admin According to Mace the new technology-led construction technique has evolved from its existing ‘jump factory’ construction method and could transform the way high rise buildings are constructed in the UK by reducing construction programmes by a quarter, vehicle movements by 40% and waste by up to 70%.
At the former at the contractor’s N06 East Village site in Stratford, east London, the new method was unveiled, which Mace is delivering for client Get Living.
The method, titled high rise solutions (HRS), was demonstrated at the high rise housing scheme being built at the former London 2012 athlete’s village. The project will see Mace build 524 new homes built in two towers of 26 and 31 storey’s in height.
The method builds on the success of Mace’s ‘Jump Factory’ technique with the contractor working with Australian firm Hickory to adapt its building system for construction in the UK.
HRS using parametric modelling tools and artificial intelligence, is able to draw from a catalogue of components to design and manufacture the structure and façade sub-assemblies offsite. This includes installing modules concurrently with bathroom pods, utility cupboards and MEP service modules, to drastically reduce programme times and improve productivity up to six times compared to current industry performance.
Mace claims it will be able to significantly shorten the N06 construction programme by 18 weeks with 20% less workers onsite compared to a traditional building approach. The construction of N06 is well underway with four floors already built across each of the two towers.
The launch of the new HRS system comes as Mace also announces the creation of a new business unit, Mace Tech, that will manage the deployment and delivery of advanced offsite sub-assembly construction methods harnessing the latest technologies.
Mace chief executive Mark Reynolds said: “The launch of Mace Tech marks an important milestone, not only for Mace but for the industry; unless we radically rethink how we build, we will never be able to deliver the housing and infrastructure that is desperately needed across the UK while reducing our carbon footprint.
“Availability of smart data is essential to radically change our industry. Mace Tech will allow us to harness the latest digital technologies and offsite construction methods to create better buildings. HRS is already helping to deliver housing faster with less waste and reduce carbon emissions. I look forward to working closely with the team to roll it out across our business.”
Mace Tech business unit director Shaun Tate said: “HRS is more than just a new offsite construction method – it is a new digital approach to how we assemble and construct buildings. We interrogated the entire production to delivery cycle, taking inspiration from the auto industry with its integrated production and assembly line, looking at how we can develop smarter and more efficient offsite assembly methods to drive better outcomes. “At N06 we can already see the benefits that this method is delivering with just in time delivery and much more streamlined work processes.”
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