started by obtaining the number of days between the date of commencement of each project and the date of completion to show the duration of each highway project. And, the number of days between the project completion date and the extension date showed the time-overrun. The project duration and the extended days were obtained with the use of NETWORKDAYS function in Microsoft Excel which calculates the number of working days between two dates excluding weekends and any dates identified as holidays.

The standard deviation between the specified project duration for each highway projects and the extended days was calculated to obtain the extent to which each highway project contract failed on its time of delivery. This was denoted as the degree of failure. The table 1 above showed the projects ranking which was done based on the degree of failure of all the highway projects. The highway projects that were ranked from one to sixteen have low degree of failure and are represented with green color, while the rest are those with high degree of failure and are represented with red color.

FINDINGS

The findings made showed that the successfully completed highway projects have no extended days or time overrun, and the successful on-going highway projects are still on schedule and have no extended days unlike the on-going highway projects that have already failed as a result of the extended dates. Other projects have been abandoned because they have exceeded the delivery date as specified on the contract document, and have no extended date of completion. Thus, no work is going on.

Figure 1: Abundance of failed highway projects at south-south zone, Nigeria.
Figure 1: Abundance of failed highway projects at south-south zone, Nigeria.
Figure 2: On-going failed highway projects
Figure 2: On-going failed highway projects

Figure 2 above showed that 14% of highway projects are still on-going projects because they have not exceeded the original date of completion as specified on the contract document. However, they are heading towards failure because they have been given an extended date of completion which can be as a result of some critical activities running behind schedule, causing delay on the critical path network of the projects. Moreover, the other 86% completely failed because they have exceeded their completion date specified on the contract document.

Figure 3: Successful on-going highway projects
Figure 3: Successful on-going highway projects

The figure 3 above showed that 63% of the successful highway projects are still on-going because they have not exceed their completion dates, and they are not yet completed. However, those on-going highway projects might end up as failed projects as a result of poor funding, discrepancy between the design and the construction on site, and conflict between the construction parties or stakeholders.

“Say what you will do, and do what you said” or “Say as you will do it, and do it as you said”

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

The idea of knowing what a failed project is, the factors and the causes is very important in project management. Success in project management can neither be achieved nor measured without the knowledge of project failure, its factors, and causes in the Nigerian construction industries. This work has shown that project failure is as a result of exceeded time of delivery, cost overrun, and poor quality. However, the analysis was only done based on exceeded time of project delivery because of the nature of the data collected.

This work suggested a few approaches to help reduce the number of failed projects in the Nigerian construction industry if properly implemented. Firstly, Having good collaboration between the project stakeholders involved in a construction project at the early stage of project conception is most important in order to accomplish the project objectives, and deliver the project on time, within budget, and quality specified on the original contract document (Othman, 2006).

Secondly, Adopting the ISO 9000 technique which is used for quality management will also help in achieving a successful project delivery. This technique states “ say what you will do, and do what you said” or “say as you will do it, and do it as you said”. This technique is not an indication of high quality but it promotes control and consistency which leads to specialization, and improved productivity and quality. Also, adopting the principles of lean construction will help to reduce waste within the construction and stream-line activities in order to improve the on-time delivery of projects.

Thirdly, Learning from the precedent failed projects, how those projects failed, and the reason for their failures. This will help the project manager  to plan and mitigate the risks of project failures in the future. And, finally, more seminars and workshops will help to educate and enlighten clients (the federal government representatives), users, contractors, engineers, and architects on what is project failure, the factors that contributes to abundant failed projects, and their causes.

REFERENCE

Abimbola, A. (Novermber 24, 2012). About 12,000 Federal Projects Abandoned across Nigeria. Premium times (November 16, 2015). Retrieved from www. Premium timesng.com/news/108450-about-12000-federal-projects-abandoned-across-nigeria.html.

Al-Khali, M.I and Al-Ghafly, M.A. (1999). Important Causes of Delays in Public Utility Projects in Saudi Arabia. Construction management and Economics, 17, 647-655

Aibinu, A.A and Jagboro, G.O. (2002). The Effects of Construction Delays on Project Delivery in Nigeria Construction Industry. International journal of Project management, 20(8), 593- 599.

Anigbogu, N. and Shwarka, M. (2011). Evaluation of Impact of the Public Procurement Reform Program on Combating Corruption Practices in Public Building Project Delivery in Nigeria. Environtech Journal, 1(2). 43-51.

Assaf, S. and Al-Hajji, S. (2006). Causes of Delays in large Construction Projects. International Journal of Project Management, 24, 349-357.

Atkinson , R. (1999). Project management: Cost, time, and quality, two best guesses and a Phenomenon, it’s time to accept other success criteria. International Journal of project Management, 17(6), 337-342.

Belout, A and Gauvrean, C. (2004). Factors Influencing the Project Success: The impact of human resource management. International Journal of project Management, 22, Pp. 1-11.

Butcher, N. and Demmers, L. (2003). Cost Estiumating Simplified. Retrieved from www.librisdesign.org.

Cookie-Davies, T. (2002). The Real Success Factors on Projects. International Journal of Project management, 20(3), 185-190.

Dim, N.U. and Ezeabasili, A.C.C (2015). Strategic Supply Chain Framework as an Effective Approach to Procurement of Public Construction Projects in Nigeria. International Journal of Management and Susutainability, 4(7), 163-172.

Hanachor, M. E. (2012). Community Development Projects Abandonment in Nigeria: Causes and Effects. Journal of Education and Practice, 3(6), 33-36.

Idrus, A., Sodangi, M., and Husin, M., H. (2011). Prioritizing project performance criteria within client perspective. Research Journal of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology, 3(10), 1142-1151.

Idrus, A. and Sodangi, M. (2010). Framework for evaluating quality performance of contractors in Nigeria. International Journal of Civil Environment and Engineering. 10(1), 34-39.

National Bureau of Statistics (January, 2015). Nigerian Construction Sector Summary Report: 2010-2012.

Kotangora, O. O. (1993). Project abandonment, Nigerian Tribune.

Osemenan, I. (1987). Project Abandonment. New Watch Magazine, Vol. 1, pp. 15.

Othman, M.,R. (2006). Forging main and sub-contractor relationship for successful projects. Retrieved from http://rakanl.jkr.gov.my/csfj/editor/files/file/projek/lessonslearned/MAIN&SUB_2.pdf

Phua, F.T.T and Rowlinson, S. (2003). Cultural Differences as an Explanatory Variable for Adversarial Attitude in the Construction Industry: The case of HongKong. Construction Management and Economics, 21, 777-785.

Reiss, B. (1993). Project Management Demystified. London: E and FN Spon Publishers.

Toor, S. R. and Ogunlana, S. O. (2008).Problems causing Delay in Major Construction Projects in Thailand. Construction management and Economics, 26, 395-408.

Toor, S. R. and Ogunlana, S. O. (2008). Critical COMs of Success in Large-Scale Construction Projects: Evidence from Thailand constructuction industry. International Journal of Project management, 26(4), 420-430.

Toor, S. R. and Ogunlana, S. O. (2009).Beyound the “Iron Triangle”: Stakeholder perception of key performance indicators (KPIs) for large-scale public sector development projects. International Journal of Project management, doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2009.05.005.

Toor, R. and Ogunlana, S. (2009). Construction Innovation: Information, process, management. 9(2), PP. 149-167.

Turner, J. R. (1993). The Handbook of project-Based Management: Improving the process for achieving strategic objective. London, McGraw-Hill.

Wright, J., N. (1997). Time and Budget: The twin imperatives of a project Sponsor. International Journal of Project Management, 15(3), 181-186.

How Prince2 Is the Ticket for Success for German Manufacturing Company Scheidt & Bachmann Gmbh

Image 3.1 PRINCE2 Best practice award for the best German PRINCE2 project 2014 - presented by BPUG.

AXELOS, the owner of the Global Best Practice Portfolio, has profiled an award-winning PRINCE2 ® project in its latest case study.   Scheidt & Bachmann GmbH, the global solutions provider, describe how PRINCE2 – the world’s most popular project management methodology – helped them design and develop the hardware and software required for a new type of ticket machine for the German rail company Bayerische Oberlandbahn – and manufacture and install 64 of the new machines to a challenging deadline.  

Originally a mechanical engineering company, Scheidt & Bachmann was established in 1872 and remains a family owned company. With 24 subsidiaries and more than 2,600 employees worldwide, Scheidt & Bachmann now provides technology solutions across a number of sectors. The fare collection systems division was created in 1978 and is a global leader in fare collection technology.

The award-winning project was centred around a new German rail infrastructure – the Meridian Line – that would open in December 2013 and be operated by Bayerische Oberlandbahn. Scheidt & Bachmann received an order in March 2013 to supply and install new ticket machines for the Meridian Line by 14 December 2013, the non-negotiable date for new stations to be operational. This posed a challenge to deliver a new customer-specific model of ticket machine in time. The project required new hardware design and the production of a prototype device for customer approval, as well as significant software development.

Mike Acaster, PPM portfolio manager for AXELOS said: “This is a fantastic example of PRINCE2 being used to ensure that a complex and demanding project is delivered as effectively as possible. Among the benefits of using PRINCE2, Scheidt & Bachmann found that applying PRINCE2 principles and processes increased common understanding and simplified decision making where differing priorities were involved.

“The use of PRINCE2 improved delivery and customer satisfaction in a project that, from the start, had challenging and immoveable deadline dates while introducing technical innovation.”

Figure-3-1-Meridian-project-stages

Daniel Weber, head of technical project management at Scheidt & Bachmann said: “PRINCE2 provided the perfect management approach for a project of this sort. Without an effective project management approach in place this delivery would have been extremely challenging. There were many complex requirements that needed to be successfully met in a very short timeframe, without any room for error. In the end, we delivered an excellent result for Bayerische Oberlandbahn – and have produced a new product which we are already marketing to other customers.”

Jürgen Kindler, project manager for Bayerische Oberlandbahn said: “Due to Scheidt & Bachmann’s effort and determination we were able to complete the project successfully within the time frame. Problems were communicated openly and solved quickly, which has greatly contributed to its success.  

The full case study can be found on the AXELOS website: https://www.axelos.com/case-studies-and-white-papers/use-of-prince2-by-scheidt-bachmann-gmbh

Project Journal  staff were  not involved in the creation of this content.

Modular Penthouse, New Inn Yard, Shoreditch

A  modern approach  to prefabrication  is flourishing in the  capital with a new generation of designers and  manufacturers building on the pioneering work of  organisations such as the Peabody Trust.  City apartments lend themselves well to factory  built components where the quality of construction  needs to compensate for higher densities and  restricted space for accommodation.

Offsite construction is also less disruptive in the  city environment with increased construction speeds  bringing a corresponding reduction in noise and  transport and material handling in the  neighbourhood.

It is evident that many designers are also promoting the modular unit not only as a way of producing  affordable housing but also as a fashionable lifestyle  product.

No more connotations of the stigmatised post-war  temporary housing; the prefab is now an aspirational  dwelling which is becoming increasingly desirable.

3D-modelling has also opened up mny possibilities for housing construction. The software and expertise now exists to construct houses and apartments as a virtual model before any construction work begins. It is therefore possible to join up the process of construction starting with the purchaser/occupier who make choices of layout, fittings and furnishings from the computer visualisation. Data from the virtual model then becomes specification and fabrication data which is passed to the factory and eventually delivered to site.

Modular Penthouse, New Inn Yard, Shoreditch High Street

Modular Penthouse, New Inn Yard, Shoreditch High Street
Modular Penthouse, New Inn Yard, Shoreditch High Street
Modular Penthouse, New Inn Yard, Shoreditch High Street
Modular Penthouse, New Inn Yard, Shoreditch High Street
Modular Penthouse, New Inn Yard, Shoreditch High Street
Modular Penthouse, New Inn Yard, Shoreditch High Street

Material efficiency and ease of construction were  prime functional objectives. The Shoreditch Penthouse project explored the possibilities of inserting structures into a dense urban fabric by re-using roof tops of existing buildings. Four prefabricated volumetric units provide for various functions; they interlock on site to generate an integral live/work space in conjunction with the existing floor below. Starting with the simple idea of maximising capacity through optimisation of the existing structure, they integrate new spaces whilst sharing foundations, services and circulation areas. Core principles of sustainable construction can therefore be applied from the very beginning. Finally, through off-site construction expensive site management can be kept to a minimum, whilst maintaining a high quality of craftsmanship in a controlled factory environment.

Architect: Oceans Group

Structural Engineer: Atelier One

 

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