Building sustainable homes at speed: risks and rewards

It is perhaps an irony that the title of this report refers to building homes at speed when our current annual housing output is at one of the lowest levels in recorded history.

However, the growing need for more homes to be built, along with new construction techniques have presented the house-building industry with the opportunity to combine the benefits of building quickly and building sustainably to meet the requirements of the higher Levels of the Code for Sustainable Homes.  House builders considering using innovative systems are faced with difficult judgements about whether these approaches can fulfil their objectives and produce durable, healthy, low-maintenance housing.

This research review gives a series of case studies of selected sustainable housing developments which had the potential to achieve significant gains in construction speed by using innovative approaches.  It summarises the risks that house builders, registered providers, manufacturers and design teams should be aware of when considering how to build sustainable homes quickly, highlights the risks that are of most concern and suggests how the most significant risks can be avoided or mitigated.