Prefabs sprouting: Modern Methods of Construction and the English housing crisis

预制房屋的萌芽：现代建筑方法和英国住房危机

• 批准号: ES/V015923/2
• 负责人: Andrew Wallace
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Greenwich
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FV015923%2F2
• 关键词: Prefabs; sprouting; Modern; Methods; Construction

The UK Government is once again embracing the 'prefab'. However, rather than the iconic bungalows of the post-war housing emergency, or the ageing concrete tower blocks that still dominate many urban skylines, today's offerings are digitally designed and manufactured in controlled factory settings. In 2019, the Government - keen to accelerate housebuilding, reduce carbon emissions and challenge the traditional construction sector - began to commit significant resources to this method of housebuilding, what is usually called 'Modern Methods of Construction' or MMC. They did this, in part, because of the ongoing 'housing crisis' whereby an insufficient supply of good quality, affordable homes for sale and rent has driven up the numbers of people living in insecure, poor quality and temporary accommodation. The MMC sector is now growing rapidly in England and large companies like Ikea and Legal and General are receiving Government grants to build MMC homes. However, there is little research being done to understand what kind of homes and places MMC firms are building or what role MMC is playing or should play in addressing the housing crisis.Our project will fill this gap and is organised around four main tasks. Firstly, we will build a picture of the MMC sector itself and establish what kind of companies we find, where they are located and what kind of homes and business philosophies they offer. Second, we will study what kind of homes and places MMC developers are being commissioned to deliver by clients and policymakers across England and how this process of delivery unfolds. Third, we will analyse the system that surrounds MMC and examine how policymakers and the housing industry are changing or responding to the new firms. Fourth, we will evaluate if new MMC homes and places are helping to address the housing crisis in England by, for example, offering more affordable, safe, energy efficient, durable that are well planned and located. Part of the study works at the national level to understand what is happening with MMC across England. Another part of the study is anchored in three cases of MMC-driven housing regeneration in Doncaster, Leeds and Bolton. We are working in partnership with the three firms building these new sites - Bauman Lyons, Citu and Ilke Homes - to gain first-hand knowledge of how MMC projects are delivered and to talk to residents living in MMC homes. Our project is innovative in bringing together researchers working in housing studies, geography, architecture, civil engineering and project management and our methods include documentary analysis, interviews, ethnography and GIS mapping. Our study will enable us to deliver new data of benefit to: scholars interested in housing justice, technical standards, safety and sustainability; government policymakers hungry to address the housing crisis and understand the impact and trajectory of MMC; MMC firms looking for best practice and to publicise their innovative approach to construction; housebuilding industry professionals looking to better understand MMC; civil society organisations who want more information about this new industry and its impacts; the general public who want insights into the reality of buying and living in a modern 'prefab' home and housing activists who are looking for an alternative housing system that works very differently from what we have now.The project will result in six academic articles, reports aimed at non-academic experts working in housing, planning, construction, engineering and project management, a set of accessible blogs and journalism and a programme of local and national dissemination events.

英国政府再次拥抱“预制件”。然而，与战后住房紧急情况下的标志性平房或仍然主导许多城市天际线的老化混凝土塔楼不同，今天的产品是在受控的工厂环境中进行数字化设计和制造的。2019年，政府热衷于加快房屋建设，减少碳排放并挑战传统建筑行业，开始投入大量资源用于这种通常被称为“现代建筑方法”或MMC的房屋建设方法。他们这样做的部分原因是由于持续的“住房危机”，即优质、负担得起的销售和出租住房供应不足，导致居住在不安全、质量差和临时住所的人数增加。MMC行业目前在英国发展迅速，宜家、法律的和通用等大公司正在接受政府赠款建造MMC住宅。然而，对于MMC公司正在建造什么样的房屋和场所，或者MMC在解决住房危机方面正在或应该发挥什么作用，几乎没有进行过研究。我们的项目将填补这一空白，并围绕四个主要任务进行组织。首先，我们将建立MMC行业本身的图片，并确定我们找到什么样的公司，他们位于哪里，他们提供什么样的家庭和商业理念。其次，我们将研究MMC开发商受英格兰各地客户和政策制定者委托交付的房屋和场所，以及交付过程如何展开。第三，我们将分析围绕MMC的系统，并研究政策制定者和房地产行业如何改变或应对新公司。第四，我们将评估新的MMC住宅和场所是否有助于解决英格兰的住房危机，例如，提供更实惠、安全、节能、耐用、规划良好的住宅和场所。这项研究的一部分是在国家一级进行的，以了解MMC在英格兰各地发生了什么。研究的另一部分是锚定在三个案例的MMC驱动的住房再生在唐卡斯特，利兹和博尔顿。我们正在与建设这些新网站的三家公司-鲍曼里昂，Citu和Ilke家园-合作，以获得MMC项目如何交付的第一手资料，并与居住在MMC家园的居民交谈。我们的项目是创新的，汇集了研究人员在住房研究，地理，建筑，土木工程和项目管理工作，我们的方法包括文献分析，访谈，民族志和GIS制图。我们的研究将使我们能够提供新的有益数据：对住房正义感兴趣的学者，技术标准，安全和可持续性;渴望解决住房危机并了解MMC的影响和轨迹的政府决策者; MMC公司寻找最佳实践并宣传其创新的建筑方法;希望更好地了解MMC的房屋建筑行业专业人士;想要了解有关这个新行业及其影响的更多信息的民间社会组织;希望深入了解购买和生活在现代“预制”房屋中的现实的普通公众和正在寻找与我们现在有很大不同的替代住房系统的住房活动家。该项目将产生六篇学术文章，针对从事住房、规划、建筑、工程和项目管理工作的非学术专家的报告，一套可访问的博客和新闻，以及一个地方和国家传播活动方案。