"Clients to blame for lack of sustainability in construction" cries industry - 10/02/2006

The news is a result of a CIOB research session with a group of specialist practitioners analysing four key corners of the construction industry.The session, led by long-standing construction authority Professor Michael Benfield, formed the CIOB Wiltshire Centre annual event.

“The audience have been kicked into action. The construction industry needs to get wiser and plan for the long-term – not simply for the next five years, but we need to predict and conform to Building Regulation changes for the next 50 years – we’re letting our future generations down if we don’t�event organiser and Chartered Surveyor Paul Cook commented.

The audience was mostly made up of members of the CIOB; a mixture of contractors, housebuilders, building surveyors and project managers, as well as architects, engineers and local authority building control officers.

Professor Benfield commented: "I find it encouraging that so many committed people in the profession are coming together to develop and highlight future trends in the building industry.The CIOB and Benfield ATT are committed to working with industry to achieve real and lasting improvements in design, procurement and on sites.Today's findings demonstrate that future-looking professionals want to embrace this area further and I hope that through continued partnership between CIOB and the design profession best practice will become standard practice."

The future of housing construction report:top barriers

For designers:

1. Quality – attention to detail, local materials and in-keeping vernacular features to move us away from ‘developer boxes
2. ’Commercial investment – invest more resources in the design stage, from an earlier point in the project
3. Energy efficiency – design for very energy-efficient buildings with sustainable features integrated, not ‘bolted-on’.

For professional managers:

1. Competency of Staff – finding ways of retaining skilled staff and keeping them in the industry
2. Training investment – Invest more in ‘soft’ skills to rid the industry of it’s reputation for confrontation and blame
3. Embrace change – Our homes will be around in 50/100 years time…will they still meet the building regulation changes…will they be easy to update? No? Then change, and think of the future.

For suppliers:

1. Recyclability – produce and explicitly state the recyclability of products
2. Environmental Impact – look at whole-life-costing and procuring cheaper, more energy-efficient and more environmentally-friendly alternatives to existing products.
3. Locality of materials – try and source materials locally rather than on a national basis.

For specifiers:

1. Legislation – specify the incorporation of such products and fsc timber
2. Change in attitudes – educate the end-users/clients in why such materials have been specified
3. True Sustainability – design for very energy-efficient buildings with sustainable features integrated, not ‘bolted-on’.

end

MORE INFORMATION:

• Professor Michael Benfield

  One of the four ‘founding fathers’ of the international ‘Green Party’ movement, Dr. Michael Benfield is visiting Professor of Research in Civil and Construction Engineering with the University of Wales, Newport. He heads Benfield ATT - a leading national firm of timber frame design, manufacture and build engineers - based in Caldicot, South East Wales (www.benfieldatt.co.uk). Additionally he has recently been appointed to chair the ‘Knowledge Hub’ – forerunner of a full-blown ‘Centre of Excellence’ – for the Wales Forest Business Partnership (WFBP). Sponsored by the WDA and Forestry Commission, the WFBP aims to facilitate the development of the Welsh timber industries sector in achieving World Class recognition.

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  For more information, telephone Kelvin Godhard in Benfield ATT’s Marketing Department on 01291 437050 or email KelvinG@benfieldatt.co.uk.

  
  

Press Release distributed: 10 February 2006. Click below to view on news sites.

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