Using more standardised housing designs could cut the cost of home-building by an eighth, a report commissioned by the Department of Housing has found.
The study said the use of off-site construction and prefabricated design technologies, often referred to as modern methods of construction (MMC), could generate significant savings “across all stages of residential delivery – from design to construction to long-term management”.
It modelled the potential cost savings across three basic housing types – a three-bedroom terraced house; a three-storey, two-dwelling duplex (with external stairs); and a two-bedroom apartment – from using more standardised layouts and building components.
The reference construction cost for the terraced house, which was put at €255,000, could be reduced by 12.5 per cent or €31,800 if a model design – which lowered the unit size, removed one of the car parking spaces and used standardised doors, windows, roofs and floors – was adopted.
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The cost of the duplex, put at €535,470, could be reduced by 4.4 per cent or €23,500 by adopting a more standardised approach that omitted an en suite bathroom, removed one of the parking spaces and again used more standardised fixtures.
The cost of constructing the apartment, put at €302,911, could be reduced by 9.5 per cent or €28,900 by using a model design which reduced the size of the unit, omitted an en suite bathroom and used more standardised fixtures, the report found.
“The site cost (for the apartment) remained unchanged throughout, as the car parking provision for apartments is consistently 0.5 per dwelling across both reference and model designs,” it said.
The use of standardised designs “to streamline construction and create high-quality, energy-efficient homes” is increasingly being used abroad and in Ireland to “facilitate the delivery of housing at scale”, the report said.
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It also noted that standardisation did not preclude variation.
“These repeatable components can be arranged in a variety of configurations to respond to the different dwelling typologies and frontages to create variation in facade design,” it said.
Minister for Housing James Browne said the report’s findings would benefit the construction industry, “providing detailed guidance to construction professionals, developers, contractors, clients, designers and manufacturers, as well as educators, and training bodies”.
“By adopting the methods and approaches detailed in this report, it is possible for the residential construction sector to see their pipelines, projects and programmes become more streamlined – ensuring cost savings,” he said.
“We need a cultural change in how we deliver house building in Ireland if we are to meet the urgency and scale of the challenge that faces us.
“Modern methods of construction provide an important part of that change, and today’s study is a valuable contribution to improving how we provide more good quality homes efficiently and quickly,” he said.
A study last year by economic and social think tank Tasc and the Chartered Institute of Building said prefabricated design technologies could play a big role in solving the State’s housing crisis, as well as meeting the State’s climate objectives, as they produced cheaper and more sustainable homes.
