Newcastle-based Metnor Ecosystems has begun work on a £10m contract to build three timber frame care homes for Care UK.
The energy efficient buildings in Islington, Richmond and Hammersmith will replace existing facilities.
Manufactured off-site, the Ecosystems timber frame kit incorporates triple glazed windows and doors, insulation, power conduits, vapour barriers and plasterboard.
Fuel bills are around 50% lower and Ecosystems is 30% more energy efficient than current building regulation guidelines.
Construction time is up to 30% faster than a conventional build and the kit can be used to build all types of buildings up to five storeys high.
Work on the Islington care home site has begun and the weatherproof Ecosystems shell will take about five weeks to complete. The 2,750ft2, four-storey, 53-bed building will be ready for occupation by the end of June. The Hammersmith and Richmond buildings are of similar size.
The buildings are being supplied via Metnor’s contracting division Metnor Construction.
Keith Irving, director, Metnor Property Group (MPG) said: “Off-site manufacture is the way forward to meet the demand for new, high quality buildings despite skills shortages in the construction industry. There are big advantages in terms of quality control, and reducing waste and build time on site.”
MPG has also set up Modehus, a property development company building energy efficient homes from Ecosystems kit in the UK.
Ecosystems and Modehus are expected to contribute £20m into MPG by the end of 2004, and it is projected that this figure will double in 2005.
