Why do we need to change how we make buildings?

We have a housing crisis and a climate crisis.  As we try to tackle the former, we are at risk of worsening the later – or visa versa.  If only we could make affordable, high-quality, zero-carbon houses, fast….?

Traditional buildings are inherently slow and inaccurate.  They rely on a huge team of very skilled craftsmen at every step.  Architects, engineers, contractors, ground workers, steel fabricators, plumbers, electricians etc.  Even at the end of construction it is reliant on a specialist individual to check the building complies with the pages and pages of documentation in building regulations and british standards. Oh, and defects are an accepted part of the job, they are even built into the standard contracts.   Well, it would be if you have such limited quality control.

The whole process is incredibly time-consuming and expensive – it takes years… Imagine if buying a car took 4 years and from the outset you didn’t know what it would look like, how long it would take to make, nor how much it would cost.

All this, even before we assess the problems with planning. 

Over the past 50 years, most industries have embraced standardisation, mass production and other technologies, to significantly transform their operational efficiencies, product quality, and economics.  Most products are cheaper and better made now, than they were 50 years ago.  Just look at this video.

We cannot hope to solve the housing crisis, let alone the climate crisis, unless we take a radically different approach.  Let’s take a Quick Look at some of the technology that has transformed other industries and try to understand if we can establish a new method of building, from the ground up.

1. Standardised Components: reduce costs and simplify logistics. How can we make buildings standardised and varied at the same time?

2. Assembly Line Production, using robots and advanced machinery increase production speed and precision.  This really works best when we combine it with standardised components.

3. Just-in-Time (JIT) Manufacturing: to reduce waste by producing goods only as needed.  Again working best with standardised components.

4. Surface-Mount Technology (SMT): has transformed electronic component fabrication.  Could this principle be applied to building services?

5. Quality Control Standards: maintain product consistency and safety.  This could really help to overcome some of the problems we’ve seen in the industry, often from human error.

6. Advanced Composites: Materials made from multiple components that, when combined, produce a material with superior properties Such as high strength-to-weight ratio, superior durability, low thermal conductivity. Buildings are always a composite of materials so advanced composites should be obvious.

7. Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma: Methodologies to improve efficiency and reduce defects.  The goal of Six Sigma is to achieve a level of quality that is nearly perfect.  How can we apply Six Sigma to design and construction?

8. Machine learning: uses computer systems to optimise production and efficiencies, and adapt production to customer preferences.  Combined with standardised components, this could transform the speed of design and production quality.

The key is that to adopt these measures and more, we needed a fundamental rethink about how buildings are conceived, procured and constructed.

‘Aerospace meets Architecture’ – that’s the basis of our work at Abode Industries.

By leveraging principles of mass production, quality control, and modularity, we can deliver high-quality, affordable, zero-carbon, customisable housing at a pace and scale necessary to meet current and future housing needs.

Prof Robert Barker

Abode Industries