Integration with the Architect

We need to change the way we build.

It is widely accepted, post Egan Report, that building industry practices have to change; that we cannot continue to build with brick and block and plaster, using poorly skilled labour on messy sites in all weathers.

The industrial revolution.

Off-site fabrication is the way to achieve this change – what you might call a belated industrial revolution: creating as much of a building as possible in the controlled environment of a modern factory, leaving as little as possible to the vagaries of the weather and on-site labour skills.

The IT revolution.

Timber Frame manufacturers are in the forefront of this revolution, investing in new, highly automated plant. Fully integrated computer design, engineering and manufacturing systems can produce the frame of a complete house quickly and accurately, increasing the predictability and pace of building programmes.

Instead of daily spiralling subcontractor costs, Timber Frame offers a fixed price, fixed term solution for the supply and erection of the superstructure of a building.

Manufacture that’s fully integrated with the architect.

Computers can provide a continuous connection between the manufacturer and architect – a true partnership, establishing an on-line dialogue that enables any potential problems to be ironed out before they reach the site. Once the final design is agreed, special software can provide instant bespoke manufacturing instructions.

We need architects to design homes fit for the future.

Architects have had little success in influencing commercial housing over recent years. Now that the Government’s determination to address the housing shortage looks like leading to a significant increase in house building over the next few years, there is an opportunity to create new urban environments we can all be proud of.