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This Means A Gap In The Market For The Affordable Family Home. Yet Suggested ...

This means a gap in the market for the affordable family home. Yet suggested future trends indicate that with an increasingly elderly population more dependent on a largely older workforce there will be a change in the make-up of households, with a rise in the number of extended families by 2010. (http://www.forsight.gov.uk). With such dynamic social trends the construction and architectural industry has had to respond with alternative solutions in design, and it is now not unusual to see multi storey flats which are part of a shared ownership community. For these designs, which use space economically, the use of modular off-site building methods is ideal.
Recent official publications state that an increase of 70,000 extra homes a year has been the projected figure that will ease the housing situation. (Barker 2006). Targets put forward by the government are ambitious and seek to build 200,000 homes a year. Attitudes towards modular building are mixed; the results of past projects involving factory-built homes have on the whole been successful but further research into cost-reduction needs to be made. It is a dynamic industry with the potential for expansion. However, the public opinion about prefabricated buildings needs to be encouraged in order to overcome prejudices and preconceptions. As Kelly Devin, marketing director for Cardinal Homes, a modular manufacturer, has said:
‘Some people have never heard of modular, and others think it's the same as mobile housing because it's built in factories.' (Devin 2005).
The paper is divided into 5 chapters. The Literature Review firstly defines what offsite construction methods involve and gives examples of current manufacturing companies and organisations involving offsite work. The review then examines the key points of the Barker Review and how it relates to the topic of this dissertation. The Literature Review also discusses the positive and negative aspects of modular housing and its appropriateness for use in the construction industry today and in the future.
Two questionnaire surveys constitutes the primary research for this study, and the two case studies are secondary. The questionnaires are evaluated in chapter two.
1.2 Literature Review
Modular Building Construction: what it is.
Volumetric construction (also known as modular construction) involves the production of three-dimensional units in regulated factory conditions which are then transported to site. Modern day flexibility and efficiency means that modules can be completed with all extra finishes such as interior decoration, and furnishing. An alternative to the three-dimensional option is flat panel assembly units which produce a skeleton structures to be joined together on site. Additional finishes and services are also added on site.


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