Interview: Centre for London on how to kickstart modular housebuilding

Richard Brown is research director at the think tank Centre for London. Last month, NewStart went to meet him in London to discuss their recent report, Made for London: Realising the potential of Modern Methods of Construction, which looks at what needs to be done to accelerate the sluggish uptake of modular housing in the capital.

Do you favour one particular type of modular construction?

We’ve not jumped into that. At the moment there’s a battle of formats going on like VHS and Betamax. Something will win out. Some of the more interesting stuff is the environmental improvements like using cross-laminated timber which is a lot more renewable and less carbon intensive than concrete. That’s interesting and gives some modular housing a nice feel.

You want to have a breakthrough model but with a bit of competition. That will work well for the market.

It is going to change but construction is still done in a way it was done 200 years ago. It’s not just about construction but digitising design which will be a gamechanger.

Why has modular been slow to take off in London?

A challenge is there are a lot of developers attached to a different type of modular structure and we haven’t seen one break through yet.

It’s particularly difficult in London. Some people have said it’s the most difficult place to build modular homes in the UK because of irregular shaped sites.

It’s not easy for developers to take a risk on new technology if, for example, a factory may go bust. It’s also hard for factories to get the volume of orders in place. However, this is slowly changing.

Less talked about is the use of pre-fabricated components which has been a lot more widespread, such as bathroom pods that are craned onto the site.

It’s not quite the pure pod-type modular that people like to envisage but there is a stealthier aspect of modular that is coming through.

Do developers deserve their reputation as being risk averse?

Most of the traditional developers are relatively risk-averse. They have a tried and tested method and links with contractors. They know how to speed up and slow down delivery to respond to the market and they’re not interested in finding new ways of doing things.

We also know housing built by traditional methods is often very, very poor.

The trouble with housing in London is it’s incredibly complicated and people come out and say, ‘This one thing is the answer to London’s housing challenges.’

Modular can play a part by allowing different types of developers to get involved as well as dealing with London’s workforce challenges.

People worry that working in construction is a dirty and dangerous job but when working in a factory making these units things are a lot more straightforward.

Are building colleges on board with these new methods of construction?

They are doing a lot more but we felt they needed to modernise slightly their approach to skills.

You need to upskill workers because it’s a different approach to building. A lot of work in the factory is about precision, rather than strength. This can address the issue of a lack of women in the workforce. You’re not carrying hods of bricks so it should open construction up to a more diverse workforce.

How do you ensure modular housing developments remain affordable? 

There are things like community land trusts and shared ownership schemes where it’s a fixed market. You can try and control the market but people have seen London as a perpetually rising market.

If we built more that should moderate prices a bit but we need to build a hell of a lot more to bring prices down. Part of it is meeting demand but also obtaining land at low value. That’s the biggest cost in London.

I came here after I graduated in the mid-90s and it was just a lot cheaper. London still expects people to slum it a bit. I don’t live in London I live in Brighton and I sometimes think about moving back but that becomes very difficult if you’re middle-aged.

We did a report earlier this year called London and the UK about divisions and that undermines people’s connection to London if it’s not somewhere they ever imagine living.

Wages in London have hardly budged since 2008. There are theoretically higher wages here than the rest of the UK, but put incomes after housing costs and it’s the poorest regions in the country. How can that be?

Read Centre for London’s report Made for London: Realising the potential of Modern Methods of Construction