A series of problems facing the construction industry

Although not directly relevant to the creation of the new car-dealership, it is worth noting this government initiative in response to demands for faster construction and pressures caused by skills shortages, which is designed to improve the quantity and quality of housing construction through the use of off site prefabrication leading to faster construction, fewer housing defects and reductions in energy use and waste. Such a strategy could become commonplace in the construction industry in the near future. The initiative attempts to address a series of problems facing the construction industry generally. They are subjects of interest and debate including the following:

•    The need to increase the speed of the construction process.
•    Promotion of off-site prefabricated manufacture to help minimize site defects.
•    Matching industry capacity, particularly in line with shortages of skilled labour.
•    Health and safety improvements through less worker time spent on site.
•    Increased energy efficiency in response to changes in Building Regulations.
•    Reduction of site waste and total number of trips to a building site.
•    Stabilizing or lowering capital and running costs.
•    Changing public attitudes and promoting market demand.
•    Responding to Planning pressures, notably Planning Policy Guidance Note (PPG3) requirements for  greater density.

Few design proposals involve radical innovation. Very few architects actually manage to break the moulds. Paxton’s Crystal Palace, the first ‘skyscrapers’, Le Corbusier’s concrete Chapel at Ronchamp in the Alsace Region of Eastern France, the all-glass houses of Mies van der Rowe are examples of whole-building advance. Richard Rogers inside out Beaubourg Centre in Paris, Norman Foster’s Lloyds Building in London and the concrete structures designed by Santiago Calatrava in Valencia all re-examine the way in which buildings are ‘supposed’ to be designed and built. Less obvious innovations come in the form of new materials and technology continually developing in response to market demands. The use of unplasticised polyvinyl chloride (UPVC) and other plastics, optic fibres and high-energy glass become commonplace once they are affordable. Innovative design is essentially an attitude of mind, of enquiry, a ‘what if’ mentality which searches for improvement or seeks to do something differently from the expected norm. The design team should remain willing to rethink consumer needs, ask questions, challenge the status quo and try to develop realistic, but imaginative solutions to design problems. In the best cases, this approach adds value. Occasionally there will be a need to take risks, which is of course the way that ideas and practice move forward from generation to generation.