ModernaHus first in UK

Skanska is to build its first UK ModernaHus energy-efficient development – which has achieved Code For Sustainable Homes level 4 – in Brixton, south London, under a £13 million contract with Notting Hill Housing.

The contractor has been developing its ModernaHus – which it uses in Scandinavia – for the UK market over the past two years.

This first project – at a disused site on Coldharbour Lane – will consist of 108 residential units that will all be 44 per cent more energy-efficient than standard
homes.

The main features of the project are a well-insulated building envelope combined with an underfloor heating system and a central biomass boiler, which will feed a site-wide district heating scheme.

In total 665 concrete wall panels and 239 concrete floor panels will be constructed offsite before delivery to the site for installation. Other elements also being manufactured offsite are bathroom pods, complete with floor and wall finishes, and triple-glazed windows.

Skanska is putting together an in-house team, which includes expertise in construction, piling and foundations, and mechanical and electrical installations.

Demolition of existing buildings to make way for the new development has begun with main
construction due to start in spring 2010 and completion of the project scheduled for October 2011.