IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i14p3884-d249081.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Prefabs in the North of England: Technological, Environmental and Social Innovations

Author

Listed:
  • Ornella Iuorio

    (School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Andrew Wallace

    (School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Kate Simpson

    (Sustainability Research Institute, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK)

Abstract

Advances in digital technology have inaugurated a ‘fourth industrial revolution’, enabling, inter alia, the growth of ‘offsite’ housing construction in advanced economies. This productive transformation seems to be opening up new opportunities for styles of living, ownership, place-making and manufacturing that are more sustainable, democratic and bespoke. However, the full potential of this transformation is not yet clear nor how it will interact with—in the UK context—ongoing crises in housing provision rooted in an increasingly financialised and critically unbalanced national economy, timid state housing policies and a longstanding cultural preoccupation with mortgaged ‘bricks and mortar’ housing. In this paper, we report on an ongoing mixed method project interrogating the technological, environmental and social implications of the emergence of offsite housing construction in the UK. To a degree, we situate this interrogation in the Northern English region of Yorkshire, an emerging focal point of the growing offsite construction industry in the UK but an area afflicted by entrenched, post-industrial economic imbalances. The results show that offsite house engineers, designers and builders are innovatively embracing digital methods, a low carbon agenda and new approaches to place-making but that they have had little role, so far, in resolving the deeper structural problems affecting housing production in the UK, bringing the sustainability of their innovation into question.

Suggested Citation

  • Ornella Iuorio & Andrew Wallace & Kate Simpson, 2019. "Prefabs in the North of England: Technological, Environmental and Social Innovations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-14, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:14:p:3884-:d:249081
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/14/3884/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/14/3884/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chris Goodier & Alistair Gibb, 2007. "Future opportunities for offsite in the UK," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(6), pages 585-595.
    2. Soares, N. & Santos, P. & Gervásio, H. & Costa, J.J. & Simões da Silva, L., 2017. "Energy efficiency and thermal performance of lightweight steel-framed (LSF) construction: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 194-209.
    3. Nick Blismas & Christine Pasquire & Alistair Gibb, 2006. "Benefit evaluation for off-site production in construction," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 121-130.
    4. Paul Chatterton, 2013. "Towards an Agenda for Post-carbon Cities: Lessons from Lilac, the UK's First Ecological, Affordable Cohousing Community," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(5), pages 1654-1674, September.
    5. Peterman, Andrew & Kourula, Arno & Levitt, Raymond, 2012. "A roadmap for navigating voluntary and mandated programs for building energy efficiency," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 415-426.
    6. Andres Rodriguez-Pose, 2018. "The revenge of the places that don?t matter (and what to do about it)," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 1805, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Jan 2018.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ali M. Saad & Mohammed Dulaimi & Sambo Lyson Zulu, 2023. "Examining the Influence of UK Public Clients’ Characteristics on Their Own Innovation-Decision towards the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-25, February.
    2. Jaroslav Vrchota & Martin Pech & Ladislav Rolínek & Jiří Bednář, 2020. "Sustainability Outcomes of Green Processes in Relation to Industry 4.0 in Manufacturing: Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-47, July.
    3. Ornella Iuorio & Antonio Gigante & Rosa Francesca De Masi, 2023. "Life Cycle Analysis of Innovative Technologies: Cold Formed Steel System and Cross Laminated Timber," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-22, January.
    4. Marta Pędzik & Joanna Bednarz & Zdzisław Kwidziński & Tomasz Rogoziński & Jerzy Smardzewski, 2020. "The Idea of Mass Customization in the Door Industry Using the Example of the Company Porta KMI Poland," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-14, May.
    5. Sambo Lyson Zulu & Ali M. Saad, 2023. "A Sensemaking Perspective of Digitalisation in Construction Organisations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.
    6. Mohd Zairul & Zeinab Zaremohzzabieh, 2023. "Thematic Trends in Industry 4.0 Revolution Potential towards Sustainability in the Construction Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-21, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yu, Sisi & Liu, Yanfeng & Wang, Dengjia & Bahaj, AbuBakr S. & Wu, Yue & Liu, Jiaping, 2021. "Review of thermal and environmental performance of prefabricated buildings: Implications to emission reductions in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    2. Kamali, Mohammad & Hewage, Kasun, 2016. "Life cycle performance of modular buildings: A critical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1171-1183.
    3. Cristino, T.M. & Lotufo, F.A. & Delinchant, B. & Wurtz, F. & Faria Neto, A., 2021. "A comprehensive review of obstacles and drivers to building energy-saving technologies and their association with research themes, types of buildings, and geographic regions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    4. Upham, Dr Paul & Sovacool, Prof Benjamin & Ghosh, Dr Bipashyee, 2022. "Just transitions for industrial decarbonisation: A framework for innovation, participation, and justice," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    5. Balland, Pierre-Alexandre & Broekel, Tom & Diodato, Dario & Giuliani, Elisa & Hausmann, Ricardo & O'Clery, Neave & Rigby, David, 2022. "Reprint of The new paradigm of economic complexity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(8).
    6. Luis Bauluz & Sebastien Breau & Pawel Bukowski & Mark Fransham & Annie Seong Lee & Neil Lee & Margarita Lopez Forero & Clement Malgouyres & Filip Novokmet & Moritz Schularick & Gregory Verdugo, 2023. "Spatial wage inequality in North America and Western Europe: changes between and within local labour markets 1975-2019," CEP Discussion Papers dp1941, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Andres Rodriguez-Pose & Javier Terrero-Davila & Neil Lee, 2023. "Left-behind vs. unequal places: interpersonal inequality, economic decline, and the rise of populism in the US and Europe," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2306, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised Mar 2023.
    8. Aimee Felstead & Kevin Thwaites & James Simpson, 2019. "A Conceptual Framework for Urban Commoning in Shared Residential Landscapes in the UK," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-24, November.
    9. Satheeskumar Navaratnam, 2022. "Selecting a Suitable Sustainable Construction Method for Australian High-Rise Building: A Multi-Criteria Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-17, June.
    10. Roberta Capello & Silvia Cerisola, 2023. "Industrial transformations and regional inequalities in Europe," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 70(1), pages 15-28, February.
    11. Przemysław Miąsik & Joanna Krasoń, 2021. "Thermal Efficiency of Trombe Wall in the South Facade of a Frame Building," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-23, January.
    12. Patrick Dallasega & Erwin Rauch, 2017. "Sustainable Construction Supply Chains through Synchronized Production Planning and Control in Engineer-to-Order Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-25, October.
    13. Poorthuis, Ate & van Meeteren, Michiel, 2019. "Containment and connectivity in Dutch urban systems: A network-analytical operationalization of the three-systems model," SocArXiv y7dxf, Center for Open Science.
    14. Ruparathna, Rajeev & Hewage, Kasun & Sadiq, Rehan, 2016. "Improving the energy efficiency of the existing building stock: A critical review of commercial and institutional buildings," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 1032-1045.
    15. Xiaoqing Zhu & Tiancheng Zhang & Weijun Gao & Danying Mei, 2020. "Analysis on Spatial Pattern and Driving Factors of Carbon Emission in Urban–Rural Fringe Mixed-Use Communities: Cases Study in East Asia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-16, April.
    16. Rasaki Kolawole Fagbenro & Riza Yosia Sunindijo & Chethana Illankoon & Samuel Frimpong, 2024. "Importance of Prefabrication to Easing Construction Workers’ Experience of Mental Health Stressors," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(9), pages 1-18, September.
    17. Truong Dang Hoang Nhat Nguyen & Hyosoo Moon & Yonghan Ahn, 2022. "Critical Review of Trends in Modular Integrated Construction Research with a Focus on Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-23, September.
    18. Hosang Hyun & Hyung-Geun Kim & Jin-Sung Kim, 2022. "Integrated Off-Site Construction Design Process including DfMA Considerations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-20, March.
    19. Kemeny, Thomas & Storper, Michael, 2020. "Superstar cities and left-behind places: disruptive innovation, labor demand, and interregional inequality," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103312, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    20. Stewart Barr & Justin Pollard, 2017. "Geographies of Transition: Narrating environmental activism in an age of climate change and ‘Peak Oil’," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(1), pages 47-64, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:14:p:3884-:d:249081. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.