Project Etopia has begun the construction of a landmark demonstration home in the hope of meeting a new UK offsite construction standard.
The home will be built at Building Research Establishment’s (BRE) Watford Innovation Park with the aim of being awarded the body’s soon-to-be-released BPS 7014 Standard for Modular Systems for Dwellings certification.
BRE’s BPS 7014 will assess levels of performance of buildings using modern methods of construction (MMC) against sustainability and building standards.
The house — which features its own solar cladding, solar panels and tiles, triple glazing, in addition to a Daikin heating and cooling system — will be tested for its ability to withstand hurricanes, fires and floods and will be thoroughly evaluated to prove it can match equivalent building regulations.
Joseph Daniels, CEO at Project Etopia, claimed: “We set out to be at the leading edge of the offsite construction sector and the fact that we are at BRE building the first demonstration home intended to meet the UK’s first modular construction standard is testament to that.
“It’s fantastically exciting for the UK housing market and there is now everything to play for.”
