Peabody Trust – Godinterest

March 14, 2016July 1, 2022

Raines Court, Hackney

Protected from the weather and supported by industrial control systems, factories can produce a range of components from simple panels to fully fitted-out modules which are ready to be assembled on site. And here is where the arguments start: advantages include more consistent working conditions and therefore better quality of performance and finishes, less wastage of materials, fewer journeys to site, less disruption of the local neighbourhood, faster construction times, better health and safety. These are some of the benefits which factory built homes can bring.

KREOD Pavilion

“Modular Eco-House System” in cooperation with Vita Giannini 3D design by Antonis Manolessos

Former Granada Cinema, 58 St Johns Hill

“Modular Eco-House System” in cooperation with Vita Giannini 3D design by Antonis Manolessos

“If we don’t keep investigating prefab, we risk squandering a lot of resources and not delivering enough housing.” says Andy Matthews of architect Proctor & Matthews.

An extended experiment into the potential for delivering high-quality housing through off-site construction methods Raines Court is one of the largest prefabricated schemes built to date in the UK. Raines Court consists of 61 shared ownership flats (11×3-bed, 41×2-bed, 1×1-bed plus 8 x live/work units) for public sector key workers and local people in Hackney on moderate incomes on the site of the former dairy products distribution yard on Northwold Road, Stoke Newington. The main components are modular units complete with fixtures and fittings, tiling, bathrooms, kitchens, heating, transported by lorry from York and craned into position. With its steel-framed modules, zinc-clad faÃƒ§ade and splashes of vivid colour, Raines Court wears its modular form proudly.

Public opinion is divided on its success as a result of this but it has won several architectural awards and there is no doubting the generous layout and provision of the flats.

At six-storeys in a largely low-rise neighbourhood, the scheme is a radical, bold insertion that establishes a civic presence.

This estate was the second Peabody development constructed using prefabricated modules manufactured and was completed in 2003.

Client: Peabody Trust

Architect: AHMM

Structural Engineer: whitbybird

Contractor: Wates

Principal Supplier: Yorkon

Completion: 2003

Cost: £8.9 Million

Awards:

British construction Industry Awards: Best Practice 2004

Housing Design Award 2004

RIBA Award for Architecture 2004

Housing Design Award 2001

Housing Forum Demonstration Project 2001

August 25, 2015July 1, 2022

Momo Apartments

Zero defects are the primary battleground between traditional and modern construction methods. A relative concept, zero defects is, however, a target that the construction industry has set for itself. Primary considerations are structural stability and keeping the water out. Proper functioning of services, components, fixtures, and fittings are essential.

Energy and sound performance are also vital, as well as issues of safety, access, and security. This is a campaign which will be fought in years to come… and in the meantime here is another prefab scheme which feature’s in these skirmishes.

Mobile Modular (MoMo) is a research development project for a relocatable system of mass housing constructed from specially fabricated shipping containers. This type of system allows flats to be erected speedily on short-life sites and to be demounted and re-assembled in different configurations on other sites in the future.

The key objectives:

Remove MoMo apartments from a site where housing has been provided for 5 years.

Refurbish Each module at the supplier’s yard or an alternative temporary site.

Re-locate The apartments in any new configuration to provide decanting, short-term housing, permanent apartments. This type of system can also become a permanent housing solution.

Originally commissioned by the Peabody Trust, after feasibility stage, the team was invited to take the project forward with their own initiative. The team formed a consortium with the aim of developing a prototype to demonstrate the principles, and to market the MoMo scheme as a one-stop shop package to interested parties.

January 14, 2005July 1, 2022

Beaufort Court, Hammersmith, London

An award-winning estate which was constructed in 2003 using a semi-modular construction approach.

Traditional bathroom pods have a range of superstructure options including concrete and GRP. They are not usually integrated into the structure and are either craned or slid into place after construction. Typically, this involves redundancy in terms of floors and walls but this can be avoided by using structural pods. Traditional pods usually have a separate procurement process and when used in hotels and student accommodation have very defined service zones.

Beaufort Court consists of 65 houses and flats arranged in three blocks around a communal area. There are 19 shared ownership flats, which sell at £115,230 (2003 prices). The remaining houses and flats are social housing, key worker housing and part of a rough sleeper initiative. It was designed as a model of affordable housing. It is high density, energy efficient, and innovative in construction. Plans are generous, elevations are elegant, and excellent communal and parking facilities are provided. A light-guage steel panel system forms the main superstructure of the six-storey accommodation with an externally expressed hot rolled steel structure for the lift shafts and supporting the balconies. Lillee Road is the first UK housing project to use structural bathroom pods within such a framing system. They were chosen primarily because of the very tight spatial constraints of the building.

Client: Peabody Trust
Architect: Feilden Clegg Bradley LLP
Structural Engineer: Michael Barclay Partnership
Steel Frame Consultants: Forge Llewellyn
Contractor: Rok Llewellyn
MMC Advisor: Mtech