ECOBuilder-Specifiers Journal spring2018

The sky is no limit for volumetric construction,
the recent 29-floor student accommodation block
in Wembley, Apex House, is a superb example of
what is possible. With an internal area of 16,000m 2 ,
projects like Apex House show the true potential
of volumetric construction in the UK where
innovative technology meets great design.
The speed of manufacture and construction is so
impressive it can even keep up with the demands
of fast growing markets, such as retail coffee
shops. Only with modular construction can a drive
through coffee shop be available and operational
on your favourite motorway services, where it
wasn’t there a month ago!
It’s the hire and refurbishment market however
where there is an even greater embodied energy
benefit. When a module is manufactured it could
be for a single storey or for a double storey school
classroom, as it fits on the back of a lorry it could
start the year as a classroom in York and finish the
year as an office in Manchester, a huge benefit of
this is the savings made through not having waste
and not having two construction projects, two
sets of building materials and so on.
If a module is built to a particular set of standards
it maintains those standards throughout its life.
Two important additions to the 2013 building
regulation part L2 was made to recognise this.
The first addition was the introduction of a Target
Emission Rating (TER) adjustment, specifically
for use in the construction of a new building
from refurbished modules. For example, in a
construction to be completed today, to the
current building regulation standards, if a module
manufactured in 2014 was to be utilised, an
adjustment factor would be taken into account
on calculation within the simple building energy
modeling (SBEM) tools to reflect the embodied
energy.
FEATURE ARTICLE: THE MODULAR AND PORTABLE BUILDING ASSOCIATION
specifically for the hire market, where a distressed
purchase is required due to a disaster or accident,
or temporary accommodation is required whilst a
larger building is under construction.
The aim of the scheme was to maintain a high
level of energy performance within a temporary
building whilst not increasing the cost to the
purchaser or delaying the time taken to have an
operational building.
It is based on the premise that modular buildings
under 1000m 2 only have a specific number of
combinations that they can be assembled in, hence
where the age of the sub-assemblies (modules) is
verified a generic energy rating can be applied to
demonstrate to the purchaser what is typical of
the construction that they have purchased.
The scheme was created and managed by the
MPBA and provided as a service of membership
at no additional cost. Our members recognise
the importance of sustainability in construction,
and will continue to lead from the front with
innovation, technology and communication.
It would be wrong to identify a specific sector
to readers as the fact is that Volumetric/Modular
buildings have no boundaries, we can provide
buildings to all sectors Education, Health,
Commercial, Private, Construction and Events.
The unique building models that are available
gives client’s opportunities to work with their
supplier directly to obtain their requirements,
control their budgets and ensure that they are
delivered on time.
The benefit of this addition to the volumetric
construction industry and society as a whole is
immense. Instead of sending highly efficient, high
quality building modules to landfill they can be
reused for a more sustainable future.
The second addition to the building regulations
was the introduction of the generic energy
performance certificate scheme. The scheme is
SPECIFIERS JOURNAL - SPRING 2018
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