Progress photographs from the Big Build site on BRE's Innovation Park
- This blog followed the construction of some of the most innovative homes built in the UK during 2007...
- You can visit the BRE Innovation Park to see the final buildings with a full guided tour. Book online now
- OFFSITE becomes INSITE – the major event for 2009, INSITE09 runs at BRE from 1st to 4th June.
Words and pictures from BRE's Peter White. Images are copyright.
March 2009... bringing things up-to-date
Sadly, a combination of factors prevented the House that Kevin Built (below) from being reconstructed at BRE. However, all is not lost. Building work is underway again on the BRE Innovation Park, with three exciting full-scale new-builds being created ready for the next in the OFFSITE events series, including the Natural House from the Prince of Wales' Foundation for the Built Environment. Work to refurbish and reconfigure the demonstration school into an example of 21st century healthcare provision will also be starting soon.
Renamed INSITE09, as the show's scope has widened beyond just the off-site manufacture of buildings and now takes in innovations and sustainable technologies from across a much broader specturum of the built environment, the event runs from 1–4 June 2009 at BRE. See www.insite09.com for full details, and watch out for the return of my building site photo blog in the coming days.
May 2008 – a post script... The House that Kevin Built
Last June, we suggested that Kevin McCloud may be making a TV programme about the Innovation Park at BRE. But I can now reveal that he is going one better than this, and having his own house built here. 'The House that Kevin Built' was constructed 'live' on TV during six days in May 2008 as part of Channel 4's coverage of Grand Designs Live. And now that event is over, the house is to be dismantled and moved from its Docklands location to the Innovation Park in a few weeks time. (Read the BRE news release). Until then, here's some shots I took during a sneak preview at Grand Designs Live... from
L to R: innovative solar water heating system; Mr McCloud getting very excited about plywood; night-time view of the house on May 9th
The final photos...
18 June 2007: The final photo set...
Watch out for an exciting new TV programme from Kevin McCloud (of Grand Designs fame), as he and the Talkback Thames team spent a whole day filming here (seen below left interviewing BRE Chief Executive, Peter Bonfield). Housing Minister, Yvette Cooper presented the opening Keynote address (we hope to include the text shortly, or watch for it here on the Communities Department's website). Below right, a final view of the Hanson Ecohouse, awarded a Level 4 rating under the new Code for Sustainable Homes.
We were extremely lucky with the weather, as thunderstorms forecast for each day failed to show up. The rain chain (below left) on the Kingspan Lighthouse saw no water at all during the show... but very soon after the event was over it was given a thorough test! A favourite spot for visitors to watch from was the upper balcony of the school, below right.
And, below, the last photo taken from my rooftop perch while the show was open... The large white roof in the foreground was the exhibition marquee, the last parts of which are being cleared away as I type this late on Tuesday evening. Elsewhere on this site, see the presentations given in the conference sessions, and look in at the news page as we systematically add details of all the media coverage the event received, with links where we can.
Thursday evening, 14 June
The show is now over. We have had a staggering turnout (thanks for coming), the forecast thunderstorms stayed away, the media interest has been amazing (watch for a later list of what was featured and where), and now, at 8pm, the marquee exhibitors have all packed up and gone, the final rubbish bins have been emptied, and a very hard working team behind OFFSITE2007 can have a well earned rest.
Monday 11 June - OFFSITE2007 is now open!...
The Housing Minister, Yvette Cooper MP (below left) attended today's VIP opening day, touring the Big Build site and presenting the Code for Sustainable Homes certificates to each of our build sponsors. The Minister gave a number of radio and TV interviews (see News page) before delivering her keynote speech in the BRE Lecture Theatre (Transcript to follow). Meanwhile, BBC News' Natasha Kaplinsky joined Mr Stewart Milne to perform the official opening ceremony of the Sigma homes (centre), and by mid afternoon, a queue was forming to take a look inside. Large photo at bottom gives a general feel of OFFSITE, including the areas of gravel landscaping laid down for the show, prior to a more complete, sustainable landscaping scheme being completed later in the year. (Note from my office colleagues: this has not proved to be very compatible with ladies' high heeled shoes)
Friday 8 June: we're ready for you on Monday!
So, here we are. The end of the final week of building and we're there. A few loose ends to tidy up over the weekend, but all the buildings are ready. The exhibitors are setting up in the marquee. The landscaping contractors are hard at work putting in the finishing touches. The IT guys are checking everything over. And the hard working OFFSITE team are finalising things for next week. This week we've featured on ITV's lunchtime news and several radio interviews. Next week, watch out for coverage on TV, listen for it on the radio, read it in the press, and, of course, see it here. One final note – please try not to bring a car to BRE if you can. See our travel advice for alternatives, as parking will be very tight, especially on the fully-booked Tuesday.
L to R below: BRE's Guy Hammersley rings the school bell to officlally open the ReThinking school as Willmott Dixon's John Frankiewicz looks on; View of the completed Kingspan Lighthouse; EcoTECH Organics home furnished and ready to show.
L to R below: External exhibitor, Eurozone, with their EPS permanent formwork and mortar silo; Spaceover's home being gift wrapped ready; and setting up underway in the marquee, here my collegues from BRE Certification.
And last ones for now... landscaping underway (native Hawthorn planting), and a final sweep up ready for our VIPs and guests on Monday morning.
I hope you've enjoyed following the Big Build Blog over the past couple of months. Its not finished yet, as I'll be updating it throughout the show. Watch out for me when you're at OFFSITE 2007 and you may even find yourself pictured here. Enjoy the show. Fingers crossed for good weather. Peter
4th June - less than a week until opening day!
There's been a real 'buzz' to the site in the past few days as everyone moves into the final stages of their builds. The overall view here was taken a week ago, when scaffolding still cloaked the Kingspan Lighthouse, but with much of the rest of the external works on the buildings all done. Landscaping works got under way today.
That Kingspan scaffold was 'struck' today, which means that for the first time the iconic shape of the design can be seen clearly (below left). The powder coated metal roof that we saw a few weeks back is now concealed behind chesnut timber battening (right), and this extends to provide dappled shade to the lounge window and balcony seen (not quite complete) in the left hand shot. Last weekend saw the glass panels craned in, completing the light shaft and vent tower (centre).
The wide shot below made me smile: while Frankie Dettori was lining up with Authorized and the rest at the start of the Derby on Saturday, Kingspan's own team looked 'ready for the off' at the top of their house.
The ecoTECH house next door now has a proper staircase leading to the upper house that sits over the flat at ground floor level (seen below left as it's craned in). Inside, partition walls are complete and electrical and plumbing work is done. And balconies at the upper floor windows were also craned in today – these will be completed with timber side panels and a glass front.
From those balconies, we can look across to the Hanson EcoHouse. External work is complete and inside, the final touches are being added. (left below - the timber in the foreground is part of a walkway in the landscaping scheme). The roof light window that crowns the roof, inspired by the design of a brick kiln, is seen here from the bottom of the stairs. This, coupled with crisp white paint throughout, has created a very light and airy space. Outside Hanson's earlier house, 'slinky' coils for the ground source heat pump that heats the new Hanson home were laid out and covered today.
The ReThinking school has become quite 'arty' over recent days: the rear wall now has a number of alternate finishes in place, and still to be added there, panels made from discarded mobile phone cases, fused together and rolled flat! The windows in this wall are fronted by panels containing surplus plastic bottles and transparent packaging materials. Inside, carpets have been laid and internal doors have been hung.
The Sigma homes from Stewart Milne have gained more photovoltaics, and solar shading was added to the stairwell windows on the southern side shortly after the photo below left was taken. Inside, decorating is progressing well, using eco-friendy paint on the walls and timber treatments on the stairs. Clever, click-together ceramic floor tiles have gone down in many rooms, and even the burglar alarm is working.
If you read this on Tuesday morning (5 June), make a note to watch ITV's lunchtime or evening news, as they will carry a special report that includes BRE's Chief Executive Peter Bonfield talking from the Big Build site on BRE's Innovation Park. If you have already booked to come to OFFSITE next week, your name badge is on its way in the post. Its not too late to book online, but you'll need to collect your badge on arrival at BRE. A quick reminder about how to get here, and that car parking on the BRE site is limited. We look forward to seeing you all at OFFSITE2007 next week. The blog will continue throughout the show – look back on Monday evening to see the opening ceremony pictures.
There's one final house to be built on the Innovation Park later in the year: the winner of the Mail on Sunday Home for the Future competition. The designs for this are on show on the National Centre for Excellence in Housing's stand at OFFSITE2007. Read more about this from the BRE website (opens a new window)
Updated 28 May
Since the Bank Holiday has turned into a bit of a wash out locally, I've sat down to give you the next installment here instead. Its a bit late because we've also launched the new BRE website over the weekend – once you've read this maybe you might take a look at that too and let me know what you think of it (www.bre.co.uk)
Big news this week, with just two weeks to go now (still just enough time to book your ticket by the way), has been the arrival of Spaceover. The only 'volumetric' solution on show at this year's event (modular units rather than flat panels assembled on site), they have brought two units that will go to a 'real' development in Harlow after the show. The modules arrived 'complete' by road (below left) and were craned into place in just a couple of hours. Just moments after 'touch down' the doors were opened to let us see inside (centre shot), and a little while later the upper deck was in place too (below right). In a real build, the modules will then have an external cladding around them, as can be seen in the architect's impressions on Spaceover's website (www.spaceover.com)
So now we have all eight 'Big Build' buildings ready for you to see at OFFSITE2007, and the marquee that forms the 1000m2 covered exhibition space is in place too (the large white roof in the site-wide view below). Conference tickets are selling out fast, and you'll need to book very soon to get an exhibition ticket to see the show. All tickets must be booked in advance. Why not do it now?
Willmott Dixon's ReThinking arm are moving into the final stages with their innovative, energy-efficient and sustainable school building. Timber floors are being laid over the battens mentioned last week, with more wood fibre-based insulation beneath (left below). As part of the 'sustainable learning' experience, transparent rainwater downpipes are now in place through the main teaching space (centre below: a photo taken on Friday – today's deluge would have given a better shot!) And externally, the 'back face' of the building is being used to showcase alternatives to the cedar boarding used on the rest of the project. Here (below right) a close-up of the Canadian cedar shingles that are at the very top. The scaffold was removed from this building over the weekend so watch for a quick update in a couple of days to see the finished result. But better still, come along and see it for yourself at OFFSITE 2007.
Rainwater pipes have also been fitted to the Stewart Milne house, which is nearing completion too. The three photos below show the hopper heads being fitted from the cherry-picker, detail of the completed second-floor balcony, and a different view of the complete building, taken from the top floor balcony of the Osborne house...
During the past week, Kingspan installed the ventilation shaft at the top of their build (seen below left, part installed). The second layer of cedar cladding is complete (centre), and internally the heating systems are being fitted. A wood-pellet fuelled boiler supplements roof-mounted solar water heating (below right).
Hanson House 2 is moving into the final straight as well. The zinc roof is now complete and the automatic opening roof light, key to the house's thermal comfort, is fitted. Solar water heating will be added to the roof shortly - the fittings are in place as the photo below right shows. Internally, plasterwork is complete, the kitchen units are being fitted, and the floor tiles are going down (centre shot)
The Ecotech house has been rendered during the past week, using spray-applied base coats and a hand-finished top layer (left and centre below). Internally, wall panels have been taped, jointed and painted, and the power is on, as seen in the LED-illuminated ground-floor shower (below right)
The coming few days will see the finishing touches being added across The Big Build area, with landscaping works starting soon. Watch for another quick update before the week is over, and, if you've still not ordered your tickets, do that now so that you don't miss out on seeing the first houses in Britain to achieve Level 5 or even Level 6 of the new Code for Sustainable Homes, and the rest of the OFFSITE event, 11-14 June at BRE near Watford (How do you get there? See our handy travel pages). Did I mention that you need to book? Here's a reminder of how to.
19 May
Another week of variable weather, and a week where another whole house has been built for you to see at OFFSITE2007 in three weeks' time – time to buy your ticket if you haven't already. The rain's affected one of my camera lenses, so some slightly hazy shots this time:
Although they started after the rest of The Big Build teams, Ecotech's Swedish 'Organics' house frame is now complete. A combination of speedy assembly and heavy rain means that my camera missed much of the build, but here I can share with you (below left) the final ceiling panels being craned into place on Tuesday afternoon (that blue sky didn't last long), and in the centre, the staircase contained within the 'pod' unit of the first floor. There are three pods in total, which brought the kitchen and bathroom to the ground floor flat, and the kitchen, toilet, stairs and upstairs bathroom to the two-floor house above. The bottom right view shows the complete shell with the roof in place and cladding work going on, taken on Friday afternoon.
Its been the week for scaffolding to come down, and we can now compare the external views of the ReThinking and Stewart Milne buidlings with their architects' impressions. Below left, this photo from nearly the same angle as PRP's visual for Stewart Milne's Sigma home shows that most of the outside work is done. Inside, with plastering complete and the floors in place, pre-hung doorsets and steamed Beech skirting are appearing. The shot below right gives a flavour of the ReThinking school by White Design – the mast is for the weather station mentioned in last week's update.
Inside the Willmott Dixon / ReThinking building, the 'light well' now has its shiny lining in place (which makes for very arty photos – below left!) , the beginnings of a wooden floating floor (centre), and a wind turbine on the roof (below right). Externally, the roof terrace now boasts a 'green roof' section planted with Sedum, and as seen above right, most of the cladding work is complete.
Hanson House 2 (so called because OFFSITE2007 ticket holders will also be able to see the original Hanson house from OFFSITE2005 during their visit) now has most of the zinc roof installed . Flat zinc is cut from the roll (below left), passed through a rolling mill in the contractor's van (seen here in close-up), and rapidly crimped over fittings on the timber roof.
Kingspan have begun their cedar rainscreen cladding (below left). A second layer will be staggered to cover the gaps seen here. And on the roof, contractors have installed a vast area of PV cells which cover most of the skyward roof area. The 'hole in the roof' will become the ventilation stack, seen in the architect's impression. Inside the house a team is fast at work fitting MK's plug-together wiring system (seen below right) . MK are just one of the exhibitors in the OFFSITE2007 exhibition hall. Have you got your ticket to see this yet? No? Then click here and buy one now!
One final photo for this time – our rooftop view shows all seven buildings of BRE's Innovation Park earlier in the week. By the end of the coming week, our final 'Big Build' partner, Spaceover, will have their modular home sections in place and work will be starting building the 1000 sq metre exhibition marquee. Places for conference delegates are running out fast and the free masterclass sessions are proving popular. You'll need a ticket to come along to OFFSITE 2007 at BRE in June – you can buy that now, or why not call us to arrange a group booking?
Saturday 11 May
The rain that was forecast for this week certainly did turn up and the site has become very damp in places (below). With just 4 weeks to opening day, the first conference session is now nearly fully booked, so if you have been holding off booking your OFFSITE2007 tickets, best to do it now. And remember that anyone can come along and view these intelligent low carbon buildings in The Big Build area – its a quick click here to register .
Progress this week: The Rethinking school is now part-clad with white cedar cladding (below left), internal painting has begun, and wiring is being installed for the automated windows which will be controlled by an onsite weather station.
Below left, the Rethinking School from Willmott Dixon also now has part of its roof terrace in place. Hanson have been concentrating on the insides this week. Below centre we see the undercoat being applied in readiness for spray-applied plastering next week. Fibre-optic cables are being run right across the Big Build area (below right) to provide truly 'connected' smart homes. Complete electronic monitoring of the environmental performance will also be carried out.
The Sigma homes from Stewart Milne saw underfloor heating installed this week (below left and right). The metal plates dissipate the heat more evenly as this floor has a boarded finish rather than a screed over the pipework. Plastering has continued (centre), and the 2nd fix of electrical installations is underway.
Kingspan's 'Lighthouse' frame is now complete, having had a second layer of SIPs panels added (left). The protruding timberwork in the centre image forms the support for shading over the balcony area. The whole building now has its waterproofing layer in place, seen below right behind ground floor decorative fibre-reinforced concrete panels being installed – the bamboo patterning complementing a planting scheme that we will see in a few weeks time. Got your ticket to see it too?
And Ecotech have arrived on site this week. The 'Organics House' is also a panelised system which in this case is assembled around a pod containing both bathroom and kitchen (seen below left). The first panels went in on Friday morning (centre), and include internal plasterboard and all glazing units. By the end of the day, the complete ground floor was in, seen here wrapped up to keep out the weekend rain that is still falling now...
Remember, there are only four weeks to opening day at OFFSITE 2007 - come along and see all The Big Build buildings and your first opportunity to see what a 'zero carbon home' can look like. You'll need a ticket, but that is only a few quick clicks away: start here. How do you get to OFFSITE2007 – see our complete travel info pages.
5 May 2007
This weekend may well be the first time we've had rain on the site since the beginning of April, and tarpaulins and temporary downpipes are being put in place as I write this. Here's a summary of the action on site over the past four days, visiting each build in turn (just as you will be able to once you've booked your OFFSITE2007 tickets)
First to Kingspan's Lighthouse. The engineered timber roof frame is completed as these three photos show, so we can now see the distinctive shape of the house. This presents an ideal 40 degree angle to the southern sky, and will be completely covered by photovoltaic tiles. You will be able to see these working at OFFSITE 2007 - have you booked yet?
Moving to the ReThinking school (see more about this): Below left, this solid timber building is clad in wood-fibre insulation panels, seen here on 1 May on the upper roof. The second shot shows the same roof a day later with Velux windows being fitted and the roofing membrane part complete. By the end of the week, most of the buildilng's Velfac windows had been fitted too (below right). The crane in the background is working on the Kingspan house (above)
The Stewart Milne 'Sigma' home has become rather easier to see, as the upper 'lifts' of the scaffolding have been removed this week. We can now clearly see the white render finish complementing the cedar cladding on the west-facing balconies (below left). Internally, Du Pont's newly-announced EnergainTM board has been fitted behind the plasterboard in some rooms (centre photo). This moderates the temperature by absorbing heat during warm days and releasing it as the room cools. And spray-applied plaster (right) is now complete in many parts of the build. Remember to book your tickets now if you want to see the finished buildings on June 11, 12, 13 or 14th.
Hanson have continued with the fitout of Hanson House 2. All the SP windows are in place and externally the fabricated zinc guttering is done, ready for the rain (left photo shows an outlet being soldered into place). Underfloor heating pipes have been fitted throughtout (centre shot) and the floor screeded over them (below right)
Ecotech now have a slab foundation to build off (seen here being poured on 2 May) and their build starts next week. The wide shot below shows Stewart Milne at the back and Kingspan's frame in front of it. To the right is the Osborne House. This was completed last June, but is another building that forms a part of the OFFSITE 2007 experience. The opening day (June 11 2007) is getting ever nearer. Put it in your diary now, and make sure you have booked your place at this unique event. Remember that as well as the buildings featured here, Spaceover will bring two modules from a 'live' build at Harlow, up to 40 companies will be exhibiting in our exhibition hall, and there's a three-day conference too.
30 April 2007
A quick update: (left image) A milestone stage in Stewart Milne's build, as the wind turbines are added to the roof. This building now has solar water heating and both wind-powered and photovoltaic (electricity-generating solar panels) microgeneration systems. The Rethinking / Willmott Dixon solid timber frame is complete with work underway to fit insulation and windows (centre), and the Kingspan "Lighthouse" home is up to second floor joist level. (right)
26 April 2007
One week further into building The Big Build and a lot has been happening. Working clockwise around the site (see last weeks whole-site view), ReThinking's solid timber panel school building is now more than half erected. The laminated timber floor, wall and beam sections are rapidly craned into place and fitted together with upto 600mm long screws. The 9.2 metre tall panels (centre and right images) form a lift shaft that runs the full height of the building.
Next door at Hanson House 2, work has continued to complete the roof timberwork, forming an insulated sandwich ready for zinc cladding to be added next week. The large central opening seen in the right-hand photo below will be an opening roof 'lantern'. Internally, first fix of the 'smart technology' has been carried out.
The Stewart Milne houses are now completely clad externally, and the walls are being rendered (below right). On the roof, the photovoltaic array is now in place (centre) and work is starting to install three microgeneration wind turbines.
Kingspan now have a grid of timber beams on top of their steel screw pile foundations, and the ground floor panels are in place. Work to erect the walls of the 'Lighthouse' home will start before the week ends. The neighbouring plot for ecoTECH is now seeing some action, with setting-out work starting for a concrete raft foundation (below right)
These buidlngs in The Big Build area are what makes OFFSITE2007 a unique experience. Remember that OFFSITE2007 is recognised for CPD credits – so book your ticket now!
19 April 2007
This general view looking west over The Big Build area was taken this morning and helps give a sense of scale. The crane is lifting in Rethinking's panels, Hanson House 2 centre rear, Stewart Milne back right. Osborne, whose house was completed in June last year bottom right, with scaffold for Kingspan alongside. The empty plot at the front is for ecoTECH, and Hanson House 1 from OFFSITE2005 is bottom left. Large grey building at back is the BRE Burn Hall, part of the largest fire testing facilities in Europe.
A busy week on the site. The complex truncated pyramid roof frame was lowered onto Hanson's house on Tuesday and work is underway with the timbers. Ground floor triple-glazed Swedish timber windows have been installed, and internal fit-out has begun. Stewart Milne continue with the M&E first-fix, including electrics, CAT5 and CAT7 data and media cabling, heat recovery ventilation ducting and the solar water heating installation. Externally, insulation is complete and work is underway with the PV array on the roof. ReThinking got the steel base in place at the beginning of the week and the timber panel floor and solid timber panel ground floor walls are going up fast. Elsewhere, scaffolding is complete in readiness for the arrival of the Kingspan house. ecoTECH have a much shorter build programme, so will start a little later.
12 April
Hanson brought in their first floor walling today. Complete, factory-built mansonry wall panels comprising stack-bonded external brickwork, cavity and insulation, plus the inner blockwork leaf were craned into position. A steel ring beam sits on top of the ground floor walls, which were craned into position last week. The complete front wall (centre image) tipped the scales at over 4 tonnes. Right hand shot shows the final wall being edged down into place.
Elsewhere in the Big Build area, the top-most towers of the Stewart Milne houses received their aluminium roof covering prior to the installation of solar water heating arrays (below left), the four-storey Stewart Milne building seen from a window in the Hanson house , and (right) a shot taken earlier in the week of the screw piles being driven into the ground to support the steelwork base of the ReThinking / Willmott Dixon school building.
Images from earlier stages of the Big Build site will be added here later...