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Housing
associations
are
under
pressure
to build
quickly
and
efficiently.
But
where
should
they
turn
for
the
best
solution
to their
construction
needs?
Rebecca
Evans
joined
Hyde
Group’s
team
on a
mission
to Poland
‘One
careful
owner,
1,000
miles
on the
clock,’
may
sound
like
an ad
for
a second-hand
car.
But
instead
it’s
Mike
Kirk’s
tongue-in-cheek
description
of the
house
that
inspired
Hyde
Group’s
latest
venture
into
modern
methods
of construction.
The
group’s
development
director
for
London
is referring
to a
prefabricated
showhouse
manufactured
by Polish
company
BUMA
at its
Krakow
factory.
Standing
on a
plot
of land
about
10km
from
the
centre
of the
city,
it’s
not
obvious
that
the
house
has
been
erected
and
dismantled
eight
times
previously
on different
sited.
You
would
certainly
more
wear
and
tear
were
it really
a second-hand
car,
although
admittedly
the
house
has
never
been
lived
in.
At
the
other
end
of the
plot
is a
prototype
for
a block
of flats
Hyde
has
commissioned
from
BUMA
using
the
same
technology.
Because
the
system
has
never
been
used
in the
UK before,
BUMA
offered
to build
the
prototype
on its
land
at its
own
expense
so that
it could
be viewed
and
tested.
In what
could
be taken
as an
additional
confidence
boost
for
Hyde,
BUMA
has
already
sold
all
the
properties
and
when
Inside
Housing
visited
the
side
in June
some
of the
flats
were
already
being
lived
in.
Last
month
Hyde
took
delivery
of the
real
Mc Coy
–
a four-storey
block
of eight
flats
for
a site
in south
London.
Having
prefabricated
homes
trucked
from
Poland
to Stockwell
may
sound
as if
it is
taking
the
concept
of off-site
manufacturing
a bit
far,
but
the
partnership
is the
result
of a
timely
coincidence
of motives
for
Hyde,
BUMA
and
the
architect
of the
Hyde
homes
Andrew
Ogorzalek.
Rapid
response
Just
over
two
years
ago
the
Housing
Corporation
made
a suggestion
to Hyde
chief
executive
Charlie
Adams,
who
was
then
chair
of the
RAPID
(response
to accommodation
pressures
through
innovative
design)
group
of G15
housing
associations.
The
regulator
proposed
that
he start
looking
at the
concept
of housing
which
could
be built
on sites
that
were
available
in the
short
term,
and
then
subsequently
demounted
and
moved
somewhere
else.
This
idea
was
one
that
Mr Ogorzalek
was
already
interested
in.
Hyde
duly
commissioned
PCKO
Architects,
where
he is
one
of the
directors,
to design
such
a system
for
key
workers.
Meanwhile
BUMA,
which
was
set
up in
1991,
was
in the
process
of developing
a system
along
very
similar
lines.
Since
the
fall
of communism
in 1989
tourist
have
increasingly
flocked
to Krakow,
with
its
11th-century
castle
overlooking
the
city,
grand
and
picturesque
central
square
and
unspoilt
old
town.
But
while
the
tourist
were
attracted
to the
history
and
beauty
of the
city,
BUMA
was
keen
to embrace
post-communist
opportunities
for
trade.
The
firm
began
developing
systems
for
prefabricated
buildings.
Mr
Ogorzalek,
whose
practice
is in
Middlesex
but
who
is originally
from
Krakow,
came
across
the
BUMA
system
and
realised
that
it might
be the
solution
to both
his
and
Hyde’s
requirements.
He
stresses
the
advantages
of BUMA’s
methods.
The
system
involves
building
modules
using
steel-frame
constructions.
The
components
are
transported
in fully-finished
three-dimensional
units-not
flat-packed
like
some
other
systems.
The
internal
fixtures
and
fittings
are
all
installed
in the
factory,
as is
the
external
cladding.
All
that
is left
to do
on site
is bolt
the
modules
together.
In the
designs
Mr Ogorzalek
developed
for
Hyde,
each
flat
is made
up of
two
modules
with
another
one
for
the
staircase
on each
storey.
‘Building
housing
using
the
traditional
methods
of building
on site
in rain,
in adverse
weather
conditions,
can’t
create
proper
quality,’
he says.
‘At
the
same
time
people
are
driven
away
from
the
industry
because
of the
difficult
working
conditions
and
that
aggravates
the
problem
of skills’.
The
fact
that
nearly
all
the
work
takes
place
in the
factory
not
only
improves
quality,
he says,
but
means
that
the
time
taken
to erect
the
buildings
is dramatically
reduced.
Hyde’s
Stockwell
scheme
was
put
up in
just
four
days.
‘It
takes
quite
along
time
to design
the
building
because
every
single
detail
has
to be
sorted
out
before
the
work
is started
in the
factory’,
says
Mr Ogorzalek.
‘But
once
all
that
is sorted
out
all
the
production
in the
factory
is very
fast.
You
are
[also]
building
the
foundations
on site
at the
same
time.
‘Building
in the
centre
of cities
can
create
quite
a lot
of pain
for
the
whole
community.
Lorries
make
noise.
Sometimes
the
construction
will
take
a year.
It means
a year
of inconvenience
–
traffic
jams,
nuisance
to the
residents.
If you
can
limit
that
process
from
one
year
to one
week
[it]
would
be a
fantastic
achievements
as far
as the
benefits
to the
community
are
concerned.’
Mr
Kirk
applauds
the
quality
that
comes
with
building
the
homes
in a
controlled
factory
environment
and
the
speed
of the
construction,
as well
as the
fact
that
Hyde
can
adapt
the
method
to suit
its
own
needs.
‘Although
the
construction
method
is patented
by BUMA,
it’s
very
much
designed
to our
space
standards
and
our
specifications,’
he says.
‘And
it’s
architect
designed.’
For
Hyde
there
are
also
cost
benefits.
“The
[modular
housing]
industry
in the
UK is
very
slow,
very
small.
The
cost
of modular
housing
is more
expensive
than
traditional
build,’
he explains
to the
Poles
in a
presentation
at their
offices.
Labour
costs
in Poland
are
one-sixth
what
they
are
in the
UK and
the
system
is at
least
10 per
cent
cheaper
than
traditional
build
and
20 per
cent
cheaper
than
British
modular
housing.
There
is still
quite
a lot
of expenditure
in the
UK –
British
companies
carry
out
much
of the
preparatory
work
on site
in London
–
but
there
are
other
cost
benefits
of building
the
homes
in Krakow.
The
kitchen
and
bathroom
fittings
come
from
IKEA
but
are
sourced
locally
in Poland.
Mr Kirk
says
this
is much
cheaper
(Hyde
could
not
normally
afford
IKEA
fittings)
but
is also
and
advantage
because
it means
residents
can
replace
things
if they
need
to.
There
are
also
fewer
cultural
barriers
in Poland
to the
kind
of system
that
Hyde
is keen
to develop
‘We
think
there’s
a stronger
tradition
in this
country
[ Poland]
of looking
at modular
housing,
especially
in recent
years,’
he says.
Indeed,
when
we visit
the
prototype
homes
and
meet
some
of the
new
residents,
they
enthuse
about
their
homes
readily,
despite
the
language
barriers.
When
I ask
Agnieszka
Muc,
who
lives
in one
of the
flats
with
her
husband
and
two
young
sons,
whether
she
has
any
qualms
about
living
in a
flat
that
took
only
days
to put
up,
she
looks
at me
as though
it’s
a slightly
strange
question.
The
family
wanted
a house
‘as
quickly
as possible’,
she
says.
‘The
quality
of the
building
is very
good.
The
insulation
is ok.
I can’t
hear
anyone
walking
down
the
staircase.
We were
assured
about
the
good
structure,
that
everything
will
be robust,
solid
and
reliable,
and
we trusted
the
company’.
Tricky
negotiations
Mr
Kirk
says
that
the
negotiating
with
a foreign
company,
used
to different
standards,
not
to mention
a different
language,
was
tricky
at times,
and
it certainly
helped
to have
an architect
who
spoke
both
Polish
and
English
fluently.
But
once
the
agreements
were
made,
it did
not
take
long
to build
the
firs
eight
homes
in BUMA’s
factory.
By the
time
of our
visit
in June
the
firm
had
been
working
on the
modules
since
May
and
they
were
very
close
to completion.
The
factory
itself
was
not
what
I had
expected.
There’s
no whirring
machinery
or automated
production
line.
BUMA
group
chairman
Jacek
Michalski
explains
that
until
the
fall
of communism
the
factory
used
to manufacture
furniture.
The
company
would
like
more
automation
but
it needs
to ensure
that
the
demand
is there
to meet
the
additional
costs.
‘At
the
moment
we have
the
same
technological
standard
as Mr
Ford
used
to produce
his
T-model,
‘says
Mr Michalski.
“Almost
everything
is done
manually.
‘All
the
things
than
can
be automised
are
automised.
We have
special
metal
bending
machines,
special
machines
for
processing
all
wooden
plates
but
it’s
not
automated
yet.
‘If
[you]
invest
so much
in equipment
and
automatic
machines,
[then]
production
becomes
more
expensive.
We have
to do
it such
a way
as to
make
production
cheaper
than
it is
today.
It’s
very
easy
to cross
this
border.’
At
present,
the
components
are
made
in different
production
halls
and
then
put
together.
When
we visit,
some
of the
modules
are
ready
for
inspections,
raised
off
the
floor
on piles
of bricks
and
placed
next
to each
other
just
as they
will
be on
site,
to check
that
everything
lines
up.
Even
in factory
setting,
the
flats
are
easy
to imagine
as homes,
particularly
since
we’ve
seen
the
prototypes
earlier
in the
day.
Just
weeks
after
our
visit
22 trucks
drive
across
Europe
and
deliver
the
eight
flats
to Stockwell.
There
are
one
or two
small
hitches
relating
to the
alignment
of the
foundations
but
the
block
is completed,
as promised,
within
four
days
and
housing
minister
Keith
Hill
is on
hand
to watch
the
‘topping
out’
when
the
roof
is lowered
onto
the
four-storey
building.
Next
month
the
first
tenants
are
due
to move
in.
The
homes
will
be offered
at sub-market
tent
tot
key
workers,
as will
the
next
project:
18 homes
that
are
due
to be
delivered
to a
site
not
far
away
in Camberwell
early
next
year.
Mr
Kirk
is happy
with
the
system
and
feels
it will
withstand
the
scrutiny
that
it will
no doubt
face,
especially
from
UK manufactures
who
may
feel
aggrieved
that
Hyde
has
chosen
to go
abroad.
‘[There
may
be]
criticism
in terms
of sustainability
that
we are
bringing
them
over
from
Poland.
But
a lot
of the
materials
we already
use
in the
UK come
from
all
over
the
place,’
he says,
anticipating
some
of the
arguments.
Another
major
issue
for
Hyde
will
be ensuring
that
the
homes
are
mortgageable.
In future,
it would
like
to be
able
to use
the
system
for
shared
ownership
schemes
and
hopes
that
part
of its
bid
under
English
Partnerships’
London-wide
Initiative
will
be for
BUMA
homes.
But
this
relies
on the
banks
being
assured
that
they
are
a safe
bet
for
lenders.
Mr
Adams
says
he is
certain
that
there
is no
problem
with
the
method
and
says
the
association’s
insures
have
been
very
positive
about
the
system.
But
he admits
that
prospective
buyers
and
lenders
may
take
more
convincing
of the
reliability
of prefabricated
homes
that
customers
elsewhere
in Europe.
Where
such
homes
are
for
sale
they
will
be permanent
rather
than
temporary
and
Mr Kirk
says
different
projects
will
have
to be
marketed
in different
ways.
With
permanent
homes,
Hyde
will
stress
the
long-term
quality
rather
than
the
fact
that
they
theoretically
be taken
apart.
Catchy
though
it is,
his’
one
careful
owner,
1,000
miles
on the
clock’
slogan
probably
won’t
be part
of the
marketing
campaign.
Cross
country:
from
Krakow
to Stockwell
Spring
2002
Hyde
Group
chief
executive
Charlie
Adams
takes
up a
suggestion
by the
Housing
Corporation
to investigate
options
for
demountable
housing.
Hyde
commissions
PCKO
Architects
director
Andrew
Ogorzalek
to design
high
quality,
affordable
key
worker
housing
that
meets
this
criteria.
Early
2003
PCKO
introduces
Hyde
to BUMA
in Krakow
and
proposes
that
its
system
could
meet
Hyde’s
needs.
April
2003
BUMA
constructs
model
parts
of the
proposed
building
designed
by PCKO
for
Hyde’s
approval.
May
2003
Mr
Adams
and
Hyde
director
Mike
Kirk
visit
BUMA
and
see
some
of its
developments.
The
detail
of construction
and
specification
are
agreed
for
eight
flats
at Barling
Court
in Stockwell,
south
London.
The
total
cost
of the
scheme
is £675,000,
excluding
costs
for
research
and
development.
Hyde
receives
£175,000
from
the
Housing
Corporation
in an
innovative
application
of temporary
social
housing
grant.
November
2003
BUMA
begins
construction
of a
prototype
of the
Barling
Court
development
and
offers
to erect
it on
its
land
in Krakow
so that
it can
be tested.
May
2004
BUMA
begins
production
of the
modules
for
Barling
Court.
19
July
The
modules
are
delivered
to the
site
in Stockwell,
having
been
transported
on 22
lorries
from
Poland.
22
July
The
roof
is lowered
onto
the
building
and
the
flats
are
complete
expect
for
the
balconies,
which
are
added
afterwards.
6
September
Anticipated
handover
of the
flats
to the
first
tenants.
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