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According
to popular
opinion,
all
we export
to England
is cheap
labour.
But
actually,
we can
also
sell
whole
buildings
there.
In
2004,
the
Krakow-based
Buma,
a producer
of volumetric
modular
houses,
joined
forces
with
the
British
PCKO
Architects
and
Hyde
Housing
Association.
The
assembly
of the
first
building
at Barling
Court
in London,
which
took
just
4 days,
was
reported
in the
local
media.
This
project
earned
PCKO
Building
Design's
title
of the
Architect
of the
Year
in the
housing
construction
category,
while
Buma
got
to build
three
more
developments
in London,
all
of them
in the
South:
at Wyndham
Road,
Tenda
Road
and
Lingham
Street.
To
get
to the
last
building,
commissioned
in August
2006,
get
off
at the
Stockwell
underground
station
and
pass
several
tall
blocks
of flats
built
of prefabricated
concrete
as well
as a
row
of low-rise,
brick
housing
buildings
so typical
for
northern
Europe.
In this
cityscape,
commonplace
in London's
residential
districts,
the
PCKO
and
Buma
building
looks
like
it travelled
back
in time.
This
is not
just
because
of its
glistening
steel
facade
and
the
strong,
cubical
form.
What
is important
is how
it was
built.
On the
European
common
market,
the
dreams
of more
affordable
but
comfortable
and
pretty
houses
built
at factories
are
slowly
becoming
reality.
The
building,
containing
20 two-
and
three-bedroom
flats,
was
erected
in just
11 days.
But
that
was
the
assembly
time
at the
site:
earlier,
48 modules
took
48 days
to built
in the
Buma
factory
in Krakow
and
were
trucked
to London
in batches
in line
with
the
progress
of works.
The
modules,
called
volumetric
by the
producer
(which
means
3D,
to distinguish
them
from
flat
prefabricated
walls
or floors)
weigh
11-15
tonnes
each.
The
maximum
ceiling
span
is 4m
and
length
13,2m;
each
of those
elements
can
contain
one
or two
bedrooms
and
a living
room
or,
alternatively,
the
bathroom
and
a closet,
fully
fitted
out
at the
factory.
It is
at the
factory
that
the
facade
is clad,
internal
walls
painted,
floors
finished,
bathroom
and
kitchen
furniture
and
fixtures
assembled.
Only
the
foundations
and
risers
need
to be
built
on site.
By
moving
such
a large
part
of work
to the
factory,
the
construction
progresses
regardless
of the
weather.
All
the
dirty,
wet
and
noisy
work
is completed
at the
factory,
so the
assembly
is much
cleaner,
quieter
and
faster
than
erecting
a conventional
building.
The
construction
site
needs
no large
builder's
yard
or storage
area.
This
enables
building
within
a compact
urban
settlement
without
much
inconveniencing
the
neighbours
much.
During
the
assembly
of the
building,
platform
lorries
come
to the
construction
site,
are
offloaded,
and
leave
several
times
a day
in accordance
with
the
schedule.
This
is probably
the
greatest
burden
on the
neighbours,
but
it only
lasts
from
several
days
to a
fortnight.
As
so much
work
is done
in Poland
using
locally
sourced
materials,
the
price
of flats
can
be kept
lower
than
usual
in England.
Other
savings
are
achieved
as the
buildings
are
assembled
without
scaffolding,
which
costs
an arm
and
a leg
to rent
in London.
And
every
pound
is important,
as the
buildings
erected
by Hyde
Housing
Association
are
in principle
social
housing,
mainly
addressed
to key
workers,
i.e.
public
service
employees,
the
police,
teachers
and
nurses
whom
the
State
compensates
for
their
low
salaries
by subsidizing
a part
of their
rent.
What
is more,
Buma
houses
are
of high
quality
compared
to other
English
social
housing.
This
is achieved,
firstly,
by the
more
precise
assembly
at the
factory,
and
secondly,
since
the
labour
and
materials
cost
less,
these
buildings
can
be fitted
out
better
within
the
same
budget.
Bathrooms
have
been
tiled
from
floor
to ceiling,
as is
customary
in Poland,
equipped
with
wall-hung
toilet
basins
and
concealed
cisterns.
The
use
of materials
and
technologies
popular
in Poland
means
that
when
you
cross
the
threshold
of a
London
flat
you
feel
like
you
were
teleported
back
to your
homeland.
Contrary
to its
modern,
futuristic
form,
the
building
features
standard,
traditional
interiors
fitted
out
in accordance
with
the
developer's
requirements.
The
co-author
of the
architectural
design,
Andrew
Ogorzałek
of PCKO,
assures
us that
in subsequent
developments,
the
architects
aim
for
the
ideal
of a
home
as a
mass-produced,
but
designer
product,
like
a Swatch
or a
Volkswagen
Beetle.
The
buildings
constructed
so far
are
clad
in steel
panels
and
their
arrangement
stresses
the
split
into
modules.
The
rhythmic
facades
are
enlivened
by wooden
elements
or simple,
colourful
details,
like
polycarbonate
canopies.
But
the
investor
may
order
facades
clad
in wood,
plastered
or finished
with
some
other
facing
material.
Do such
systems
have
a future
in Poland,
where
people
still
have
nightmares
of living
in prefabricated
concrete
buildings?
Buma
judges
that
if the
prices
and
costs
of building
apartments
and
houses
continue
to skyrocket
at the
current
scary
rate,
modules
may
soon
become
competitive.
So far,
the
company
has
completed
some
1,600
flats
and
over
250
detached
houses
in Poland
since
1991.
The
absorption
capacity
of the
London
housing
market
is practically
infinite.
The
city
came
in first
again
in the
most
recent
Jones
Lang
LaSalle
ranking
of the
most
attractive
large
cities
in Europe.
The
population
and
jobs
are
forecast
to grow
continuously
until
2010,
and
the
2012
Olympics
should
prolong
this
fantastic
upturn
into
the
next
decade.
Regardless
of the
assumed
constant
increase
of the
city's
revenues,
the
demand
for
affordable
housing
for
Londoners
and
the
hundreds
of thousands
who
choose
to move
to this
metropolis
is certainly
here
to stay.
Figures:
1,2.
Lingham
Street
building,
London.
Authors:
PCKO
Architects,
2006.
Photo:
Grzegorz
Piątek
3,4.
Assembly
of the
Lingham
Street
building.
Photo:
Buma
archives.
5,
6. Wyndham
Road
building,
London.
Authors:
PCKO
Architects,
2005.
Photo:
Grzegorz
Piątek
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